ZHAO Rui took care of business in the fourth quarter as he propelled China to a FIBA Asia Cup finals return following a 98-84 win over New Zealand in the semifinals of the tournament on Saturday at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
It’s the first finals appearance for China since 2015 when it denied Gilas Pilipinas a gold medal finish in Changsha. They never made the semifinals until now.
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Zhao scored 10 points in the final four minutes as he sparked a 10-2 run which gave Team Dragon some separation 89-76 lead with three minutes remaining in the game.
After the Tall Blacks responded with an 8-0 blast of their own, Zhao did it again as he scored on a lay-up to stop the bleeding, before hitting a dagger three with 26 seconds remaining to give China 96-84 lead.
Zhao led the way for China with 24 points, on 5-of-8 shooting while adding six assists and four steals to his name.
Junjie Wang added 14 points and six boards, Minxuan Hu added 13 while Sanning Lao and Jinqiu Hu chipped in 12 apiece for coach Shiqiang Guo – proving that this team doesn’t need its biggest names to stay competitive.
Some of the guys missing for China is the 2025 NBA Draft’s 16th overall pick in Yang Hansen of the Portland Trailblazers, Zeng Fanbo, who signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Brooklyn Nets, and Zhou Qi (Houston Rockets) and Cui Yongxi (Brooklyn Nets), Zhao Jiwei, and veteran forward Zhang Zhenlin, all of whom are nursing injuries.
Taylor Britt led New Zealand with 21 points and six assists while Mojave King chipped in 19 for the Tall Blacks who will once again miss the final dance in the Asia Cup after finishing third in 2022.
China awaits the winner of the Australia - Iran match which is set on Sunday, 12 midnight (Philippine time).
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