Yao Ming Blocks Kazakhstan Out of Contention at Asiad BasketballThe 2.25-meter Yao Ming intimidated his opponents with his sky-high blocks which helped China to a 108- 105 win over Kazakhstan in men's basketball tournament at the East Asian Games Tuesday.The 21-year-old center had 14 points, 13 rebounds and delivered seven blocks to put Kazakhstan, who had lost three games so far, out of the contention of the semi-finals. One of the most spectacular play came in the 3:11 of the fourth quarter when Yao slammed away three shots in a row to send the audience into cheers, with other players being rooted on the court spectating his play in awe. "I played better than yesterday, but still not good enough," said Yao, who scored eight points before he was fouled out in China's 100-97 loss to South Korea on Monday. Yao, who won the MVP and other two prizes last season in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league, could have the opportunity to join America's National Basketball Association (NBA) next season. But Yao's club Shanghai Sharks denied his possibility earlier this month to NBA draft set for June. China led as many as 16 points in the third quarter before Kazakhstan clawed back down the stretch. Trailing by nine points in the final 1:30, Kazakhstan's guard Vitaliv Strebkov, who scored a game-high 33 points, missed the last-gasp 3-pointer attempt before he drilled in two in row. Kazakhstan shot 33-70 in the field and 8-16 from behind the arc. In Tuesday's earlier games, Australia kept unbeaten run with a 120-86 win over South Korea, while Chinese Taipei edged Mongolia 109-104. |
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