(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-07-31 22:47

MACAO - The African basketball champions Angola beat China national team 68-63 at the Stankovic Cup on Tuesday.

The young talent Yi Jianlian led the Chinese to a 39-33 lead in the half time while the Africans counterattacked harshly in the last two quarters to grasp the final win.

Yi top-scored among players of both sides with 19 points but failed to offset his team's poor organizations.

China coach Jonas Kazlauskas said the China team was "too relaxed" in the second half, which caused the defeat.

China lost two of the first three games at the six-team tournament and its title hope seemed fading.

The China team is scheduled to encounter New Zealand and the U.S. D-league team Ambassadors respectively on Wednesday and Thursday.