2013 FIBA Asia Championship: Hong Kong endures Bahrain comeback tries in classification tiff

(Updated 12:17pm) Hong Kong fended off multiple rally attempts by Bahrain to wind up with an 87-79 victory, Friday at the MOA Arena, in the classification round of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

After finishing with a 0-5 record in Group E, Hong Kong dispatched Bahrain (1-4, Group F) and will play the winner of Japan versus India, to claim ninth place. Bahrain on the other hand will play the loser of that game in order to finish 11th.

Hong Kong zoomed out to a commanding 30-18 first period, but Bahrain stormed back in the second canto to knot the game at 43-all entering the break.

Bahrain led for most of the third, but they were held to just a pair of Mohamed Alderazi triples in the quarter's final five minutes, as a Lee Ki long-bomb gave Hong Kong their first lead of the period, en route to a 63-59 buffer.

Another big run in the fourth by Hong Kong armed them with a 10-point difference, 72-62, but Bahrain had one last blast in them, countering with an 11-2 run to close to within a point, 74-73 with 4:35 left.

Unfortunately for Bahrain, they had nothing left in the tank after that, and a pair of Lee Ki charities made it an eight-point affair, 84-76, with 43 seconds remaining in the game, to wrap this one up.

Duncan Reid had 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists to lead Hong Kong. Lee Ki added 16 markers off the bench, 12 coming via three-pointers, while Fong Shing Yee and Li Kim Wong managed 13 and 12 markers, respectively.
 
Husain Altawash posted a game-best 29 markers on 9-of-14 shooting, along with five rebounds and four assists, versus just one turnover. Mohamed Alderazi and Mohamed Kawaid chimed in with 16 and 14 markers, respectively, off similar 6-of-11 shooting clips from field. However, only three other Bahrain players produced points in the game.

Bahrain lost despite shooting a 56 percent clip from the field, including 11-of-24 (46 percent) on three-pointers. Hong Kong on the other hand was 48 percent from the field, 39 percent from distance. However, Hong Kong boasted of a 35-19 edge in rebounds, giving them a 21-6 difference in second-chance points.  - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Hong Kong 87 - Reid 20, Lee 16, Fong 13, Li 12, Lam 11, Chan 5, Wong 5, Tsz Lai Lau 3, Chan 2, Tung Leung Lau 0

Bahrain 79 - Altawash 29, M. Alderazi 16, M. Kawaid 14, A. Alderazi 11, Akber 5, Azzam 4, Y. Kawaid 0

Quarter scoring: 30-18, 43-43, 63-59, 87-79