China loses to Nigeria again in Stankovic Cup's third-place playoff

Chinese men's basketball team sat bottom of Stankovic Cup after losing 74-64 to Nigeria at the tournament's third-place playoff here on Saturday.

France claimed the title with a 70-57 victory over Argentina in the final.

It was the second loss for the hosts in front of the African team in one week, as China lost 79-71 in the tournament's opener without former NBA player Yi Jianlian.

Yi finished with a game-high 20 points, five rebounds and three assists for China. Dingyan Yuhang and Guo Ailun added 12 apiece.

Fueled by Yi's 10 points in a row, China stormed to a 12-5 lead after the tip-off, while suffering a strong response as their star was on the bench. China led at 18-14 as the first quarter ran out.

After building a seven-point margin early in the second period, China met troubles in the offensive end. Zhao Jiwei and Guo Ailun came out to hit consecutive shots from the three-pointer shooting line, while China still trailed by three points into the halftime.

China once possessed a four-point advantage into the final 12 minutes, before their opponents took on a 9-2 run. China suffered their third loss of the tournament as Zhou Qi's jumper missed the target.

China was outrebounded at 41-33, and the visitors grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. Ike Diogu, who spent several seasons in CBA, had 17 points and 11 boards for the Nigerian team.