JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - China moved a step closer to the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Quarter-Finals after keeping India winless by way of a dominant 100-69 conquest, Thursday at the King Abdullah Sports City.
Coming off a tough escape from hosts Saudi Arabia the last time out, the traditional contenders were quick to set the tone this time, racing to a 20-8 lead before ending the first owning a 29-14 advantage.
But it wasn't until the second quarter where they would pull away for good on the way to chalking up their second win in as many games, thus taking the provisional lead in Group C - and zeroing in on advancing.
Team Dragon will simply have to beat rivals Jordan on Saturday at 14:00 local time to complete the sweep and clinch the no. 1 spot, which merits an outright trip to the Quarter-Finals scheduled to begin on August 13.
"Jordan is a strong team," head coach Guo Shiqiang said. "We always play against them in the Asian championships. They're like old opponents for us. For sure, we will treat that game very seriously."
Hu Mingxuan sparked the Chinese with 17 points behind a 5-of-8 clip from beyond the arc, as he showed how much he wanted to bounce back after a measly two-point showing against Saudi on Opening Day.
The 27-year-old guard was aggressive early on, scoring eight points in the opening period that saw him nail a pair of three-pointers to power their 12-2 start that practically set the tone for the one-sided show.
Zhao Jiayi also finished with 17 points. Wang Junjie and Cheng Shuaipeng supplied 13 points apiece, while seasoned big man Hu Jinqiu notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Liao Sanning made 11 points as well alongside 5 rebounds and 8 assists as a total of six players finished in double figures in the win, which saw Team China nail 15 triples and shoot 53.5-percent overall.
"I give credit to our guys. They did great to win the game. And also today, we showed that we are a two-way team - we're balanced on both offense and defense," Guo said. "Really proud of our guys for doing a great job."
Arvind Muthu Krishnan, on the other hand, paced Team India with 16 points in the loss. Pranav Prince and Sahaij Sekhon were the only other players for the crew in double figures with 14 points apiece.
Now at 0-2, India have no other choice but to win against Saudi Arabia on Saturday at 18:00 local time if they are to remain in contention for a spot at the Qualification to Quarter-Finals.
FIBA