Filed under: Basketball, International Play | Tags: China, Fadih El Khatib, Fiba, FIBA Asia, Hu Xuefeng, Jackson Vroman, Lebanon, Rony Fahed, Wang Zhizhi, Yi Jianlian
With both teams knotted at 68, China’s back-up point guard Hu Xuefeng shot a three ball at the top of the key that is well-contested by Lebanon’s Rony Fahed.
Well, that’s what I saw and that was what the replay showed- a nice contest from the Lebanese guard that forced the shot to miss.
Unfortunately for Lebanon, a referee blew the whistle, indicating a foul against Fahed which should’ve been a no-call scenario.
Why? because again, Fahed did a great job on putting up his both hands to bother Xuefeng’s shot. It was a clean contest. Credit the good defense for Christ’s sake. Fahed’s hands were just right up there and when it came down to the body, still no contact. If you have watched what happened (whether on your TV sets or live in the Tianjin Gym) clearly, it was supposedly a non-call.
If Mr. Whistleblower made the right call, and just decided to stop blowing (pun intended), with still much time left (a little over a minute) and with the momentum in Lebanon’s favor, Fadih El Khatib and his boys may have pulled off a win that would leave more than 1 billion Chinese (including Jackie Chan and Jet Li) people stunned.
But instead, Xuefeng went on to sink two of three free-throws that eventually gave his team the lead for good at 72-70.
Lebanon, who looked robbed due to the errand call, still had the chance to tie but Brian Feghali surprisingly went for a three-point shot from way downtown that barely grazed the rim.
Though Lebanon still had a chance in the end, the Refs still decided the outcome of the game. Why didn’t they just let the players play, you know what I mean? The contest may have gone into OT where anything can happen. It’s a freaking knockout game and it really sucks for it to end that way.
Call it ‘breaks of the game’ but, it just broke a somewhat frantic finish awaiting to happen.
Anyway, China went on to win by four, 72-68 capped by the two free-throws from Nets forward Yi Jianlian, who finished with 18 points. Former NBA player Wang Zhi Zhi topscored for the Chinese squad with 20 points.
Lebanon was led by their big man, Jackson Vroman, who had a game-high 27 points.
China advances to the title game as they look to regain there ground as Asian Champions when they battle defending Asian champion Iran while, Lebanon will continue to hope for a non-call in the end game as it tries to bounce back against Jordan for a third place finish.
With the win, China and Iran are officially VIP’s come 2010 at the World Championships in Turkey, while whoever wins the battle for third will merit the remaining invitation for a crack at the World tilt.
Filed under: Basketball, International Play | Tags: FIBA Asia, Gabe Norwood, Jordan, Rasheim Wright, RP Team
RP’s drive towards Turkey for the 2010 World Championships ended in China, as it ran into a brick wall built by the better Jordan squad.
Jordan gave us a reality-check on who’s who in Asian basketball after piercing an 81-70 win right in the heart of the RP squad in the 25th FIBA-Asia Championship at the Tianjin Gym in China.
Jordan actually withstood a storming 11-1 blitz by the Filipinos in the early part of the final period to cut a previously 15-point deficit down to five, 68-63, courtesy of back-to-back triples by Gabe Norwood and a fastbreak lay-up by Cyrus Baguio.
But Jordan finally broke its scoring drought, as Naturalized Jordanian Rasheim Wright, who finished with a game-high 21 points, scored on a momentum-stopping lay up that gave his team a seven-point cushion at the five-minute mark of the last period.
The Nationals tried, but failed to make another surge as the Jordanian defense toughened up. RP was lead by Norwood’s 11 point-output.
The loss tear RP’s outright ticket to play in the World Championships in Turkey next year.
Triangle Offense 