Chinese give Americans a hiding
CHINA'S national team defeated the Team America touring outfit in a heavily one-sided opening match to the sides' nine-game series in Beijing last night.
The Chinese, playing as a well-drilled unit after months of experience together, exposed the tourists' three-day preparation as inadequate by beating them 114-94.
The host team even took their foot off the gas in the closing five minutes to allow the Americans to pull back a 29-point deficit to something a little more respectable.
China, rebuilding after a bad Olympics in 1992, have improved in leaps and bounds and last night resumed the form which saw them sweep all comers in winning the men's gold medal at the East Asian Games in Shanghai recently.
In mitigation for their poor start, Team America officials pointed to jet lag among some of their late arrivals and an array of last minute squad changes.
Most notably they lost their prime asset and main attraction Manute Bol, to an 11th hour decision by the NBA to bar him.
The seven-foot seven-inch Sudanese centre's tailor-made outsize jersey arrived on the morning of the match but the tallest player in the NBA wasn't there to wear it.
NBA veteran George Gervin was also a late cancellation because his team, the San Antonio Spurs, refused him permission to go.
It was obvious from the early stages of play at the cavernous Capital Gymnasium last night that the disruption of the American plans had taken its toll, and the first appearance of a fully professional US team on Chinese soil wasn't going to be a happy one.
The 8,000 fans in the 18,000-seater stadium thoroughly enjoyed themselves even though many were sitting so far from the action they had to use binoculars.
The one consolation for Team America was that Lewis Lloydd top-scored with 30 points.
