Indian hoopsters were taught a basketball lesson as they lost 45-79 to defending champions China in their second round group match in the 27th FIBA Asia Championships here today.
China led 22-14 at the end the first quarter, then increased the gap to 45-20 midway into the match with India scoring just six points in the second quarter. China widened the gap to 60-29 at the end of third quarter.
India did their best in the fourth and last quarter by scoring 16 points against China's 19 but that was too late in the game and lost the match tamely.
For China Wang Zhelin was the top-scorer with 18 points while Amjyot Singh scored the most for India followed by V Bhriguvanshi with six.
India are now at the bottom of six-team Group F after losing all their matches and are in a difficult position to advance to the quarterfinal phase.
"We are a young team and this is a great experience for the whole team, especially for me playing my first FIBA Asia Championship," said 21-year-old Amjyot Singh.
India coach Scott Flemming said his players were on a learning path and they were outplayed by an experienced Chinese side.
"This is a very young group. We picked a lot of points not only from this game, but also from the entire tournament. We will go back to drawing board once we get home," Flemming said.
