China sweeps four golds in basketball at Asiad

China beat Iran 84-72 on Saturday for its eighth men's basketball title of the Asian Games.

With the win, the Chinese basketball teams have swept all four gold medals from both men's and women's 3x3 and 5x5 competitions, reports Xinhua news agency.

After powerhouse Iran took an 18-10 lead from the first two minutes, China managed to narrow the gap and even closed to one point through the efforts of Fang Shuo and Abudurexiti, although Iran still led by 45-41 into the second half.

Wang Zhelin started the third quarter with his shot, helping China to turn the tide 50-45 together with a pair of 3-pointers from Zhao Rui, and to lead 59-56 into the last quarter.

Both Zhou Qi and Ding Yanyuhang combined for a string of 3-pointers to guide China for a 71-61 lead, a double-digit advantage kept till the end of the match.

The 22-year-old Abudurexiti scored a team-high 20 points, Fang Shuo and Zhao Rui collected 16 points each, and Zhou Qi contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds.

--IANS

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