JAKARTA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- China beat Iran 84-72 for its eighth title in the men's basketball tournament of the Asian Games here on Saturday.
With the win, the Chinese basketball teams have swept all four gold medals from both men's and women's 3x3 and 5x5 competitions.
After powerhouse Iran took an 18-10 lead from the first two minutes, China managed to narrow the gap and even closed to one point through the efforts of Fang Shuo and Abudurexiti, although Iran still led by 45-41 into the second half.
Wang Zhelin started the third quarter with his shot, helping China to turn the tide 50-45 together with a pair of 3-pointers from Zhao Rui, and to lead 59-56 into the last quarter.
Both Zhou Qi and Ding Yanyuhang combined for a string of 3-pointers to guide China for a 71-61 lead, a double-digit advantage kept till the end of the match.
The 22-year-old Abudurexiti scored a team-high 20 points, Fang Shuo and Zhao Rui collected 16 points each, and Zhou Qi contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds.
"It's a tough battle, we tried everything to drag down (Hamed) Ehdadi, and we made it," said Zhou Qi.
Four years ago, China lost to Iran and failed to make it into the semis at the Incheon Asian Games. "Nobody thought we were going to win, this time we see ourselves as challengers for the title," Zhou added.
Team coach Li Nan said: "This is a young team, this precious Asian Games title is helping us to build up our confidence. We will learn from our predecessors, to be more aggressive on the court." Enditem
