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Yao leads China past Iran 76-61 in Champions
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-09-09 07:08
Houston Rockets center Yao Ming led China to beat Iran 76-61 in the opener of the 23rd Asian Basketball Championships on Thursday in Doha.
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| China team players celebrate after winning against Iran during the 23th Asian Basketball Championships at Al-Gharrafa hall in Doha, Qatar September 8, 2005. [Reuters] |
Yao Ming collected 29 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks in the match. He was double-teamed from the very beginning, but he soon got Iranian centers into foul trouble and made 23 free throws.
The Chinese team suffered from a slow start in the match as they could not find the way to stop the Iranians from scoring out of the arc. They even legged behind 12-11 after the first period.
But as the Iranians committed more fouls and sent Yao Ming time and again to the line, the Chinese team gradually gained an upper hand and pulled away to lead 57-50 after the third period.
The fourth period was totally dominated by the Chinese team.
Yao Ming was just unstoppable. He did an excellent job at both ends of the court and led China to a comfortable 76-61 win.
China will play Chinese Taipei while Iran takes on Uzbekistan on Friday.
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