China cruise past Japan to qualify for FIBA Asia Cup

MANILA: China remains undefeated in Group B with three wins after the national basketball team beat Japan 90-84 to directly qualify for the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup here on Saturday. It was China's second win over Japan in four days at the ongoing 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. China defeated Japan 66-57 in its first clash on Wednesday. Zhou Qi had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Zhao Jiwei added 13 points and five assists. Shen Zijie also contributed 13 points.

Yuki Togashi led Japan with 17 points, followed by 15 from Ryan Francis Rossiter. Kosuke Kanamaru had 12 points. Makoto Hiejima added 10.

"Before the game I told the players that they need to prepare a difficult game. At the beginning, on the both ends, we are not really doing well. That's why we leave a lot of wide-open shots for them. During the fourth quarter, we did a better job on defensive end," said China's head coach Du Feng.

China will have another head-to-head with Chinese Taipei on Sunday. Agencies

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