FIBA Asia Challenge Cup - Day 3 (Photo : FIBA / HoopNut)
Day 3 of the FIBA Asia Challenge will feature the Philippines going up against East Asia rival Chinese Taipei at 7:45 p.m US ET and tourney favorite Iran taking on Iraq at 10:00 p.m.
Philippines vs. Chinese Taipei:
Smart Gilas 5.0, the latest of reincarnation of the Philippines men's basketball team, had a reality check in their first international game since their formation just several weeks ago. This new group of amateur and college basketball players fought hard but eventually fell short against more battle-tested Indians 91-83 on Day 1.
After taking a day off, the Filipinos is scheduled to plunge back to action, and this time, they will be taking on a much tougher team in the form of Chinese Taipei, who clobbered India 99-60.
While Chinese Taipei is basically parading their Team-B, this group is nevertheless reinforced by several pro players and their ever reliable naturalized player, Quincy Davis III.
The Philippines will be leaning their hopes on Mark Belo and Ed Daquioag, who recorded 21 and 15 points respectively in the opener. Again, Chinese Taipei is going to be a lot tougher matchup for the Filipinos, mainly because they have experience playing together and Davis is there patrolling the middle.
Iran vs. Iraq:
Anytime this Middle East nations collide, expect fireworks to happen. Iran, the overwhelming favorite in the tournament, opened their campaign with an 81-49 demolition over Qatar. Iraq surprised everybody on Day 2 after pulling off a clinical performance over Qatar 71-54 to set up an intriguing clash with their rival nation on Day 3.
Hamed Haddadi, Arsalan Kazemi and Oshin Sahakian lived up the billing as Iran's formidable threesome, dominating the play on both ends of the floor. Iraq, meanwhile, needs more firepower from Kevin Dwayne Galloway, who registered 21 points and 3 dimes in the game against Qatar.
FIBA Asia Challenge Cup will be streamed online on Sports5.ph while live scores, stats and results can be followed on FIBA Asia Challenge Cup stats. Highlights and updates of Challenge Cup Day 3 can be found on FIBA Asia Youtube.
