BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The remaining four Asian spots at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup have been taken by Japan, Iran, the Philippines and Jordan.
In the second round of the qualifiers (window three to window six), the three best-placed teams from two Asian groups and a best fourth-placed team were to qualify for the 2019 World Cup.
Australia, New Zealand and South Korea had already secured tickets to China, with the host nation also advancing directly into the finals.
After a slow start to qualification in which they lost their first four games, Japan crushed Qatar 96-48 on Sunday to secure second place in Group F, with U.S.-born Nick Fazekas contributing 20 points and 19 rebounds.
"I am a really happy coach today, [happy] that we go to the World Cup in September," said Japan's Argentinian coach Julio Lamas.
Jordan and Iran also hopped on the World Cup bus after grabbing third place in Group E and F respectively.
In what was a nip-and-tuck affair all throughout, Jordan proved sterner than New Zealand by game's end to nail their seventh win of the Asian qualifiers 86-80 on last Sunday.
Dar Tucker had another big game for Jordan, registering a near triple-double line with 24 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists.
The Iranians needed to muster all their strength to upend Australia, and they did just that in their 85-74 triumph last Sunday.
Former NBA big man Andray Blatche had one of the finest individual performances of the entire World Cup qualifiers, tallying 41 points, 13 rebounds, four steals, three assists and five triples in the Philippines' 93-75 win over Kazakhstan.
The win allowed the Philippines to finish fourth in Group F, but they ended up with a superior record (seven wins, five losses) compared to the fourth placed team in Group E, Lebanon (six wins, six losses).
Lebanon had a dream start in their encounter against South Korea, leading by 11 points at the end of the first period and by three at the half, but the Koreans got their act together and intensified their assault in the final two quarters to win the game 84-72.
The 2019 FIBA World Cup will be held in China from August 31 to September 15.
