体坛英语新闻：China lose 86-74 to end International Basketball Challenge

CHANGZHOU, China, June 23 (Xinhua) -- China lost to Australia's NBL United 86-74 on Sunday, ending the three-game International Basketball Challenge series with a loss.

The Challenge was one of the major warm-up series for Team China before the 2019 FIBA World Cup which will be held later this year in China. China wrapped up two victories in the first couple of games of the series but were unable to wrap up the series with a perfect record.

NBL United out-rebounded China 38-29 in the game and China only shot 23.3 percent on three-point line.

Several top-level Chinese players such as Yi Jianlian, Zhou Qi and Ding Yanyuhang missed the series because of injuries. Chinese head coach Li Nan took the three games as a good test for young faces in the team. "We are testing our squad and for today I tried different combinations," Li said.

"We want to thank the NBL United team for giving us a good preparation for the World Cup."

Li planned to evaluate the current 20-player list and cut down several players after the series.

Wang Zhelin, who was elected CBA MVP in the last season, stood out as the top scorer of the team for the third straight game with 15 points. Chinese forward Abudushalamu hit three three-pointers to collect 15 points as well.

The away team took the early advantage thanks to hot-handed shooter Corey Webster. Webster scored 11 points in the first quarter to award NBL United a 32-18 lead.

China fielded CBA All-Star guard Guo Ailun in the later half of the first quater, but he missed all his three shooting attempts in the first half.

NBL United led China 20-12 in rebounding and 46.6%-20% on three-point shooting in the first two quarters, while the home team struggled offensively.

The third quarter saw a more physical Chinese team, but NBL United worked hard to keep the deficit above ten and brought a 10-point advantage into the final period.

Abudushalamu was fouled out in the fourth quarter and the away team took the chance to move above 81-67 with less than five minutes left. China attempted some shots beyond the arc, however it was not enough to change the result.

"We had a slow start," said Chinese guard Zhao Jiwei. "We allowed Webster to score too many points."

China will come back to Beijing, before setting off for NBA Summer League in July.