Australia, Iran advance to FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals
Monitoring Desk
JEDDAH: At the final day of the group phase games, the reigning two-time champions Australia and Iran claimed the top spot with a perfect 3-0 record to directly advance to the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 quarterfinals.
On Sunday night, Australia beat Qatar, 110-82, at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah to clinch the top spot in Group A. The Boomers will now wait for the winner between hosts Saudi Arabia and the Philippines in the qualification round on Monday to determine their opponents in the final eight, which starts Wednesday.
Ranked 1st in Asia on the FIBA World Rankings, the Australian Boomers are chasing a third consecutive title in FIBA Asia Cup 2025. (FIBA photo) Iran also completed a clean sweep of Group B, shaking off a slow first half to overwhelm Syria 82-43. The three-time Asia Cup champions improved to 3-0, setting up a last-eight meeting with the winner of the Chinese Taipei vs. Jordan clash in the qualification to quarterfinals.
Syria’s loss marked the end of their Asia Cup run, finishing 0-3, with the other losses inflicted by Japan and Guam. In other games on Sunday night, Japan caught fire from deep and never looked back, routing Guam 102-63 to seal second place in Group B en route to the final phase. South Korea beat Lebanon, 97-86, to reach the final phase. More than the statistical feat, Team Korea have clinched the no. 2 spot in Group A and are bound to face Group B’s no. 3 team in Guam in the qualification to quarter-finals. On Monday night, the winner of the Saudi Arabia-Gilas Pilipinas matchup will move on to the quarterfinals to face Australia, the no. 1 team in Group A. On the same day, Chinese Taipei takes on Jordan and the Chinese team enters the game with a 2-1 record, second in Group D after beating the Philippines and Iraq before falling to New Zealand. Jordan, meanwhile, finished third in Group C with a 1-2 mark, their lone win coming against India.
