CHENZHOU (FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016) - Al Shorta of Iraq and Al Rayyan of Qatar notched separate wins today to finish at fifth and seventh places respectively at the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016 in Chenzhou, China.

Al Rayyan bucked a slow start to beat Kazakhstan’s Barsy Atyrau, 84-78, and finish seventh place. The Kazakhs had the jump on the Qataris, leading after the first quarter, 30-14, but Al Rayyan won all the remaining three periods to rally and prevail.

Not surprisingly, import Preston Knowles shone brightest for Al Rayyan, hitting 18 of his 30 field goals to finish just shy of the half-century mark at 49 points. He also made 3 triples, grabbed 2 rebounds and had 2 assists. Hassan Mohamed and Yehia Abdelhaleem — both pegged as the future leaders of the national team — also did well, scoring 15 and 13 points respectively as Al Rayyan finished their tournament with a 2-win, 5-loss record.

As for Barsy Atyrau, they were paced by the 22 points and 16 rebounds of Pavel Micheev. Import Trevin Parks finally broke out, scoring 18 points to go along with 10 boards and 6 assists, but it was just too little, too late for the Kazakh side, who go home with a solitary win in seven outings.

In the day’s second contest, Al Shorta of Iraq outlasted Pauian of Chinese Taipei, 81-72, to claim fifth place overall. DeAndre Rice came through for Al Shorta, pouring in 32 points on 11-of-16 field goal shooting, including hitting 6 triples. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and issued 4 assists in a scintillating display of versatility. Fellow import Justin Hawkins also filled up the stat-sheet with 17 points and 8 rebounds, while Alaa Al-Saedi delivered a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double in the huge Iraqi win.

Al Shorta trailed early on, but they regained their bearings in the second quarter and held on for their fourth win in seven games.

This result gives Pauian a 3-win, 4-loss slate and puts them at sixth place. Eliott Tan led them here with 19 points, while naturalized player Quincy Davis added 18 points and 18 boards.

RESULTS:

Game for 7th place:
Al Rayyan beat Barsy Atyrau, 84-78

Game for 5th place:
Al Shorta beat Pauian, 81-72


FIBA