China own the clutch to down Czech Republic 77-70; Finish 7th in FIBA U17 World Championship
Qi Zhou put an emphatic performance with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals as China pulled off a huge fourth quarter to stun the Czech Republic 77-70 and finish the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship for Men at the seventh spot.
Zheng Bo Wang also tallied 16 points on a 6 of 8 shooting; Ji Wei Zhao ended the game with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists while Bo Liu also added 13.
The Europeans also had four players in double scoring figures led by 16 from centre Adam Pechacek, who connected on 6 of 7 from the floor, including 2 three pointers. Radovan Kouril notched up a double-double with 13 points and 12 assists, shooting guard Jiri Soula added 14 while Martin Peterka had 12 points and 6 boards.
The two teams were equal in nearly every aspect of the game, except the shooting. The Czech managed to convert just 41 percent of their shots as compared to a 47 percent effort from the Chinese, who outscored the Europeans 18-11 in the deciding quarter.
The start to the game was very tight and going into the last three minutes, neither team had managed to lead by more than 2. The Czechs however had the better of the remaining period in the first quarter and ended it with a 25-20 lead.
The Czechs continued to mount the pressure and took their advantage to 24-36 nearly midway through the second quarter. At that point it seemed that they will walk away with this one, but the Chinese responded.
The Asian giants reeled off a 15-2 to conclude the first half, taking a one point lead (39-38) into the break. They stretched the lead to four inside the first two minutes, but the Czechs scored six consecutive points to retake the lead at 50-48. During the remaining third quarter, the game was tied five times and the teams entered the fourth quarter all squared at 59.
The fourth quarter saw the Czechs dominate early before the Chinese regained the lead midway, and were ahead by 70-68 with 1:58 left to play. At that point, it was still anybody’s game, but China delivered a decisive blow with a 7-2 run to settle the game, and finish the tournament with a win.
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