South Korea Beats Japan, Taiwan Misses Out on Qualification
Taiwan, despite two wins over South Korea, failed to advance as South Korea defeated Japan 81-79, while Australia leads with a perfect record.
In the second round of FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Asia, Australia continued its dominant run with convincing victories over Guam (124-52) and the Philippines (92-49). Tyrese Proctor, who made his NBA debut this season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, scored 22 and 16 points respectively.
New Zealand needed double overtime to overcome the Philippines 106-102. After leading by 12 in the second half, they fell behind 96-100 but closed with a 10-2 run to secure the win in a 50-minute battle.
Taiwan rallied from a 63-44 deficit to defeat South Korea 82-80 in overtime on the road. American center Brandon Golbek starred with 26 points and 18 rebounds. However, Taiwan then lost to China 92-74 on neutral ground, ending its qualifying hopes. Meanwhile, South Korea stunned Japan 81-79 on the same day to reclaim a top-three spot. Wooseok Lee led South Korea with 19 points and 7 rebounds. For Japan, naturalized player Josh Hawkinson posted 30 points and 12 rebounds, while former NBA player Yuta Watanabe added 18 points and 11 rebounds.
In other results, Qatar split two games with Saudi Arabia (lost 86-80, won 76-73). Iran, Jordan, and Lebanon continued to dominate their groups. Overall standings show Australia perfect at 6-0, followed by Iran, Jordan, New Zealand, and Lebanon with five wins each.
