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Unus Alladin

THE result was expected but the manner in which Yugoslavia beat China was not. The world champions had to work hard for their 84-64 victory in the opening game of the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament at the Hong Kong Coliseum yesterday.

Four years ago, at the Atlanta Olympics, Yugoslavia toyed with China, winning their quarter-final match 128-61, but how things have changed.

Yugoslavia, the tournament favourites, were always in control but China proved they were no longer pushovers.

Led by Sacramento Kings forward Predrag Stojakovic, Yugoslavia got off to a quick-fire start and never surrendered their lead once they hit the front.

China, backed by a partisan crowd of about 2,000 spectators, finished the stronger of the two teams with Dallas Mavericks draft pick Wang Zhizhi showing his worth as a future NBA star by leading the scoring honours with 22 points.

But still it was a bridge too far. The closest China got to tying the score was midway through the first period when Zhang Jinsong's three-point effort left China trailing 19-18.

Yugoslav guard Igor Rakocevic, who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, was impressed by China's second-half fightback and improved ball handling.

'China have a big future. From the last time we played them, they seem to have improved a lot,' said Rakocevic, one of three NBA players in the squad.

'We beat them quite easily the last time in Atlanta, but they surprised us a bit today. They have improved their skills over the last four years. There was a good crowd behind them and I hope more people will come to see their next game,' he added.

Yugoslav coach Zelimir Obradovic was in a relaxed mood following his team's victory and echoed Rakocevic's sentiments, saying China's standard was rising.

'We were satisfied with our performance. It was an interesting match and China did play very well. From the last time we played them in Atlanta, they have definitely improved,' he said.

Stojakovic scored 15 points to assist his team's victory as Yugoslavia showed why they are the world champions.

China had difficulty penetrating the Yugoslavs' solid defence and for the most part, relied on long-range shooting.

Yugoslavia were steadier from the stripe and despite having to contend with vociferous crowd support for China, made 93 per cent of their free throws.

Yugoslavia led in assists and blocked shots but China had more steals, although they failed to convert many of those turnovers into points because of the Europeans' dogged recovery on defence.

Chinese coach Jiang Xingquan said he was satisfied with his team's performance considering they had not played in a top-level competition for some time.

'For several years, we didn't get to play any top-level competitions. This is good preparation for us before the Sydney Olympics,' said Jiang.

'In the first half, we had problems with the Yugoslavs but in the second half, we improved a bit and showed our opponents a thing or two. We have to thank Yugoslavia for giving us such a good game.'

Meanwhile, Angola threw away a 43-41 first-half lead to lose 77-61 to Italy in the day's other game.

Competition continues today with Canada playing China at 3pm and Australia taking on Angola at 5pm.



'We beat them quite easily the last time, but they surprised us a bit today'