China yesterday used its NBA-experienced front line of Wang Zhizhi and Yi Jianlian to dispatch Taiwan 101-83 to continue their unbeaten run and reach the Asian Basketball Championships semi-finals.
Former Dallas Maverick center Wang scored 25 points and nabbed eight rebounds, while Yi, who plays power forward for the New Jersey Nets, also netted 25 and grabbed 14 boards.
China will today meet the winner of last night’s quarter-final match-up between South Korea and Lebanon.
PHOTO: AFP
“By winning this game we have entered the final four, from here on our opponents are going to be stronger and we will have to work harder,” China coach Guo Siqiang said.
Taiwanese forward Tien Lei kept his side in the game in the early stages with a team-high of 17 points — all in the first half — as his fired-up teammates kept pace with China, going up 43-38 with three minutes left in the second quarter.
But China turned up the defensive pressure and ended the half with an 11-0 run, while carrying over into the third quarter with nine straight points to go up 62-45 and put the game out of reach.
Chang Tsung-hsien chipped in 14 points for Taiwan.
“We only played half the game,” Guo said. “We had some problems in the first half controlling their style of play. At half-time we made some defensive adjustments and got the players more fired-up so we played better in the second half.”
China has won eight of the last 10 Asian championships and is favoured to repeat the feat on home turf.
Iran’s sharpshooter Hamed Afagh earlier yesterday netted 25 points while Memphis Grizzlies center Hamed Ehadadi scored 16 and grabbed 15 rebounds as Iran beat Qatar 75-65.
The reigning champions Iran advance to today’s semi-finals and will play a disciplined Jordan team that beat the Philippines 81-70 yesterday.
The top three finishers of the Asian Championships will qualify for the World Basketball Championships in Turkey next year.
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