Ryuto Yasuoka was their leading scorer with 18 points as they progressed after beating Malaysia 21-10 and Iraq 21-13 in their two matches on the opening day of what was the first Asian continental championships to be held since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the women's qualification, Turkmenistan opened with an impressive 21-14 victory over Guam before a 21-10 win against Kazakhstan.

Anya Gokova registered an impressive 31 points over the three games.

They sealed their place by beating Papua New Guinea 21-11 to seal a spot in Pool D alongside Chinese Taipei and Sri Lanka.

Indonesia left it until the closing stages of their match to beat South Korea 15-11 and seal their qualification.

They had been given a walkover after the Iranian women withdrew.

The men’s team from Syria also pulled out of the competition but no reason was given.

"FIBA was informed by the Basketball Federation Islamic Republic of Iran of its decision to cancel participation of its women’s team and by the Syrian Basketball Federation of its decision to cancel participation of its men’s team to the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup in Singapore," a FIBA statement said.

"Despite the cancellation of the participation of these two teams, the remaining games of the event will take place as scheduled."

The qualification is due to continue tomorrow before the main competition.

The main draw features four pools of three teams with the top two in each group qualifying for the knockout phase. 

The tournament is due to continue until Sunday (July 10).