Philippines takes gold, China settles for bronze in Asiad men's basketball-Xinhua

Philippines takes gold, China settles for bronze in Asiad men's basketball

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2023-10-07 00:58:15

Philippine players pose for photos after the men's basketball final at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

The Philippines claimed its fifth Asiad title in Hangzhou, while China defeated Chinese Taipei to take the bronze.

HANGZHOU, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines defeated Jordan 70-60 in the final of the men's basketball tournament, while China thrashed Chinese Taipei 101-73 in the bronze medal match at the Hangzhou Asian Games here on Friday.

It was the Philippines' fifth Asiad title, and its first since 1962. Justin Brownlee scored his team-high 20 points and Angelo Kouame and Scottie Thompson added 14 and 11 respectively.

For Jordan, Rondae Jefferson scored a game-high 24 points and Fadi Mustafa added 13. Its frontcourt duo John Bohannon and Ahmad Hekmat Al-Dwairi combined for only 12 points but grabbed 20 rebounds.

Cui Yongxi of China goes for a layup during the bronze medal match against Chinese Taipei. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

In the bronze medal game, Cui Yongxi took 20 points to lead China, and the host nation rallied to defeat Chinese Taipei 101-73. Zhao Rui scored 17 points for China, and Zhao Jiwei added 12 points and eight assists, while center Hu Jinqiu contributed 12 points and six rebounds.

Zhao Rui apologized to fans for failing to defend the 2018 Asiad title at the post-game press conference, saying that "it was regretful to have results that didn't meet expectations at both the FIBA World Cup and the Asian Games."

The third-place finish at the Asiad came after China's lowly 29th-place at the World Cup, which saw them fail to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Trailing three points behind at halftime, Zhao said the team didn't give up and put on a new fighting spirit starting in the third quarter.

"We failed to keep the concentration over the full 40 or 48 minutes. This is the gap between us and top-tier teams in the world," Zhao explained. "We will be thinking about how to catch up with world-class teams when we come back to compete in the CBA."

Zhao Jiwei (2nd, L) of China encourages his teammates. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

"Congrats to our players. They stepped on the court to face a lot of pressure after losing the semifinal," said China head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic, who called the team's second half "exceptional".

For Chinese Taipei, Lin Ting-chien scored a team-high 20 points, and Liu Cheng added 14, including four 3-pointers. 

Chinese Taipei head coach Sang Mao-sen said that both teams had "performed very well" in the match, adding that it was a pleasure to play on the final game day.

Comments

Comments (0)
Send

    Follow us on

    Copyright©2000-2025XINHUANET.com All rights reserved.