JIYUAN, CHINA, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Team Red of Chinese men's basketball national team lost 52-64 to Australian NBL United team in the first stop of the 2018 international basketball challenge here in Jiyuan, Henan Province of China on Friday night.
It is the first match of Team Red in 2018 as they are preparing for the Asian Games this year.
Zhao Rui scored five points to help the host establish a 20-17 lead in the first quarter. The guests soon tied the game with a three-pointer.
As Wang Zhelin and Yu Changdong shining in the paint, China had their largest lead of seven points in the first half after point guard Fang Shuo hit two baskets in a row, however, their opponents stormed with a 10-0 run to end the first half 32-35.
Wang Zhelin had eight points in the third quarter including two slam dunks to tie the scores 40-40. Both teams failed to score for several minutes until Sun Minhui's layup with 54 seconds left. China outscored the guests 10-7 this quarter.
In the last period, China managed only 10 points while the guests got 22, defeating the hosts 64-52.
"Though we made some mistakes, we were good on defense," Said Li Nan, coach of the young China team, "It's the offense that caused us trouble tonight."
China hit only two of their 22 three-pointer attempts, had only five assists while their opponents had 14.
Wang Zhelin scored game-high 18 points, Fang Shuo had 12. Four players of the NBL side scored double-digits, Daniel Kickert led the team with 16 points.
The next two games will be played in Hengyang, Hunan Province on Sunday and in Beijing next Tuesday. Enditem
