Team China victorious in the round-robin stage

　　19 August 2007

　　JINCHENG, China – Center Chen Nan got 26 points and helped China to secure their third straight win in the first stage of the tournament as they routed Latvia by 21 points.

　　Both teams looked fresh in the game despite of the fact that it was the third day of the tournament. Team China, however, got the upper hand. Chen Xiaoli, Chen Nan, and Miao Lijie combined scored 26 of the 31 points for China in the first. Latvia scored 22 points in the quarter.

　　The competition was just as intense in the second period. Yet again, China had the edge over Latvia. The Chinese players’ good passing and running created open shots for themselves, and the lead was extended to double digits at the end of the first half as China led 52-39.

　　China widened the gap to 17 points in the third period as Bian Lan scored a 3-point field goal. But then Latvia would seize China’s turnovers and made a 7-0 comeback and cut the Chinese lead to 9 points. Unfortunately for Latvia, the gap could not be further narrowed as Zane Eglite had to leave the game with 5 personal fouls and China’s Chen Nan scored under the basket. China led 72-58 at the end of the third period.

　　Team Latvia still tried hard to challenge Team China at the beginning of the last period. But as Zane Taman also fouled out and Chen Nan scored the game highest 26 points, it was time Coach Maher of China felt safe enough to rest his first team and gave the bench players playing time. The final score: China 93, Latvia 72.