体坛英语资讯：Zhao Ruis 18 points help China Team Red beat Croatia 81-69_娱乐

体坛英语资讯：Zhao Ruis 18 points help China Team Red beat Croatia 81-69

SHENZHEN, Aug. 16 -- Team Red of the Chinese men's basketball national team remains unbeaten at the Stankovic Continental Cup 2018, after defeating Croatia 81-69 here on Thursday.

China's point guard Zhao Rui was in unstoppable form, shooting a game-high 18 points, including 3 three-pointers from 5 attempts. He also got 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Houston Rockets' center Zhou Qi was also efficient, scoring 6 points from only 3 shooting attempts. He dominated in the paint with 9 rebounds and 4 blocks, forming the "no fly zone" for the hosts.

Offensively, Croatia relied heavily on Dino Cinac and Domagoj Vukovic, both of whom scored 15 points.

"We played well in the first three quarters but in the fourth we lost concentration in defense," lamented Croatia head coach Drazen Anzulovic.

"We have 3 games in 3 days and it's hard for us to play. In the first half we tried to make the game equal. In the second half, we gave chances to players who didn't play much in the first game. We hope to be ready for the final game tomorrow. We want to win this tournament."

Team Red head coach Li Nan praised Croatia after game. "Yesterday we watched the game between Croatia and Tunisia, and they played well in defense and offense. We paid a lot of attention to today's game, as it is the last warm-up match before the Asian Games."

Li added that he was satisfied with his players' defensive efforts. "We hoped to play well today, but also to control some main players' minutes for the Asian Games. In the first half, we were good in offense. Although the field goal percentage got lower in the second half, we picked up our defense and got the victory. However we had too many turnovers in the game. If we want to play well in Jakarta, we have to cherish possession of the ball."