Yao Ming Outduels Bogut
Posted on August 15th, 2006 by
Yao Ming scored the game-winner and finished with 21 points Tuesday to lift China past Australia, 63-61, in its final exhibition before the World Championships.
Andrew Bogut’s jam tied the game at 61, but he missed a free throw and a chance to take the lead. China took possession with 15 seconds left and Yao scored the winning basket.
The game turned into a battle between Yao and Bogut, the Milwaukee Bucks’ No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft, who scored 20 points. Yao seemed to get the better of most of their exchanges, with Australia grabbing only 12 rebounds in the first half to China’s 23.
With the return of guard Liu Wei, China was able to play with its full complement of stars. Liu, who had a tryout with the Sacramento Kings in 2004, had 10 points. Wang Zhizhi, China’s first player in the NBA, added nine.
China won its first game in four exhibition appearances at home this month. The Chinese team lost to the United States, Germany and Brazil.
The game was played in a packed gymnasium just outside Yao’s hometown, Shanghai. #
This was really just a match between Yao Ming and Andrew Bogut, with Yao getting the final shot up over him. Despite the very low scoring, both superstars played really well. Makes you wonder if it would’ve been different if the game was in Australia instead of China?
