LAS VEGAS, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China's national men's basketball team suffered a 67-84 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Summer League here on Wednesday.
Zhou Qi had a double-double performance for Team Dragon with 14 points and 17 rebounds, while Jock Landale added a game-high 23 points for the Bucks.
Although in-form players such as Wang Zhelin and Guo Ailun were absent, China started strongly and led by one point at the first half, though the Bucks took control of the match in the third quarter and maintained a double-digit lead until the buzzer.
China bested the Bucks 40-29 in rebounds, but it was not enough to make up for their 23 turnovers and a dismal 19.4 field goal percentage.
Despite a 1-3 record in the Summer League, China showed steady progress across the four matches, with the team eager to impress at the 2019 FIBA World Cup on home soil later this year.
"We played in the Summer League to prepare for the FIBA World Cup. I think we are performing better and better, which is what we hoped to achieve before we came here. We did a good job in the first half, but not so well in the second half," said forward Abudusalam.
