China loses to Australia 76-65 in basketball friendly

China lost to Australia 76-65 in the third of the three-game series on Tuesday.

China wrapped up their first Rio Olympics warmup series with a 1-2 record, winning in Nanning and losing in Guangzhou and Beijing.

China played without former NBA star Yi Jianlian. Guo Ailun, Zhou Qi and other few top players were also absent.

Ding Yanyuhang finished with a game-high 18 points for China. Zhai Xiaochuan and Zou Yuchen had 13 and 10 respectively.

China made as many as 28 turnovers in the 40-minute game, while Australia only turned the ball over for 14 times.

China won the 2015 FIBA Asian Championship, securing a berth in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"We made too many turnovers and we also had problems on guarding their shooters," said China's head coach Gong Luming, who led Chinese men's basketball team to their first Olympics top-eight show 20 years ago in Atlanta.

"Finding those problems is good, and I think our players should become stronger and more competitive on the international stage."

Li Muhao opened scoring for China with a free throw, before the hosts took a 7-0 lead. Australia put enough effort on defensive side, delivering a 10-2 spurt to move ahead. The away team finished the first quarter at 19-14.

Australia extended the advantage to 26-19 in the second quarter. The host team tried to catch up, only to see Australian bench players make three straight baskets to broaden the gap to as many as 12 points by the half-time mark.

The second half started with a three-pointer from Australia, and China responded with a couple of fast breaks. The Asian champions cut the deficit to six points with seven minutes left in the third period. The Oceania powerhouse put in a few baskets, but Chinese forward Li Gen continued his hot hand in the latter half of the period, allowing China to trim the gap to three points.

Australia moved ahead 57-47 to begin the final quarter. China fought hard to take back the game, but Australian shooters continued their scoring, ending the game at 76-65.

"Another tough game, and both teams improved," said Australian head coach Andrej Lemanis.

"Our players benefit from playing international games."

Australian shooter Daniel Kickert made four three-pointers to take home 18 points. Jason Cadee added 15 points.

China and Australia will meet in the group stage at Rio Olympics.