China trounces India for second straight win at men's basketball Asia Cup

JEDDAH, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's men's basketball team trounced India 100-69 here on Thursday for its second straight win in preliminary Group C at the FIBA Asia Cup.

Hu Mingxuan and Zhao Jiayi had 17 points apiece, and Cheng Shuaipeng and Wang Junjie each added 13 as the Chinese men took an easy victory following their narrow 93-88 win over Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

The Asian powerhouse shot 15-for-28 from beyond the arc as Hu Jinqiu and Liao Sanning also scored in double digits with 11 points apiece.

"We demonstrated strong execution and a more balanced approach between offense and defense in this game compared to the first one," said China head coach Guo Shiqiang. "Our fast breaks were effective, and we shot the ball pretty well."

Hu Mingxuan buried two three-pointers and Wang, Liao and Gao added one each as China raced to a 29-14 lead after the first quarter and went on to enlarge it to 53-31 at halftime. The Indians fought hard after the game resumed, but China staged a 10-0 run connecting the third and fourth quarter for an unshakable 78-48 cushion with eight minutes and 57 seconds remaining.

Arvind Muthu Krishnan led India with 16 points.

China will clash with Jordan in its third and final pool match on Saturday as India takes on Saudi Arabia.

"Jordan is a very strong team, and we know each other very well," Guo added. "We will make good preparation and get ready for the game."

Sixteen teams are competing in the preliminaries in four groups, with the top finisher from each group to advance into the quarterfinals directly, while the second, third finishers to go to the playoffs. ■