CRI听力:China Beats Singapore 91-42 in FIBA Asian Championship Opener

China is off to a good start to open the FIBA Asian Championships, thumping Singapore 91-42 on Wednesday night.

Zhai Xiaochuan led China with 13 points.

Former NBA player Yi Jianlian had 12 points and 8 rebounds in the victory.

"It was a little difficult for us to get adjusted. We didn't start out very strong. However, we eventually began to find our form. We mainly focused on attacking and defence. This should help us prepare for our games against South Korea and Iran."

Head coach Gong Luming says the victory is just the first step in a long process to reach the finals.

"It's a rare opportunity for this Chinese team. We will pursue the title step by step. We have as many as 8 games ahead, and each of them is very important. We hope we can play better and better, and united as a team."

Up next for the Chinese squad is South Korea later tonight, after they cruised past Jordan 87-60.

In other action, It was defending champions Iran cruising past Japan 86-48.

Iran has won three titles in the last four editions of the tournament.

India downed Malaysia 102-73.

Palestine upset the Philippines 75-73.

Hong Kong thumped Kuwait 87-50.

Taiwan went down to Lebanon 92-87.

And it was Qatar over Kazakhstan 79-75.

The winner of the tournament gets an automatic ticket to next year's Olympics.

The Chinese men's basketball team has been in every Summer Olympics since 1984 in Los Angeles.