China falls to team from down under

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Yao Ming scored only 14 points and his Chinese teammates fell victim to a tough Australian defense during a 67-55 loss on Wednesday in a pre-Olympic warmup game in Nanjing, China.

The Houston Rockets center shot 5 for 8 from the field during 30 minutes of playing time. Australia’s defense, meanwhile, forced 25 Chinese turnovers.

Not to worry, Yao told the Associated Press: “We have a lot to improve on in a short time, but we will do our best.’

Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut finished with 9 points for Australia.

China Coach Jonas Kazlauskas also played former Dallas Mavericks center Wang Zhizhi and New Jersey Nets power forward Yi Jianlian to limit Yao’s playing time. Neither player, however, contributed much during China’s second game in the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament. Wang had 4 points and Yi missed his three field goal attempts.

“For sure, we didn’t play a good game,� Kazlauskas told the Associated Press.

In the other FIBA Diamond Ball tournament game, Iran downed Serbia 72-70.