Australia are the team to beat in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup because they’re still undefeated in this tournament since the FIBA Asia-Oceania merger happened in 2017.
The Boomers opened their campaign with a wire-to-wire victory over Jordan on Tuesday, and the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 odds are favouring them to come out of their group.
Meanwhile, fellow Asian powerhouses South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Iran, New Zealand, and Lebanon started their campaigns with wins too, and all of them can give Australia a huge run for their money.
Read on below as SBOTOP recaps the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 highlights from the first few days of this tourney.
Australia and Indonesia stand tall in Group A
While claiming the top spot seems like a foregone conclusion for Australia, the second one will be up for grabs between Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
Indonesia momentarily held the top spot after routing Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, 80-54, for their biggest home win in this competition. Few days ago, Indonesia lost to this same Saudi Arabia team during the World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers, so this was a revenge game for them.
NBA G-League standout and naturalized import Marques Bolden set the tone in his Asia Cup debut, finishing with 32 points, 16 rebounds, and six blocks for Indonesia – who also had three other players scoring in double digits.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medalists Australia, meanwhile, have now won two straight games to kick off their campaign – beating Jordan and Saudi Arabia, 78-60 and 76-52, respectively.
Former NBA player Thon Maker also had a strong Asia Cup debut for the Boomers since he notched 23 points and eight rebounds on 57-per cent shooting against Jordan, and then he followed it up with a 16-point, six-rebound performance just a while ago against Saudi Arabia.
South Korea and Chinese Taipei sit atop Group B
South Korea bested China in what was the highly-anticipated matchup on the first day, 93-81, while Chinese Taipei defeated Bahrain in a high-scoring affair, 102-84.
The victory was the Taeguk Warriors’ largest over the Chinese in FIBA-sanctioned competitions since 1997, where they eventually went on to win their last Asia Cup crown.
Ricardo Ratliffe, now known as Ra Gun-Ah, notched 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Heo Hoon and Kang Sang Jae combined for 28 points and made some late crucial baskets to ice the game.
Liu Cheng, on the other hand, exploded for 29 points on 11-for-17 shooting with four three pointers to lead Chinese Taipei during their opening victory against Bahrain.
Chinese Taipei’s defence stymied Bahrain, which led to easy buckets on the other end as they had 23 fast break points and 31 points from turnovers.
Japan and Iran dominant in Group C
Japan dismantled Kazakhstan 100-68, while Iran defeated Syria 80-67, to kick off the action here in Group C.
Even without Wizards forward Rui Hachimura, the Japanese were still too much for the Kazakhs as four different players scored at least 13 points. Yuta Watanabe was their top scorer with 21 points and he also contributed eight rebounds, three blocks, and four assists.
Behnam Yakhchali had a 31-point outburst to lead Iran past Syria. The 27-year-old swingman shot 10-for-16 from the field and knocked down five three-pointers, and he also tallied four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Iran also got a vintage performance from their veteran center Hamed Haddadi as he finished with 11 points, 20 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.
New Zealand and Lebanon lead Group D
New Zealand and Lebanon have also kicked off their campaigns with a bang after defeating India and Philippines with scores of 100-47 and 95-80, respectively.
Seven players scored in double digits for the Tall Blacks as Sam Mennenga had 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and the other players who scored at least 10 points for NZ were Taine Murray, Taylor Britt, Flynn Cameron, Taki Fahrensohn, Sam Timmins, and Kruz Perrott-Hunt.
India only had one double-digit scorer as Arvinnd Kumar Muthu Krishnan had 13 points.
The Cedars were able to come away with a double-digit win over Gilas Pilipinas, but it didn’t come as easy as most would’ve expected.
The Philippines outscored Lebanon 27-22 in the first period, but Lebanon answered with a 15-3 run in the next quarter and never looked back. Gilas Pilipinas, though, did cut their deficit to as low as nine points in the fourth quarter but eventually fell short.
Wael Arakji spearheaded Lebanon’s charge with 20 points and four assists, while Jonathan Arledge and Hayk Gyokchyan had 19 points apiece.
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