BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- With four players scoring double-digit points, Team Red of the Chinese men's basketball national team defeated Australia's NBL United 82-62 here on Tuesday in the third game of the 2018 International Basketball Challenge.
Chinese rising star Wang Zhelin scored Team Red's first six points, helping the hosts take a 13-2 run at the very beginning of the first quarter. Although Australia tried to catch up with a three-pointer and a fast break, China's tough defense proved difficult to break down. The hosts kept a double-digit lead of around 15 points all the way to the end of the second quarter.
NBL United failed to narrow the gap in the third quarter and ensured the result was settled long before the end of the game, with Team Red ultimately emerging comfortable winners.
Four Chinese players secured double-digit points hauls. Abdusalam finished with a team-high 20 points, followed by 16 points from Sun Minghui.
"We did great job in attack today," said Team Red head coach Li Nan. "The Australian team is very physical and we will need to analyze these three games carefully in the future."
