Former NBA player Wang Zhizhi scored 30 points to lead China to rout a stubborn Japanese side 94-68 for its fourth straight victory at the Doha Asian Games men's basketball tournament in Doha on Friday.
The 2.16-meter Wang also pulled down game-high 14 rebounds and four steals and added one block as the Chinese secured a top finish from Group B and a berth in the quarter-finals with one game in hand.
"I did not find my touch in the last two games, but I got it today. I also tried to play more inside game, just as the coach told me to do," said the 29-year-old veteran.
"I am in good shape, I have no injury now, hopefully I can play better and better in the next games," Wang added.
"Wang is a very good player and he made great trouble for us," said Kosuke Takeuchi, who contributed 12 points for Japan.
The Chinese built a 50-33 lead amid the second quarter after scoring 10 points in a row. But the Japanese made four consecutive three-pointers to pull within 56-50, only to see China surge away again with nine straight points to make it 65-50.
"Our opponent played really well today and sometimes they make consecutive three pointers. That made it difficult for us," said China head coach Jonas Kazlauskas.
"Late in the game, we found our rhythm and played better defense and closed the game strongly," he added.
Japan was held to nil point in the last five minutes and 55 seconds while China closed the scoring with a 14-0 run.
"It's very difficult to defend against the Chinese team, which is much bigger than us, and every player got tired in the fourth quarter," said Japan head coach Kimikazu Suzuki.
"We had too many turnovers today, it's impossible to compete with China with so many turnovers," Suzuki added.
China reaped 21 points from a total of 18 turnovers of Japan.
Despite the loss, Japan has collected a 3-1 record and secured a top four finish from the group and a place in the quarter-finals.