China cruises past Jordan into FIBA Asia Cup last eight

JEDDAH, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's men's basketball team smashed Jordan 90-68 to reach the FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals after three straight wins, finishing top of Group C here on Saturday.

"Today, we executed our game plan very well, especially in the second half. It started from defense as we contained their key players and stayed prepared for adversity. Our ultimate goal is to step onto the podium. Finishing top of our group is the first small target we've achieved," said Cheng Shuaipeng, who had a team-high 20 points for China, after the game.

China's Hu Mingxuan contributed 14 points and 6 assists. Zhao Rui added 15 points and Hu Jinqiu finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Dar Tucker led Jordan with 27 points, followed by 11 points from Ahmad Alhamarsheh.

China started the game with a strong 17-0 run before Jordan cut the deficit to 9 points on 47-38 at the break. Center Hu Jinqiu made a layup as China expanded the lead to 20 points with 6 minutes 46 seconds left in the fourth quarter, putting the game beyond reach.

Sixteen teams are competing in the preliminaries in four groups, with the top finisher from each group to advance into the quarterfinals directly, while the second, third finishers go to the playoffs. Endtiem■