Kazakhstan beat Japan 77-72 in Doha yesterday to advance to the
quarter-finals of the Doha Asian Games men's basketball tournament as third
finisher from Group B.
Kazakhstan, Japan and Chinese Taipei all finished the group action with three
wins against two losses, but Japan placed second due to better points won-loss
ratio.
Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei, who settled for the third and fourth place in
the group, also made it to top eight.
Kazakhstan opened the fourth quarter with a 10-3 run for a 66-54 lead. Japan
pulled within 66-62 with three minutes and 33 seconds left on back of an 8-0
burst, capped by a dunk and a free throw from Kosuke Takeuchi, but that's the
closet they could go.
Anton Ponomarev led Kazakhstan with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Earlier on Sunday, Chinese Taipei swept Uzbekistan 106-69.
