China defeats Kazakhstan in FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers

NUR-SULTAN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's men's basketball team defeated Kazakhstan 68-56 in the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers here on Thursday evening.

Although both Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin showed a huge advantage for China in the paint, Kazakhstan didn't accept a blow-out as their tough defense led to a physical first half. China finished the second quarter with a 17-point lead, while conceding as many as 12 fouls and nine turnovers.

Coming back from the locker room, Kazakhstan stepped up their efforts for offensive rebounds and 3-pointers to cut the deficit to five points, while the Chinese players only scored four points in the first seven minutes of the third quarter.

However, the Chinese cagers played to their rhythm during the last quarter with Zhu Junlong and Zhou making layups in the last minutes to seal the victory.

Zhou scored a game-high 19 points for China and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Sun Minghui had 13 points and Hu Mingxuan added 11.

Rustam Murzagaliyev pocketed 14 points for Kazakhstan, and both Maxim Marchuk and Shaim Kuanov added 10.