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China rally back to edge South Korea 76-73

Xinhua, September 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Once down by 20 points, team China found a way out and edged another Asian basketball powerhouse South Korea in Group C game at FIBA Asian Championships on Thursday.

It was the second victory for China, who are trying to win their first Asian Champion in four years.

19-year-old center Zhou Qi had a team-high 21 points for China, and his 13 points in the fourth quarter made an important role in China's surpass.

Former NBA player Yi Jianlian had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the host team. Captain Zhou Peng added 14 points, including two three pointers.

China out-rebounded South Korea 44-33, which played as a main reason for their victory.

"I think it's a mental challenge to us," said Chinese head coach Gong Luming. "We have many young players in the team, and the team is progressing."

"However, we can't go further if we don't pass the phycological test, like today's game. I think the victory was a big step forward for us."

China didn't start the game well. The Asian basketball giant had the first basket of the game, and got a 4-3 lead, but South Korea showed their efficiency in the first quarter, making 10 out of their 13 attempts to finish the first quarter 27-14. Two veterans Yang Donggeun and Cho Sungmin combined 14 points in the period and China only had 14, seven of which came from Yi Jianlian.

The second quarter also went in favor of South Korea. Yang and Cho kept making three pointers, and South Korea had once led by as many as 19 points. China changed the defensive system in the later half of the second quarter. South Korea was delayed on the offensive side, and China finished the quarter after a 10-2 spurt. However, South Korea was still holding a 44-33 advantage over the host team.

South Korea refused to allow China catch up. Cho did good penetration, awarding South Korea a 60-42 lead, but China's big men started to dominate the game, resulting a 9-0 run to cut the gap to nine points by the end of the period.

"We meet some difficulties in the first quarter," said Zhou, "but our coach tried very hard to cheer us up in the half-time break, and we get rejuvenated in the second half."

The final quarter became a show of the 15-time Asian Champion. South Korea got four straight points to begin the quarter, but China outscored their opponent 25-7 afterwards.

"China has big advantage over us, and they did a very good job in the fourth quarter," said South Korean head coach Kim Dong Kwang.

Yang got a game-high 24 points for South Korea. Cho and Lee Seounghyun added 14 and 12 points respectively.

It was the second straight victory for China, who will face Jordan in the final Group C game on Friday. Endi