MANILA -- The race to the last Asian spots in the FIBA World Cup will now boil down to the final day of the qualifiers after Jordan mauled China and Lebanon was subdued by New Zealand early Saturday (Philippine time).
Behind a great start from Zaid Abbas and an explosion from Dar Tucker, Jordan pulled off a huge upset by zapping China, 86-62, at the Prince Hamzah Hall in Amman.
Tucker finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and one steal, while Abbas added 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, one block, and one assist for Jordan.
Mohammad Hussein got a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds on top of one assist, and one steal.
Later in the day, Tom Abercrombie scored the game-winning triple with 18.8 seconds left as the Kiwis gave the Lebanese side a dent in its own FIBA WC bid with a 69-67 win at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in Zouk Mikael, Lebanon.
Mika Vukona found Abercrombie open from top of the key to give New Zealand the lead.
Wael Arakji had one more chance to give Lebanon the win at home, but he missed his three-point attempt and Vukona picked his inbound pass with only 0.4 second left.
Abercrombie finished with 19 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals for the already qualified New Zealand, which moved up to 10-1 in Group E play.
Finn Delany added 15 markers and eight boards.
Ali Haidar put up 16 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and two steals for Lebanon, which fell to a three-way tie with Jordan for third to fifth places at 6-5.
The result further complicated the race as Jordan, Lebanon, and even Gilas Pilipinas need to beat their last opponents and hope that at least one of the other two loses to get in.
Jordan will host New Zealand, Lebanon takes on South Korea at home, and Gilas plays at Kazakhstan at simultaneous 10:30 p.m. tip-offs Sunday night (Philippine time). (PNA)
