(Clock-wise from top left): Tan Jun Wei (SIN), Rakesh (IND), Lin Juan-Chuan (TPE), Ali Shukralla (BRN), Choi Seongmo (KOR), Yuta Osaka (JPN).

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (22nd FIBA Asia U18 Championship): Here’s a collection of quotes from players of various teams during the start of Second Round of the competition.

Guard Tan Jun Wei (SIN) on the team bowing out in the Prelim Round:

“We came here for the experience of it. We were not given any chance. In that sense, I think we have learnt a lot.”

Power Forward Rakesh (IND) on the Indian team’s performance:

“We finished 13th in the last two editions. Therefore this is an improvement for us. We are all working really hard. I think our results will show in the future. We really did well against Lebanon. Probably if we had won that game, things might have been different.”

Shooting Guard Lin Juan-Chuan (TPE) on playing back-to-back games against top teams:

“All teams are very good here. So it doesn’t matter who the opponents are. We have to cut down our mistakes and play according to the coaches’ plan. I think our success depends more on that.”

Guard Choi Seongmo (KOR) on the winning streak:

“I hope we can keep in going till the Final. We are working hard towards that. So far, we have won all games, but none of them have come easy. There’s nothing called as easy games here. We have a very good team that is capable going till the Final.”

Point guard Yuta Osaka (JPN) on Japan losing three out of the four games so far:

“There were some really bad mistakes we made in the game against Syria, which I think we should have won. We are playing alright otherwise. There is definitely scope for improvement.”

Center Ali Shukralla (BRN) on the team’s showing:

“We are playing in this competition after a long time. Therefore for us, everything is a bonus. We learn from every we play and that is exactly our target here.”

FIBA Asia