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2013 FIBA Asia Championship: China cruises past Bahrain to secure q'finals slot
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Wang Zhelin of China goes for a shot against two Bahrain players. KC Cruz
China officially booked their ticket to the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship quarterfinals with a dominant 88-66 win over Bahrain, Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Barring any upsets in the remaining two games of the group stage, China will meet Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals.
For China, the game against Bahrain served two reasons. The first was to formalize their entry to the quarterfinals and the second was to reintroduce Yi Jianlian back into the system.
“The most important games are coming soon,” Yi said after the game. “The first two rounds were also important because we needed to fix our problems.”
“The most important games are coming soon,” Yi said after the game. “The first two rounds were also important because we needed to fix our problems.”
Yi, China's NBA veteran who sat out their past four games, scored four of his team's first five points.
The Chinese scored the first 12 points of the game before Bahrain finally broke through with a triple from Ahmed Aman at the 5:16 mark of the first.
China ended the first quarter with a commanding 21-5 lead.
“We started the game like kids, like we were afraid of China,” said Bahrain head coach Sasa Nikitovic. “But we found solutions on offense. My guys kept their character.”
Yi sank a difficult three-point shot at the 7:54 mark of the second to give his team a 29-10 lead. The sixth overall pick of the 2007 NBA draft then dished out an assist to Guo Ailun to extend their lead to 21 points.
After missing four games, Yi Jianlian (R) returned to action for China. Nuki Sabio
Zhou Peng swished in a triple followed by a thunderous one-handed dunk on their next possession to give China a 42-18 lead.
Chinese went to the halftime break holding a 42-20 lead.
Zhou scored eight points for China, next to Yi's 12 markers. Twin towers Wang Zhizhi and Wang Zhelin also added six points apiece for China in the first 20 minutes of action.
Zhou scored eight points for China, next to Yi's 12 markers. Twin towers Wang Zhizhi and Wang Zhelin also added six points apiece for China in the first 20 minutes of action.
Bahrain, on the other hand, got most of their points from Yunes Kawaid. They could not get their game going though as the Chinese dominated the battle of the boards 28-12.
A triple from Wang Shipeng at the 6:19 mark of third rebuilt a 21-point lead for China at 47-26.
Bahrain was able to bring down China’s lead to 14 points, but two free throws from Chen Jianghua and a follow-up from Wang Zhiejang bumped their buffer back up to 18 at 61-43, entering the final quarter.
Hussein Altawash did his best to keep the game close for Bahrain. He scored back-to-back jumpers to cut the lead down to 16 with a little over six minutes left in the game. However, Wang Zhizhi and Chen drained twin triples for a 75-57 count in China’s favor.
“It was a good practice for us,” said China head coach Panagiotis Giannakis. “Now comes the real tournament. We will be ready now and we’ll have everybody healthy for the next games. - RAF, GMA News
“It was a good practice for us,” said China head coach Panagiotis Giannakis. “Now comes the real tournament. We will be ready now and we’ll have everybody healthy for the next games. - RAF, GMA News
The scores:
China 88 – Chen 13, Yi 12, Guo 11, Wang Zhelin 11, Wang Zhizhi 11, Zhou 10, Wang Shipeng 6, Zhu 5, Zhang 5, Sun 2, Li 2
Bahrain 66 – Altawash 13, Azzam 13, Kawaid Y. 10, Akber 10, Alderazi M. 9, Alderazi A. 5, Aman 3, Kawaid 3, Malabes 0, Ismaeel 0, Ebrahim 0
Quarter scoring: 21-5, 42-20, 61-43, 88-66
