BOWLDespite gifting China victory in the semis, coach McIntosh believes the home side have plenty to be proud of It couldn't have been more apt that Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life came blaring out of the speakers after Hong Kong's 26-14 loss to China in the semi-finals of the Bowl. A weekend of peaks and troughs ended on a low note for the hosts after losing to a Chinese team they were well capable of beating - but Hong Kong were the architects of their own downfall. An impressive 35-17 defeat of the United States on Saturday was followed by a 33-0 demolition of Singapore in the Bowl quarter-finals yesterday morning but the wheels soon came flying off against China. Ironically, Hong Kong had taken an early lead thanks to a superb individual try from Mark Wright, which was converted by Nigel D'Acre. But China immediately responded, albeit in controversial fashion. Ricky Cheuk Ming-yin raced back just beneath his posts to retrieve a kick-through and retained possession. Hong Kong then set up a ruck but their centre, Paul Morehu, was adjudged to have come in from the side, and from the resultant China ball He Zhongliang went over in the left-hand corner. A try two minutes later from Lu Zhuan gave the mainlanders the lead. But it was several horrendous errors that gifted China the game - most notably when an errant pass by scrumhalf Jeff Wong was intercepted by Xu Hui for a try just before the end of the first period, and then shortly after the break Yuan Feng slipped in to grab another soft score. Alex Gibbs did manage to get over at the death for the home side but it was merely a consolation effort. 'China didn't win the game, we lost it,' Hong Kong coach Rodney McIntosh said. 'It's very disappointing, especially after we started so well, but we made too many basic mistakes and you just can't afford to do that at this level. 'Overall, though, we've got plenty of positives to take away from the tournament.' The main positive would have to be the superb displays of Wright, 21, who played every minute of every game over the weekend and was clearly Hong Kong's player of the tournament. 'It's my first Sevens and I've loved every minute of it,' Wright, a politics student at Loughborough College in Leicestershire, England, said. 'Hopefully there will be plenty more to come. All the new guys on the squad have really enjoyed the experience.' With Sri Lanka and Taiwan also making the last four it was the first time that four Asian teams made up the semi-finals of the Bowl, and all will be aiming for glory in the Asian Games in Doha in December. Competition here will be tough but Hong Kong's development continues and earlier in the day their quarter-final win over Singapore said it all. Two tries from Tsang Hing-hung, and one apiece from Wong, Kwok Ka-chun and Andy Yuen Kin-ho helped achieve victory, but it was the name of the try-scorers that caught the eye. A sevens win with not a Paul Dingley, Warren Warner or Chris Gordon to be seen - the times definitely are a changing.