POSTED BY: Eurobasket News
Fernando Rosales
China lost to Korea today 70-62 in the East Asia championship, bringing its record in the preliminary round to 1-1.
China trailed 21-12 after one quarter but led 28-26 at the half. China trailed 52-51 after three quarters and was outscored 18-11 in the fourth quarter.
Su Wei (212-C-89) led China with 15 points and 7 rebounds. But he hit only 3 of 10 free throws and committed 6 turnovers. Su was the only Chinese player in double figures.
Luo Zhi scored 9 points, but fouled out in 23 minutes. Zhang Kai had 7 points and 7 rebounds. Zhou Peng had 7 points and 4 rebounds. But he missed all 7 2-point shots he attempted and hit only 4 of 8 free throws. He did hit 1 of 2 three-pointers.
7-footer Ha Seung-Jin is injured, as are other Korean stars. Korea's tallest players are 200 cm. China played 212 cm Su Wei, 211 cm Zhang Kai and 206 cm Zhou Peng for most of the game. Nevertheless Korea outrebounded China 46-39.
200 cm Kim Min Soo led Korea with 17 points. 182 cm guard Joo Hee Jung had 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. 194 cm forward Yang Hee Jong had 11 points and 6 rebounds.
In the other game today, host Japan defeated Mongolia 109-65. China will face Japan Saturday in one of the semi-finals. Korea will likely face Chinese Taipei in the other if it beats Hong Kong while Taipei defeats Mongolia tomorrow.
Link to box score:
https://eaba.jabba-net.com/sm/2009/box.html?matchno=103
