Yassen Ismail an inspiration for Qatar against Syria on the way to a 99-59 victory over Syria in their Group E clash.

Qatar had a slam-dunk victory against Syria, finishing 99 to 59 after a series of convincing quarters where the hosts led by small but important margins (26-17, 22-16, 21-19). But in the final quarter the Syrian defence collapsed, succumbing at last to the furious and frenetic pace of the powerful Qatari side.

Top scoring Qatari was, unsurprisingly, captain Yasseen Ismail Musa, who racked up 16 points, followed by Daoud Mousa Daoud and Malek Salem Abdulla with 14 each and Khalid Suliman Abdi with 13. Yaseen also racked up the most free throws for the Qataris, making eight out of 10 of them.

The Korea v Bahrain match predictably saw reigning Asian champion Korea opening its Doha campaign with a convincing 106-80 victory. Korea proved that size does matter. Bahrain entered the match with only two players taller than 190cm, while nine of Korea's 12-man roster are over that height - including four players standing 200cm and more.

The Koreans, given their obvious height advantage, would have expected to win more comfortably than the 26-point final margin. The less than commanding performance gives Qatar, their main rival in group E, hope they can finish at the top of the group.

The IR Iran v Jordan match was a very tight contest ending 59-61 in favour of the Jordanians. IR Iran seemed to have trouble settling, losing the early quarters to Jordan 12-16 and 10-16. But IR Iran recovered magnificently after the half, winning the last two quarters 19-17 and 17-13. If the match had lasted another five minutes, the revived Iranians might have won.

On match points and point difference Qatar now leads group E, with Korea second and Jordan third. Korea now faces IR Iran on Sunday, 3 December while Qatar play Bahrain on the same night.

(Credit: Doha 2006. Click here for further information.)