China finish fifth in Asian basketball

Manila – China ended their 27th Asian Men’s Basketball Championship campaign with a 96-85 victory over Qatar here today, finishing fifth.

The only chance for the former Asian Champions to play in next year’s World Cup in Spain is a wildcard awarded by FIBA, reports Xinhua.

“We wanted to play the final so it’s not good for us to play this match. But I think we learnt many things from this tournament. We have the opportunity to become stronger in the future,” said China head coach Panagiotis Giannakis.

A 13-0 run in the beginning of the second half helped China to enlarge their lead, which was only five points by halftime. The 15-time Asian Champions never let the match slip away from their hands from thereon.

It was a tight game at the start with Wang Zhizhi building a three-point lead off a Yi Jianlian assist with six minutes and 20 seconds remaining (9-6). But Mohammed Saleem Abdullah and Mansour Elhadary then went on a 7-0 run for Qatar, building a point’s lead after the first quarter.

Wang Zhizhi then anchored a 15-4 run to start the second period. Qatar responded with a 15-5 run to tie the game at 40-all. Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu had the last say in the second, giving China a 45-40 lead at the half.

Guo Ailun led China with 21 points and five assists. Veteran Wang Zhizhi finished his last Asian Championship game with a 13-point and 11-rebound double-double. Yi Jianlian took 12 while Wang Shipeng and Zhufangyu combined for 24.

China suffered a shocking loss to Chinese Taipei in Friday’s quarterfinals, leading them to their second worst result in Asian Championships.