China wins opener in Hangzhou Asiad men's 3x3 basketball

HUZHOU, China, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Men's 3x3 basketball round robin competition kicked off in Huzhou at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Monday as China registered its opening win 21-16 over Macao, China.

After a 4-4 start, Yang Xuan's two-pointer helped Macao, China overtake its rival 9-8. China made a comeback with Zhao Jiaren's two-pointer and enlarged the gap to five points. Although Yang helped Macao, China cut the deficit to 19-16, Liu Yuxuan's consecutive attack enabled China to reach 21 points first.

"They have a fast rhythm, and their long-distance shots and breakthrough pose challenges for us," said Zhao. "We will make changes according to our opponents' styles, and try to reduce mistakes and find our own rhythm."

"Our biggest challenge is that we come from different clubs, and we need time to adapt," Zhao's teammate Zhou Yanxu added.

Hong Kong, China established a 5-2 advantage at the start against Chinese Taipei, who soon tied at 7-7. Chinese Taipei closed out the match at 22-12 through a buzzer-beating two-pointer from Chiang Chun.

The Philippines, Turkmenistan, India, Thailand, South Korea and Kazakhstan also triumphed on Monday in the men's category, while Uzbekistan, Japan, Mongolia, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Jordan and South Korea sealed their victories on the women's side.