Tournament MVP:Hu Wei-Dong, China (198cm, G/F)

   CHINA BEAT SOUTH KOREA, GRABBED LAST TICKET TO SYDNEY
China won their 11th Asian men's basketball title and the only birth in Asia in the Sydney Olympics when they defeated defending champion  South Korea 63-45 on September 5th.
 The Koreans led 15-13 in the early going but soon trailed 21-29 at the half. Cho Sung-Won's three-pointer with eight minutes remaining in the second half cut China's lead to 38-42, but that's the closest they can get. China's Hu Wei-Dong, who was selected the MVP in the tournament,
buried three three-pointers in the last four minutes to seal the win.  
Hu scored team-high 16 points while Gong Xiao-Bin contributed 15. NBA Dallas Mavericks draft pick Wang Zhi-Zhi collected 10 points, 8  rebounds and 3 blocks in 27 minutes. Korea was led by Kang Dong-Hee's 10 points. Center Seo Jang-Hoon had 9 points and 6 rebounds.
 Known for a dangerous shooting team, South Korea was limited by China's brilliant defense on the perimeter, shooting for a miserable 5-19 from three-point range. Korea also lost to China 92-112 in last year's Asian Games in Bangkok.
 China coach Jiang Xing-Quan praised his team's defense and work on the boards. China grabbed the only spot Asia receives from Sydney Olympics and will look for improving their 8^th place finish both in '94 World Championships and '96 Atlanta Olympics.
 In the consolation game, Saudi Arabia regained their momentum in the second half and trounced favorite Taiwan 93-67 to win the third place, the highest finish in their Asian Championship history starting from 1989.
 Ali Al Maghrabi tallied 36 points and led Saudi Arabia from 38-39 halftime deficit to complete the come-from-behind win. Saudi Arabia outscored Taiwan 55-28 in the second 20 minutes.
 Taiwan led 12-4 in the beginning and trailed only by one, 51-52, with 13 1/2 minutes remaining. However they were upset by several calls that didn't went their way and collapsed in the last 10 minutes.
 The 21th Asian Men's Basketball Championship will be held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2001.

  RESULTS
9/5
FINAL:China 63-45 South Korea(29-21)
CONSOLATION:Saudi Arabia 93-67 Taiwan(38-39)
9/4
SEMI I: China 105-51 Taiwan(50-28)
SEMI II:South Korea 85-59 Saudi Arabia(42-30)
CLASSIFICATION GAMES
9/4
5th & 6th:Japan 77-61 Kuwait(45-25)
7th & 8th:Lebanon 61-60 Syria(27-34)
9/3
9th & 10th:Uzbekistan 70-56 UAE(42-22)
11th & 12th:Philippines 83-75 Bahrain(46-31)
13th & 14th:Hong Kong 68-53 Thailand(39-22)

Day6 / September 2
  SURPRISE!! TAIWAN UPSET JAPAN, BACK TO THE FINAL FOUR
 Taiwan NT got back their top shooting form in time to shock host Japan ,77-68, in their must-win game and grabbed the final spot in the Asian Basketball Championship's final four.
 Taiwan will face powerful China, which won 10 of the previous 19 Asian Basketball Championships, in semifinal. Defending champion South Korea will face Saudi Arabia, which finished fourth in 1997, in the other semi.
 Lo Shin-Liang and Cheng Chih-Lung, Taiwan's most prolific scorers, put the nightmarish performance in the South Korea game behind them and tallied 25p and 24p each and led Taiwan to its first final four birth since 1995.
 Taiwan NT, which shot 47% from the field in the game, used its sweet perimeter shooting to kickstart the game and led 31-21 with 5:01 remaining in the first half. But Japan's PG Kenichi Sako made a three- pointer to start a 12-0 spurt and led 37-36 at the half.
 With Michael Takahashi(19rb) and Dan Weiss(14rb) dominating the board, Japan was able to maintain its lead most of the second half. They still led 62-57 with 5 1/2 minutes to go, when Taiwan made its last push.
 Cheng Chih-Lung's six straight points ignited Taiwan's 10-0 run, capped  by Lo Shin-Liang's three-pointer. But after Taiwan jumped back to take the lead 69-62 with two minutes remaining, they made only 4 out of 10 free throws. Meanwhile, Takehiko Orimo made two quick three-point shot to make it 68-73 with under a minute to go. However, Japan could not score any point. Taiwan finally walked away and seal the surprising victory after Cheng and Lo swished four consecutive foul shots.
 Taiwan trailed 33-50 in rebounding but commited only seven tourovers. Guard Yen Shin-Shu contributed 13 points. Japan's leading scorers  Takehiko Orimo and Makoto Hasegawa shot a combined 9-31. As a team, they shot a poorly 35% from the field.
 Japan's headcoach Mototaka Kohama immediately resigned from the post after the defeat, citing he could not take the team to a higher level. Takehiko's 16 points led the team.

  SECOND ROUND FINAL RESULTS
---------------------------------------------------------
Group E(1-8)
China 107-67 Lebanon(52-39)
Saudi Arabia 93-80 Kuwait(47-40)
Group F(1-8)
Taiwan 77-68 Japan(36-37)
South Korea 70-62 Syria(30-38)
Group G(9-15)
UAE 88-75 Malaysia(47-42)
Bahrain 93-70 Hong Kong(39-50)
Group H(9-15)
Uzbekistan 83-71 Thailand(44-34)

Day 5/September 1
  SOUTH KOREA EDGED JAPAN, AIMING ON REMATCH AGAINST CHINA
Host Japan lost its most crucial second round game to long time nemisis South Korea, 61-64. Japan will have to defeat Taiwan today to advance to the semifinals. However, potential matchup with China in the semi virtually declare Japan has no chance to finish better than 3rd place.
Defending champion South Korea stormed back from nine points down in the second half to win the game. Korea's brilliant team defense proved to be the winning factor, limiting the inside attack of Japan's fearsome frontcourt, 6-6 Michael Takahashi and 6-9 Dan Weiss, throughout the whole game.
 With Korea rallying to reclaim the lead, 60-58, in the last minute. Japan's PG Kenichi Sako knocked down a three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining to go and made it 61-60, Japan. But Hur Jae and Cho Sung-Won scored the last four points of the game to seal the win. Korea also led 34-31 at halftime.
 Michael Takahashi scored 6 points and pulled down only five rebounds in 33 minutes. Japan's backcourt was still awesome. Makoto Hasegawa tallied 20 points and Takehiko Orimo contributed 14.
 Korea is now 24-13 all-time vs Japan and secured its top place in Group F with two straight wins, which means they will avoid playing China in the cross-over semifinals. Japan and Taiwan, with 1-1 each, will face each other today for the place against China in the semi.

Taiwan regained its top form and defeated Syria 89-81 in the day's last game. Lo shin-Liang led with 25 points. Huang Chun-Hsiun scored 18p and Hsu Chi-Chao 17. Cheng Chih-Lung collected 11 points. Taiwan trailed 33-35 in rebounding but shot 59% from 2-PT range and 52% for 3-PT.

China crushed Saudi Arabia 85-56 for their second straight second round wins and clinched the top place in Group E. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will fight for the last final four spot today.

  RESULTS

Group E(1-8)
Kuwait 86-81 Lebanon(40-45)
China 85-56 Saudi Arabia(44-22)
Group F(1-8)
South Korea 64-61 Japan(34-31)
Taiwan 89-81 Syria(39-37)
Standing:South Korea 2-0,Japan 1-1,Taiwan 1-1,Syria 0-2
Group G(9-15)
UAE 94-88 Hong Kong(41-41)
Bahrain 90-85 Malaysia(44-37)
Standing:UAE 2-0, Hong Kong 1-1,Bahrain 1-1,Malaysia 0-2
Group H(9-15)
Philippines 82-58 Thailand(46-31)
Standing:Uzbekistan 1-0,Philippines 1-1,Thailand 0-1

  Taiwan lost to Korea in the heartbreaker.
 DEATH GROUP, indeed. Taiwan's hot shooting finally comes to an end and lost to defending champion South Korea 54-61. The loss seemingly cost them the ticket in the final four.
 Led by Seo Joong-Hoon and Hoon Joo-Yup's inside attack, Korea exposed Taiwan's most glaring weakness--interior offense and defense. Seo  scored 21 and Hoon contributed 11. Korea led 34-20 at halftime and was never threatened by Taiwan.
 South Korea sent its 193cm F/G Kim Young-Mun on Taiwan's Lo Shin-Liang , who were 21-27 from the field and averaged 28.5 ppg in Taiwan's first two wins, and it paid off. Lo scored only seven points in the game.
 Taiwan was led again by Cheng Chih-Lung's 16 points. 200cm F/C Huang Chun-Hsiun scored 11 on three 3-PT in the second half. Cheng and Huang were the only two that reached double-figure.
 Host Japan demonstrated its outstanding defense to cruise by Syria, 78-58. They won their first four games by an eye-whopping 38 ppg and looks like a lock to win the group F.
 In the other games, Saudi Arabia surprisingly pounded Lebanon 92-69. Powerhouse China passed Kuwait 91-54 with no problem and averaged 33.7 in winning margins in three games.

   RESULTS
GROUP E(1-8)
Saudi Arabia 92-69 Lebanon(48-44)
China 91-54 Kuwait(41-20)
GROUP F(1-8)
Japan 78-58 Syria(38-27)
South Korea 61-54 Taiwan(34-20)
GROUP G(9-15)
UAE 79-72 Bahrain(28-34)
Hong Kong 89-59 Malaysia(44-32)
GROUP H(9-15)
Uzbekistan 94-64 Philippines(52-30)
(Notes) International recruiting and scouting has expended to Asia. Several pro scouts and big-name coaches are observing on the sideline,  including Seattle SuperSonics scout Dwayne Casey. Former LSU coach Dale Brown and former University of Hawaii coach Bruce O'Neal will arrive in Japan on September 1. Casey's No.1 target is China's 7-6 center Yao Ming. He will also take a look at Chen Hsin-An, the 6-3 high-flying forward/guard of Taiwan.
TAIWAN, KOREA AND JAPAN CLASH IN "DEATH GROUP"
 With the preliminary games concluded, brackets are set for the ensuing second round. Korea's loss to Lebanon not only dropped them to 2nd in Group A but also makes the outlook of the second round even more interesting.
Korea, Japan Taiwan and Syria are in the Group F, also called "Death Group", while heavy-favorite China, Lebanon, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are in the much more predictable Group E. With Taiwan, Japan and defending champ Korea in the same group, one of them will be left out of the semifinals and go home dissappointed.
Meanwhile, teams failed to advance to the second round are bracketd to Group G & H and will start playing round-robin games today also.

  Day 3, August 30
Group A
South Korea 88-51 UAE(51-26)
Lebanon 60-50 Philippines
Group B
Japan 86-39 Kuwait(44-21)
Thailand 89-82 Hong Kong(45-47)
Group C
Syria 92-62 Malaysia(48-26)
Group D
Taiwan 68-59 Bahrain
Saudi Arabia 82-63 Uzbekistan

  Day 2, August 29
LEBANON UPSET DEFENDING CHAMP SOUTH KOREA
Lebanon shocked South Korea 75-65 with the biggest upset in the Asian Basketball Championship so far and dropped South Korean to 1-1. South Korea has to knock out UAE today to advance to the second round.
 Rumors said it was South Koreans' tactics to lose the game on purpose in order to dodge super-power China in the cross-over semifinals. It looks like South Korea will join Japan, Taiwan and probably Syria in the second round bracket.
 If they manage to finish first in the group, they will face the other group's No.2 seed in the semi. It will not be China, of course. Thus South Korea can save the last battle with China to the championship game.
 Meanwhile, Taiwan's duo Cheng Chih-Lung and Lo Shin-Liang were both unstoppable in the first two game. Cheng averaged 24.5 and Lo averaged an astounding 28.5ppg. Taiwan NT shot extremely well from the outside as a team also. In both wins, they were 65% and 62%, respectively, from 2-PT range and 50% and 67% from 3-PT territory. They are on a high now and can probably achieve their somewhat impossible mission: gain back their top four status in Asian basketball.

  Results
Group A
Lebanon 75-65 South Korea(40-34)
UAE 95-81 Philippines(56-44)
Group B
Japan 88-58 Hong Kong(38-31)
Kuwait 113-80 Thailand(56-43)
Group C
China 112-61 Syria(63-17)
Group D
Uzbekistan 62-47 Bahrain(28-20)
Taiwan 92-78 Saudi Arabia(50-36)
(Note)Lo Shin-Liang 28p, Cheng Chih-Lung 21p, Chou Hung-Yu 16p,
Huang Chun-Shiung 12p....Team shooting 62% from 2PT range and 10-15 from 3PT line....

Day 1, 28/8/99
Some interesting results in the first day of the tournament. 35 difference in the game between S.Korea and Philippines is really huge. Japan was even better defeating Thailand by ...47 points.

Group A(Halftime score)
  South Korea 98-63 Philippines(58-38)
  Lebanon 75-70 UAE(36-43)
Group B
  Japan 85-38 Thailand(39-19)
  Kuwait 88-62 Hong Kong(33-41)
Group C
  China 54-41 Malaysia(34-22)
Group D
  Saudi Arabia 79-63 Bahrain(32-28)
  Taiwan 90-82 Uzbekistan(41-35) (Lo Shin-Liang 29p, Cheng Chih-Lung 28p, Huang Chun-Shun 15rb)
  Taiwan's shooting was outstanding, 65% in 2pt FG, 50% in 3pt FG and led 25-21 in rebounding versus the taller Uzbek team

  Format:
15 participating teams will be divided into 4 groups and each team shall play all the other teams within each group. Top two finishers from each group will advance to the Quarter-finals. Eight teams qualified for the Quarter-finals will be divided into two groups of 4 teams each in the following manner:
Group I : A1,B2,C1,D2
Group II: A2,B1,C2,D1
Top two finisher from both groups will advance to the cross-over Semi-finals:
I-1 vs II-2
I-2 vs II-1
Winners of the semi-finals will compete for 1st place and the losers for 3rd place.

  North Korea and Kazakhstan pulled out of the tournament 
for unspecified reason, leaving Group C with only two teams. ABC immediately added Malaysia into the bracket.