China advances to semis of EABA Championship for Men

NAGANO, Japan, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China beat Hong Kong, China 90-60 to advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 East Asia Basketball Association (EABA) Championship for Men here on Sunday.

China led the first quarter 24-9, expanded the cushion to 53-24 at half break, won a lackluster third quarter 17-11, but lost the fourth quarter 20-25.

China had four players scoring double digits, with Hu Jinqiu contributing a game-high 17 points.

Head coach Fan Bin said he was satisfied with the team performance in general, adding the players were somewhat slack in the fourth quarter.

The EABA Championship for Men 2017 runs till June 7 in Nagano, Japan. Six teams were divided into two groups, with top two from each group advancing to the semifinals.

China advanced from Group B after beating Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong, China, while Japan beat South Korea and Macao, China in Group A.

The top five in the six-team tournament will qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon in August.