Point guard Ryusei Shinoyama scored 16 points to lead Japan to its third win of the FIBA Asia Challenge in Tehran on Wednesday, beating Qatar 79-65 and in the process setting up a quarterfinal clash with Jordan.
Shinoyama, 28, had his second standout performance of the tournament, shooting 7-for-8 from the floor and adding four rebounds and four assists .
Japan led the entire game and by as many as 19 points, but Qatar rallied to trim the lead to one (64-63) with around five minutes left. Japan then closed out the game on a 15-2 run.
Japan now faces a Jordanian team that has won four-straight after dropping its first game of the tournament. The Middle Eastern squad finished second in Group E behind China on points difference.
The key to Japan reaching the semifinal will be stopping Jordan's Dar Tucker-Zaid Abbas, one-two punch.
Tucker, a shooting guard who was born in Michigan, United States, and played college ball at De Paul University is averaging a tournament-leading 27.4 points as well as 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. His teammate Abbas is averaging 17.8 points and 6.6 rebounds.