POSTED BY: Eurobasket News
Maxwell Darling
SEMIS
New Zealand - China 87-82
New Zealand will play in the Final after they edged China today. Maxwell Darling (196-F-00) came up with 24 points and 7 rebounds to pace the Kiwis. New Zealand eked out a 41:39 halftime lead. China narrowed the distance at just one point heading into the fourth term 61:60. But New Zealand unloaded 26 points in the final quarter and snatched a tough win at the end. Kruz Perrott-Hunt (190-F-00) delivered 21 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Haowen Guo (201-F-00) replied with 25 points for China.
Philippines - Australia 43-77
Australia fired past Philippines in the semifinal clash today. Samson Froling (210-F/C-00) tallied 12 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Aussies. The Emus grabbed a 44:20 halftime lead. They held Philippines to just 23 points in the second half and rallied to the win. Kody Stattmann (194-F/G-00) and Callum Dalton (204-C-00) had 10 points each for the winners. Ariel Edu (210-C-00) responded with 9 points and 10 rebounds for Philippines.
5-8 Place
Bahrain - Japan 85-92 OT
Japan survived an overtime marathon to tame Bahrain in the classification round. Keisei Tominaga (180-G-01) tallied 33 points to lead the charge. Bahrain led throughout the first three quarters. They entered the fourth period up by 14 points. But Japan sank 29 points to force overtime. They added 17 points in the extra period and sealed the win. Keijiro Mitani (189-F-01) had 22 points in the victory. Mustafa Rashed (177-PG-02) replied with 29 points for Bahrain.
Iran - South Korea 89-81
Iran rolled past South Korea to bounce back from the quarterfinal loss. Iran grabbed a 22:11 lead after ten minutes. They went on a 31:17 run in the third term to take a 12-point lead at the final intermission. South Korea sank 23 points in the fourth quarter but could not avert the defeat. Amirhossein Rezaeifar (196-F-00) produced 27 points and 15 rebounds, while Ehsan Dalirzahan (186-G-00) had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners. Hyunjung Lee (192-F-00) replied with 24 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds for South Korea.
