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China on Basketball World Cup brink after loss to South Sudan

Sports | Basketball

China on Basketball World Cup brink after loss to South Sudan

By Agence France-Presse

At A Glance

China's Basketball World Cup campaign was left hanging by a thread on Monday, Aug. 28, after a surprise 89-69 loss to tournament debutants South Sudan.

MANILA (AFP) -- China's Basketball World Cup campaign was left hanging by a thread on Monday, Aug. 28, after a surprise 89-69 loss to tournament debutants South Sudan.

South Sudan’s Carlik Jones (right) shoots during the FIBA Basketball World Cup group B match between China and South Sudan at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon city on Monday, Aug. 28. (AFP)

China, ranked 27th in the world, fell behind early in Manila and could find no way back against their 62nd-ranked opponents.

China were thrashed 105-63 by Serbia in their opening game and must now beat Puerto Rico on Wednesday, and hope that other results go their way to avoid a first-round exit.

It was South Sudan's first World Cup win, after starting their tournament with a 101-96 overtime loss to Puerto Rico.

China, where basketball is a national obsession, slumped to a 24th-placed finish at the last World Cup on home soil in 2019.

For this year's tournament they secured the services of American NBA player Kyle Anderson, who has Chinese ancestry and obtained citizenship last month.

Anderson, known in China as Li Kaier, was the game's top scorer with 22 points but it was not enough to overcome a South Sudan team intent on claiming a historic maiden victory.

American-born Carlik Jones, who plays for the NBA's Chicago Bulls, was South Sudan's top scorer with 21 points.

Related Tags

2023 FIBA World Cup

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