China's Chen Jianghua (in red) goes to the basket against Bahrain on Wednesday. Photo: CFP

 

The Chinese national basketball team qualified for the quarterfinals of the 2013 FIBA (International Basketball ­Association) Asia Championship in ­Manila, the Philippines on Wednesday.

Team China finished third in Group F after they defeated Bahrain 88-66 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Yi Jianlian, who had missed the previous four games with injury, appeared as the starting forward. His comeback game saw him grab 12 points and six ­rebounds in his 13 minutes on court.

The 2.13-meter star said after the match, "The injury still hurts but I will overcome it.

"We didn't play at our best level in previous games, especially the Group C matches, so we have to do more preparations for the next game."

While Yi has returned, the injury list remains at two, as forward Li Xiaoxu joined Liu Xiaoyu.

The starting center, veteran Wang Zhizhi, scored 11 points with six ­rebounds.

Forward Zhou Peng added 10 points, four rebounds and one steal from the bench to seal victory.

Team China started the game with a 12-0 run before 42-year-old Ahmed Aman of Bahrain scored a three-pointer in the fifth minute. China dominated the first quarter, only allowing their ­opponents to add a layup to the scores. Young star Wang Zhelin ended the first quarter with two free throws, leaving the scoreboard at 21-5.

It seemed like a one-sided match ­going into the second quarter but Team China struggled with the Bahrain counterattack and Bahrain scored 15 points. While China expanded their lead to 20 points, their fluent offensive passing was often wasted by poor finishing and the half ended at 42-20.

Head coach Panagiotis Giannakis was furious that China lost control of both scoring and defending in the first four minutes of the third quarter. The Greek coach slammed his tactical board when he saw his team get only two points whereas Bahrain scored six ­simply on the counterattack. Bahrain outscored the Chinese in the quarter and it finished at 61-43.

Bahrain continued their scoring streak in the final quarter, adding the same as they did in the third but ­China got back on track. Chen ­Jianghua ­dribbled past all five Bahrain players for a ­layup in the fifth minute while Guo Ailun ended the ­scoring with a three to end the game at 88-66.

Giannakis said after the match, "We played patiently but were a bit of loose in the second half.

"I want everyone available to see court time as much as possible. It's unlucky we lost Li. I hope he can recover soon and we can go to the upcoming games with a healthy squad."

China will face Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Global Times