NBA star-led Chinese team steamroll Syria 103-51

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, September 24, 2003

NBA star-led Chinese team steamroll Syria 103-51

China got off to a roaring start at the 22nd Asian Men's Basketball Championships Tuesday, hammering Syria 103-51.

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China sweeps Syria in Men's Asian Basketball Championship

China got off to a roaring start at the 22nd Asian Men's Basketball Championships Tuesday, hammering Syria 103-51.

In addition to showcasing a multi-dimensional attack and solid defence, the lopsided win also sent a strong signal to their rivals: China is primed to reclaim the No 1 ranking in Asia.

South Korea, which upset China to win the title at the Busan Asian Games last year, also showed their power, demolishing Malaysia 103-72 in Group B action.

Houston Rockets' star Yao Ming scored 18 points and 12 rebounds in his 20 minutes and 19 seconds playing time, while Mengke Bateer of the Toronto Raptors hit for 12 points and eight rebounds.

Zhu Fangyu, the sharpshooting 20-year-old, led China with a game-high 19 points, while Li Ke (14), Du Feng (13) and Zhang Jinsong (11) also scored in double digits.

The Chinese team enjoyed a heated home court atmosphere in front of a capacity crowd of 3,800 spectators at Tianrun Stadium.Chinese head coach Jiang Xingquan looked very happy after the victory and became more talkative at the press conference, but the 63-year-old spoke modestly.

"We never meet Syria before and both sides had good preparations for the match, because Syria finished fourth at the last Asian Championships," he said.

He praised the opponents for their fast transition from offense to defence, good physical abilities and strong will.

"We should learn from Syria in these aspects," he added.

"But we have the home court and height advantages. And today we played in a good rhythm in attack and defence."

Syria's American head coach Batrik Aleeksaid: "We knew before the match that it would be a tough game. China has a good team and they have Yao Ming and Mengke Bateer. But we will play better and better in the following matches."

Machel Madanli of Syria gained the team high of 17 points and was their only player to hit double digit points.

Jiang started Yao Ming, Liu Wei, Zhu Fangyu, Zhang Jingsong and Li Ke,and they roared to a 32-9 lead in the first quarter.

Yao was in a good form and demonstrated his super ability with 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists in the period.

China kept the momentum throughout the rest of the game and widened the gap to 77-37 in the third quarter.But the feisty Syrians fought to the last minute, notching 14 points in the final frame.

In other action, Uzbekhstan edged Hong Kong 68-64, Lebanon defeat Kazakhstan 79-70 and Chinese Taipei lost to Iran 74-83. India, which played Kuwait only two hours after arriving, won the game 94-74 and Qatar downed Jordan 66-53.

China will take on Chinese Taipei today, while South Korea will meet Kuwait.

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