FIBA-Asia by the numbers

It’s the Day of Reckoning in the 27th FIBA-Asia Championships at the Mall of Asia Arena tonight as yesterday’s semifinal winners battle for the crown in the climax of the grueling grind that began last Aug. 1. China was struck out of the Final Four after losing to Chinese-Taipei in the knockout quarterfinals last Friday but Japan, runner-up in the FIBA-Asia Cup in Tokyo last year, suffered a more painful fate as the Land of the Rising Sun didn’t even make it beyond the second round of eliminations.

The two finalists in the previous FIBA-Asia Championships in Wuhan two years ago crashed out of contention in the quarterfinals. Jordan was first to the exits then China. In Wuhan, China nipped Jordan, 70-69, for the gold medal. This year, China and Jordan failed to advance to the semifinals. The Philippines and Korea are the only repeat semifinalists.

Here’s a rundown of the FIBA-Asia Championships by the numbers.

2 – females in the pool of 26 FIBA-Asia licensed referees assigned for the tournament, Snehal Bendke of India and Ling Peng of China. Bendke worked the game where the Philippines beat Kazakhstan, 88-58, in the quarterfinals while Peng was in the crew for the Philippines’ 90-71 decision over Japan.

3 – Filipino referees selected to work in the tournament, Ferdinand (Bong) Pascual, Glenn Cornelio and Ricor Buaron.

42 – the age of the most senior player in the competitions, Bahrain’s Ahmed Aman who averaged 1.8 points and 12 minutes in four games up to last Friday.

17 – the age of the youngest player Satnam Singh Bhamara of India.

10 – teenage players listed in rosters, namely, Bhamara, 17, Japan’s Yuta Watanabe, 18, Malaysia’s Lok Seng Mak, 18, China’s Guo Ailun, 19, China’s Wang Zhelin, 19, Korea’s Choi Jun Yong, 19, Korea’s Lee Jong Hyun, 19, Kazakhstan’s Alexandr Zhigulin, 19, Thailand’s Anasawee Klaewnarong, 19 and Saudi Arabia’s Nassir Abo Jalas, 19.

4 – FIBA-Asia licensed commissioners designated to oversee every game on a rotation basis. The list includes Jakarta-based Filipino Riel Banaria who is the Asean Basketball League supervisor of officials. Banaria has worked NBA summer league games in the US as a referee.

4 – FIBA-Asia licensed supervisors who take turns in evaluating the performance of every official assigned in each game. Filipino Danny Soria is one of the four.

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135 – twin and single rooms paid for by the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for 15 16-man teams at the Dusit Thani Hotel.

4 – hotels booked by the LOC for official delegates of the FIBA-Asia Championships. Dusit Thani Hotel is for the teams. Manila Diamond Hotel is for the referees. Manila Hotel is for the FIBA and FIBA-Asia working staff. Sofitel Hotel is for the high-ranking executives of FIBA and FIBA-Asia.

8 – foreign coaches with different teams, namely, China’s Panagiotis Giannakis of Greece, Jordan’s Evangelos Alexandris of Greece, Bahrain’s Sasa Nikitovic of Serbia, Qatar’s Tom Wisman of the US (naturalized Australian), India’s Scott Flemming of the US, Iran’s Memi Becirovic of Slovenia, Kazakhstan’s Matteo Boniciolli of Italy and Saudi Arabia’s Nenad Krdzic of Serbia.

8 – naturalized players with different teams, namely, the Philippines’ Marcus Douthit, Chinese-Taipei’s Quincy Davis, Kazakhstan’s Jerry Johnson, Qatar’s Jarvis Hayes, South Korea’s Eric Sandrin (Lee Seung Jun), Japan’s J. R. Henderson (Sakuragi), Bahrain’s C. J. Giles and Jordan’s Jimmy Baxter. Sandrin could’ve qualified as a local, being half-Korean and half-American, but obtained his Korean passport only four years ago at the age of 31. He would’ve been eligible as a local if he acquired Korean citizenship before turning 16 under FIBA rules.

$9,600 – the fine paid by China for replacing three players from its 12-man lineup before the tournament started. FIBA-Asia secretary-general Hagop Khajirian said each player replacement carries a fine of $3,200. Under FIBA rules, a team may replace players from its 12-man roster only from a previously submitted 24-man pool. China replaced Liu Wei, Han Shuo and Li Muhao with Guo Ailun, Zhu Fangyu and Wang Zhizhi.

15 – nations participating at the 27th FIBA-Asia Championships. The limit should have been 16 but Lebanon was disqualified by FIBA because of squabbling within its internal federation. With Lebanon out, Group B contenders Japan, Qatar and Hong Kong got a free ride into the second round of eliminations.

P80 Million – estimated budget to host the FIBA-Asia Championships in Manila, including fees for marketing and TV rights.

6 – NBA veterans playing in the tournament, namely, China’s Wang Zhizhi, Sun Yue and Yi Jianlian, Iran’s Hamed Haddadi, Japan’s J. R. Henderson and Qatar’s Jarvis Hayes.

5 – Hong Kong players six-feet and under, namely, 6-footers Lam Man Chun, Lau Tsz Lai and Li Kim Wong, 5-11 Chan Siu Wing and 5-10 Lee Ki. Despite a small lineup, Hong Kong gave the Philippines a scare before losing, 67-55. But last Friday, Hong Kong chalked up its first win in the tournament, shocking Bahrain, 87-79. Bahrain listed five DNPs (Did Not Play), including import C. J. Giles who left Manila after suffering a knee injury last Tuesday.

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13 – three-point conversions by the Philippines in blasting Kazakhstan, 88-58, in the quarterfinals last Friday. Accounting for the triples were Gary David with four, Jayson Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo and Gabe Norwood two apiece and L. A. Tenorio, Jeff Chan and Larry Fonacier one each. Gilas took 30 attempts from the three-point arc and shot 43 percent.

9-to-22 – China’s assist-to-turnover ratio in losing to Iran, 70-51, in the first round of eliminations last Aug. 3. Only four Chinese players contributed at least one assist while 10 committed at least one turnover. Wang Shipeng was the least efficient in the cast with zero assist and six turnovers.

23 – the age of Gilas’ youngest player JuneMar Fajardo. The Philippines lists seven players 30 and over, namely Jimmy Alapag, 35, Gary David, 35, Marcus Douthit, 33, Larry Fonacier, 31, Marc Pingris, 31, Ranidel de Ocampo, 31 and Jeff Chan, 30. The others in the team are Japeth Aguilar, 26, Jayson Castro, 27, Gabe Norwood, 27, and L. A. Tenorio, 29.

19,638 – attendance at the Mall of Asia Arena when Chinese-Taipei beat the Philippines, 84-79, last Aug. 3. Taiwan hit 15-of-30 triples to notch the win, shooting 54 percent from the field overall. The Philippines sat on a 13-point lead entering the fourth period but was outscored 29-11 in the last 10 minutes.

24 – assists the Philippines collected in downing Japan, 90-71, last Aug. 5. Japan committed 19 turnovers to Gilas’ 10 and the Philippines had a huge lead in turnover points, 22-4. Alapag compiled six assists to lead the facilitators. Only two Filipinos scored in double figures, Douthit with 19 and Chan with 16.

45 – the Philippines’ rank in FIBA world standings. Eight Asian countries are above the Philippines in the ladder – No. 11 China, No. 20 Iran, No. 25 Lebanon, No. 30 Jordan, No. 33 South Korea, No. 35 Japan, No. 36 Qatar and No. 42 Chinese-Taipei. The FIBA rankings are tabulated within two Olympic cycles.