The semifinal round of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship is set for Saturday, as Iran looks to continue its dominance in a contest against the scrappy team from Chinese Taipei, and the host team from the Philippines battles Korea. Several classification games in the consolation bracket will also take place, as China takes on Jordan and Kazakhstan clashes with Qatar.
Here's a brief look at the schedule for Saturday (all times Eastern):
Iran (7-0) vs. Chinese Taipei (6-1), 5:45 a.m. ET
Iran has won each of its games by a double-digit margin in the tournament, and opponents have struggled to slow down Hamed Haddadi, but Chinese Taipei has played well in big moments, surprising the competition at the FIBA Asia event. Fresh off an upset win over China, Chinese Taipei won't take the Iranians by surprise. The team has rebounded well throughout the tournament, but if Chinese Taipei hopes to advance to the finals, it will likely need to have a good day shooting from beyond the arc. Chinese Taipei holds a significant advantage in that department (41.5 percent vs. 35.7 percent) over Iran through the first seven games. Quincy Davis played very well in the upset win over China -- he scored a game-high 26 points on 12-of-13 shooting -- and another big game from him would also go a long way toward helping Chinese Taipei to survive and advance.
Philippines (6-1) vs. Korea (6-1), 8:30 a.m. ET
The Philippines has emerged as a formidable host, and after an impressive 88-55 win over Kazakhstan on Friday, the team will have a chance to earn a spot in the finals. Marcus Douthit leads the squad in scoring for the tournament with 93 points on 46.1 percent shooting over seven contests, but he did break his streak of double-digit scoring games at six by only scoring five points in 23 minutes against Kazakhstan. He will need to turn in a better performance in the semifinals for the Philippines to play at its peak level.
Classification Games (5-8)
Jordan (3-4) vs. China (4-3), 3 a.m. ET -- Yi Jianlian played well for China in the quarterfinals (22 points, 10 rebounds), but Sun Yue continued to struggled and went scoreless over 20 minutes in the loss. For the tournament, Sun Yue has made just six of his 37 field goal attempts (16.2 percent) and dished out 18 assists over 149 minutes. Both players will get a chance to help China bounce back against a talented team from Jordan.
Kazakhstan (3-4) vs. Qatar (4-2), 10:30 a.m. ET -- Kazakhstan struggled to score in its quarterfinal loss against the Philippines as the team hit 21-of-69 attempts from the field (30.4 percent), so the easy answer on how to get a better result in its classification game on Saturday is to hit more shots and play a more consistent brand of offensive basketball.
Classification Games (9-12)
Bahrain (2-5) vs. India (1-6), 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday
Japan (2-4) vs. Hong Kong (1-5), 12:45 a.m. ET on Saturday
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