China’s hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris remained alive as they secured an 83-76 victory over Angola in Group M of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 classification stage on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Team Dragon improved their record to 1-3 with a -73 point difference. Nonetheless, Japan maintains its lead among Asian nations with a 1-2 record and a -28 point difference.
The Akatsuki Five are scheduled to face Venezuela later in Okinawa.
“Very tough night for us,” said coach Sasha Djordjevic. “Last night, the players finished the game (late) against Puerto Rico and today that was my concern — playing at 4:00 PM. We didn’t have a lot of time to recover our freshness.
“I think they did a great, exceptional job. Proud of them (with) how they stay focused. Nevertheless, our little bit sloppy start was due to tension but after we talked in a couple of timeouts and released a little bit of that, we just started playing (the) basketball we were capable of against Angola,” the Serbian mentor continued.
China managed to overcome a 22-12 deficit that arose from Kevin Kokila’s tip-in at the 2:47 mark of the first quarter.
After regrouping during halftime, Team Dragon turned the tide. Li Kaier’s successful free throws provided China with a 69-59 advantage with 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
From that juncture, China dictated the game’s tempo. A Hu Jinqiu dunk at the 5:02 mark of the fourth quarter propelled Team Dragon to their largest lead at 78-62.
Hu led Team Dragon with 20 points, while Li contributed 17 points and seven rebounds. Hu Mingxuan added 16 points, and Qi Zhou chipped in 10 points.
Conversely, the Black Antelopes fell to a 1-3 record.
Childe Dundao led Angola with 17 points and eight assists, and Bruno Fernando scored 16 points and secured six rebounds.
Silvio de Sousa contributed 13 points and nine rebounds, while Jilson Bango produced 10 points and seven rebounds.
Both teams will conclude their campaigns on Saturday. Angola will face fellow African side South Sudan in the early game. On the other hand, China will take on the host nation, the Philippines, in the evening.
The Scores:
China (83) – J Hu 20, Li 17, M Hu 16, Q Zhou 10, Zhang 5, R Zhao 5, J Zhao 4, Zhu 3, J Zhu 3, P Zhou 0, Wang 0, Cui 0
Angola (76) – Dundao 17, Fernando 16, De Sousa 13, Bango 10, Goncalves 8, Francisco 5, Monteiro 3, Kokila 2, Paulo 2, Maconda 0, Fernandes 0, Domingos 0.
Quarterscores: 24-27, 45-45, 69-59, 83-76.
