ZHOU Qi sparked a late flurry that carried China to a come-from-behind 90-84 win over Japan in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers Saturday at the Angeles University Foundation Gym in Angeles City.
The former Houston Rockets center threw his weight around down low as he scored six of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, all coming in the Chinese's telling 15-1 run that flipped the script for the Japanese.
Japan was holding an 80-73 lead with 6:47 remaining when China coach Du Feng enforced a zone that stifled the Akatsuki Five and helped China grab an 88-81 lead, capped off by a Zhao Yanhao three with 1:05 remaining.
Only Yuki Togashi was able to find the bottom of the net from Japan for the remainder of the game as the boys of coach Julio Lamas were bamboozled late.
Zhou also grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked two shots in his first game of the qualifiers since an eye operation.
China guns clicking
Zhao Jiwei also shot 3-of-6 from deep to finish with 13 points and five assists while Shen Zijie got 13 points, two rebounds, and two steals in the victory that pushed China up to 3-0 in Group B.
Ren Junfei just missed out on a double-double with his 12 points, nine boards, and three assists, while Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Finals MVP Hu Mingxuan got 10 points, two rebounds, and two dimes.
China ruled the boards, 37 to 22, and scored 46 points in the paint.
Chinese trailed for most of the way as they had no answer to Japan's 14-of-35 shooting from deep. But the Akatsuki Five could no longer find a connection from rainbow country when it mattered the most.
China closes its assignment in the Clark bubble on Sunday against Chinese Taipei (1-3).
Naturalized center Ryan Rossiter saw his 15-point, six-assist, four-rebound, and three-steal performance go down the drain as Japan sunk to an even 2-2 record.
Togashi paced the Japanese with 17 points built on three triples, along with two assists; Kosuke Kanamaru had 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting from deep, while Makoto Hiejima got 10 points, three rebounds, and two steals to his name in the loss.
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