China beats South Korea to retain Asiad basketball crown
China defeated arch-rival South Korea 77-71 in the final of the 2010 Asian Games men's basketball competition on Friday.
Former National Basketball Association player Wang Zhizhi showcased his offensive and defensive prowess to lead the hosts to victory. The veteran big man blocked a shot and scored on a put-back in the crucial moments of the game to foil any hopes of a Korean
comeback.
Wang finished with 20 points while former Los Angeles Laker Sun Yue added 14. Yang Dong-guen led the South Koreans with 17 points while Kim Joo-song and Cho Sung-min chipped in 15 each.
The Chinese started out as the aggressors, building a 27-21 advantage after the first period. But the South Koreans unleashed a 6-0 run to start the second and took a 37-31 lead midway through the period. Led by Wang Shipeng and Sun, the Chinese responded
with a 12-0 run to end the half with a 43-37 cushion.
South Korea remained within striking distance of the hosts in the third, twice trimming their lead to five points before settling for a 56-64 deficit entering the final period.
The Chinese seemed to have secured the gold after taking a 72-58 lead early in the fourth. But the Koreans came out firing again, unleashing a 13-2 run to close the gap at 71-74 with 2:15 remaining.
Wang gave China some breathing room when he scored off an offensive rebound with 50 seconds remaining. South Korea failed to respond on the other end and Ding Jinhui was immediately fouled. He converted one of his two free throws to seal the win for China.
"Getting the gold medal at my last Asian Games, I think this is a perfect ending. If the national team needs me, I'll keep playing," the 31-year-old Wang told AP.
China head coach Bob Donewald Jr was happy to lead his team to victory.
"We said from the beginning when I first took this job that team China was in a period of transition and we needed to find ways to get the best out of the older players and yet develop younger talent," said the American, who was hired in April.
"What great leadership out of Wang Zhizhi and Liu Wei, our captains and oldest players, to take the youngest team at the World Championships to a then final 16 appearance and then lead this group to a gold medal today," added Donewald, who once served as
an assistant coach with the New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers.
China has now won seven titles in the Asian Games basketball competition. They won their first crown in 1978 and claimed golds in 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2006.
Iran won the bronze medal by beating Japan 74-66 earlier in the day. Hamed Afagh scored eight of his 27 points in the final quarter as the Asian champions avenged their 56-57 loss to the Japanese in the group stage.
Talented guard Mahdi Kamrani finished with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Iranians. Takumi Ishizaki topscored for Japan with 17 points.
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