Favorites South Korea took home the gold medal with a 79-68 win over China in the final of this year’s East Asia Basketball Association Championship in Incheon, South Korea, last night to close out the competition with a perfect 5-0 record.
The hosts made the most of home-court advantage by scoring early and often to claim a 19-13 lead by the end of the first quarter, before an evenly fought second that saw China fight back to keep the deficit at seven at 43-36 at halftime.
China would reduce the deficit further when Duan Jiangpeng came off the bench to score seven points in the third quarter to give South Korea a scare heading into the final quarter, but that was as close as they got as the hosts held China to a game-low 12 points in the final quarter by virtue of a tough ball-denying defense to keep the victory intact.
Japan 87, Hong Kong 71
Japan easily handled Hong Kong in the bronze medal game in Incheon yesterday afternoon, winning by a sizeable margin to settle for a third-place bronze medal finish in this year’s competition.
Kosuke Kanamaru and Kosuke Takeuchi combined to score 50 points for the land of the Samurai as they opened the game with a slim 19-18 advantage after the first quarter of play and steadily added to their lead over the next three quarters en route to an impressive victory.
Yi Ting Lo’s game-high 31 points for Hong Kong was the lone highlight for the underdogs in a game in which they were out-rebounded by Japan 45 to 27.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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