China triumphs over Russia at Stankovic

(BEIJING, July 21) -- Hosts China defeated their final opponents Russia by a large margin, 72-50, at the Stankovic Continental Cup in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday, July 20.

China placed second in the tournament with two wins and one defeat, while Angola beat Serbia 68-60 to capture the tournament win.

Center Yao Ming started the game, and put the first two points on the board with a dunk three minutes in. Soon after, Russia responded with a dunk of their own, but this stalemate soon became a blowout with China ahead at the end of the quarter, 20-8.

At the start of the second quarter, China substituted Wang Zhizhi for Yao. China maintained their lead at the half, 35-23. In the first two quarters, Wang Zhizhi led China scoring with ten points, Wang Lei had seven points, Yao Ming contributed six. and Yi Jianlian had four points.

The second half started with two points for Russia, but Li Nan hit back quickly with a three-pointer. Yi sank two free throws, and Li got another three-pointer off a block from Yao.

With Yao and Yi setting the pace, China ran away with a 17-point lead over Russia, finishing the third quarter 55-38 and essentially clinching the win.

China outscored Russia by five points in the final quarter despite substituting many of their top players, and closed the game 72-50.

China's basketball team will go back to Beijing to prepare for the upcoming 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball Men's Tournament, where they will face Angola in the opening game.

The Diamond Ball will be played in the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center in Nanjing City, China, from July 29-August 1.