CHANGSHA, China – Mighty China didn’t disappoint as it arranged an explosive semifinal showdown with defending champion Iran after it cruised past overmatched India, 104-58, in the quarterfinals of the Fiba Asia Championship Thursday night.
With Zhou Peng leading the charge, the Chinese broke away right in the opening quarter en route to an easy win as they remained unbeaten heading to their highly-anticipated clash with Hamed Haddadi and the Iranians in Friday’s Final Four.
The meeting will be the first between the two Asian powers since Iran routed the host country, 70-52, in the 2009 final held in Tianjin, China.
Former NBA player Yi Jianlian had 21 points and seven rebounds to lead a balanced scoring for China, which had three other players finishing in double figures.
The host enjoyed lead of as much as 104-58 during the match that featured the two most populous countries in the world.
The scores:
China (104) – Yi 21, Zhai 15, Zhou 13, Guo 11, Wang 9, Zhou Q. 8, Li 8, Zhao 7, Ding 3, Zhao T. 3, Liu 0.
India (58) – Bhriguvanshi 22, Yadwinder 16, Amjyot 5, Pari 4, Shinde 3, Kaushik 2, Arumugam 1, Prakash 0, Gill 0.
Quarterscores: 27-15; 56-29; 75-40; 104-58.
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