China edges Philippines in FIBA Asia Cup debut

TOKYO (Xinhua) - The Chinese men's basketball team, made up of young players like Guo Ailun and Wang Zhelin, beat Philippinese 71-68 to win their first appearance at the 2012 FIBA Asia Cup here on Friday.
Guo Ailin came from bench to score a match-high 18 points while Zhao Tailong took 11. Wang Zhelin finished with six points and 14 rebounds, as along with five turnovers and four fouls.
Zhao Tailong's three-pointer with three minutes to go to the end tied the score at 64-64. Guo made two free-throws to build the lead and secured China the victory.
Ranidel De Ocampo led Philippines with 11 points while teammate Marucs Douthit, who led the scoring and rebound board at 2011 Asian Championships, finished with only 10 points and eight rebounds.
"It was a difficult match for us," said Vincent Reyes, head coach of the Philippine team. "The Chinese team is higher, obviously. And we missed lots of free-throws in the final minutes, that's why we lost the match."
"And our only chance to beat China maybe is to play their younger team, like today's. If we were playing the China A, the score couldn't be so close," added Reyes.
"Our players are young and they failed to keep their advantage while they were leading in the match," said Fan Bin, Chinese team' s coach. "Winning the match will bring lots of experience to our young players."
It is China's debut in the FIBA Asia Cup, which was known as the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup in the last three editions. It is the qualifying event for the 27th FIBA Asia Championship in 2013 while the winners will automatically qualify for the Asia Championship.