ALLAN THE MAN

Qatar dealt Chinese Taipei its first loss of the tournament, 71-68, on Wednesday in a thriller at the Mall of Asia Arena that had major implications in the FIBA Asia Championship playoffs.

Longtime Qatar star Yasseen Musa had a monster effort, finishing with 20 points and 19 rebounds.

Naturalized center Quincy Davis led the way with 22 points and eight rebounds for Chinese Taipei. But the team’s other stars fired blanks, with Tien Lei and Tseng Wen-Ting combining for just seven points and Lin Chih-Chieh failing to score.

WATCH 'FIBA Asia Championship 2013: Chinese Taipei vs Qatar' FULL GAME REPLAY BELOW:

The Gilas Pilipinas (Philippines) and Iran on Wednesday emerged as the kings of Group E and F respectively at the FIBA Asia Championship ahead of Friday’s knockout Quarter-Finals, which will leave just four teams alive in the race for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

Filipino fans watched intently as Qatar defeated Chinese Taipei in a heart-stopper to give their team a chance of claiming first place, but more tension was to come as Hong Kong nearly ruined the hosts' party in a thrilling encounter. (watch Philippines vs Hong Kong Full Game Replay Video)

FIBA Asia Championship 2013 for Men is the intercontinental championship for basketball organized by FIBA Asia that serves as the qualifying tournament for the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.

Here's the Knockout Quarterfinals Schedule:

Gilas Pilipinas played lackadaisical basketball for the most part, but still did enough to beat Hong Kong, 67-55, to close its 2013 FIBA Asia Championship second round campaign on Wednesday, August 7 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

FIBA Asia Championship 2013. The Philippine national men’s basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas,  flirted with disaster in the first three quarters before cleaning up its act in the final period to defeat Hong Kong, 67-55, on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The victory formally gave Gilas Pilipinas the top spot in Group E, but not before a poor start that had coach Chot Reyes fuming at the sidelines.

Shooting guard Jeff Chan is confident the Philippine basketball team collectively known as Gilas Pilipinas can defeat any team, specifically China, in the ongoing FIBA-Asia Championship.

According to Chan, all they need is to have faith in one another knowing that they have prepared well in order to achieve whatever goal they have in mind for this tournament.

Philippine telecommunication giant Globe Telecom announces its move to its new corporate headquarters in Bonifacio Global City in late August.

“The move to The Globe Tower is momentous for us because it is an important component of the company’s transformation journey,” said Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu, in reference to the company’s efforts to further enrich customer experience through its network and IT modernization initiatives.