Iran, China lead march of powerhouse teams

CHANGSHA – Defending champion Iran and host China, as expected, led the charge of traditional powers into the second phase of eliminations in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship over two playing venues here.

Iran, winner of three of the last four editions of the biennial regional meet, stamped its class in Group A, rampaging past Japan, India and Malaysia by a whopping average margin of 46.6 points.

China, the most dominant Asian team for the longest time with a current world ranking of No. 14, debuted with a 91-42 rout of Singapore then automatically clinched a spot in the next round with a stirring come-from-behind 76-73 win over South Korea.

The Koreans also advanced despite the heartbreaking loss to the host team where they blew away a huge 18-point spread at 60-42.

The Rajko Toroman-mentored Jordan quintet was the third team from Group C to roll to the second round, joining the top three teams from Group D – Qatar, Kazakhstan and Lebanon.

In Group A, Japan and India placed second and third behind Iran, with Malaysia the team being relegated to the consolation round.

Japan took second place in overpowering India, 83-65.

Group D provided much thrill and excitement with Qatar taking top honors on a pair of overtime triumphs over Kazakhstan (79-75) and Lebanon (105-100).

The Kazakhs and the Lebanese also found their way to the next round, though, on their separate wins over Chinese Taipei.

Naturalized player Clinton Johnson dished out back-to-back 31-point jobs for the Qataris who are looking well capable on improving on their sixth-place finish in Manila.

For the host, the most fascinating game so far was China’s close shave over Korea.

Rising Chinese star Zhou Qi poured in 21 points in a superb game versus the Koreans.