Hosts China packed their punches in batches, but when they did, each of those punches was sucker enough to beat Lebanon 68-48 and complete the semifinal line-up. China play archrivals and fellow East Asia team Korea in the semifinals on the morrow.

Ghaleb Reda scored 12 of his18 points for the game at a crucial juncture to calm the Lebanese nerves and steer them to a 101-53 win against Uzbekistan in Group E on Wednesday. The win put the Cedars one step into the last eight, and only an improbable Malaysian win – by a sizable margin at that – against Chinese Taipei in the game that follows can stop them from making the quarterfinal play-offs.

Twice defending champions Iran continued to roll in their unbeaten run, on Tuesday against traditional WABA rivals Lebanon by a surprisingly facile 76-45 margin.

Five-time successive semifinalists Lebanon squandered one too many chances in the final few minutes and went down 58-60 to a disciplined Chinese Taipei in a needle Group E Second Round game on Monday.

Set against a background of attrition, Lebanon showed enthusiasm early on in Friday’s Group A game but failed to maintain the momentum as the Korean efficiency gained control and took the East Asian team to what eventually looked a comfortable 80-62 win.