KUNSHAN, Southern China, Aug. 29 -- Australia came from 10 points back to edge China 76-74 on Saturday, the second day of the 5th FIBA Stankovic Basketball Continental Cup for Men.
Australia was the only team to keep two wins while China posted one win and one loss. Australia trounced Turkey and the host defeated Angola on Friday.
China led 74-73 with 10 seconds left but a turnover by Hu Xuefeng's bad pass to Sun Yue gave the Australians a chance to win when Oscar Forman made a lay-up and drew a foul and made the free-throw for victory.
Australia's Peter Crawford (2nd L) drives the ball during the second day match against China at the men's 2009 Stankovic Basketball Continental Cup in Kunshan city, east China's Jiangsu Province, on Aug. 29, 2009. Australia won 76-74.
Australian Aj Ogilvy scored a game-high 18 points, James Harvey netted 17 and Ater Majok 11.
Li Xiaoxu led China with 17 points and 8 rebounds, Wang Zhizhi got 16 but made six turnovers.
The first period was marked by six lead changes and four ties with a 23-all entering the second period.
The host broke open a close game immediately in the second quarter when they came out with a 17-9 run to lead 38-31.
The Australians, who trailed 39-43 at half-time and seven points again, 44-51, early in the second half, trimmed the gap gradually and finished the third quarter with a 57-57 tie.
China regained the lead with consecutive points from Zhang Qingpeng and Li Xiaoxu and turned the advantage into 10 points, 70-60 -- the first double-figure margin of the game, on Zhang's 3-pointer with five minutes remaining.
But the opponent team fought back with a 9-0 spurt to cut the gap 69-70. Zhang and Wang Zhizhi made the fast break and lay-up for China's last 4 points before the Australians recovered.
"It was sad for us to lose the game, "Chinese head coach Guo Shiqiang said, "We didn't play well in the last two minutes, especially in the last seconds when we made a mistake."
China forced Australia 22 turnovers while committing 16 themselves, but a turnover in the last seconds nailed their loss.
China, however, still have chance to meet Australia in the Monday's final if they win over Turkey on Sunday in their last round-robin game.
Early on Saturday, Turkey rolled to a lopsided 60-37 triumph over Angola, condemning the defending champion to two straight defeats.
Turkey took control early, leading by 10 in the first period and by as many as 25 before taking a 55-25 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Cankaya Yunus scored 13 points for Turkey, Sonkol Umit got 12 and Buker Everen nailed 11. Angloa, who lost to China 62-88 Friday, was led by Pualo Barros with 10 points.
(Xinhua)
