China will take on New Zealand in basketball’s Fiba Asia Cup semi-finals in Saudi Arabia on Saturday after a victory over South Korea that coach Guo Shiqiang said had earned his team some respect.
A 79-71 win on Thursday at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City set up a Saturday evening clash with the Tall Blacks, who overcame a 22-point deficit to send Lebanon packing with a 90-86 win.
Chinese fans celebrated a hard-fought victory featuring a series of controversial calls, as their country reached the last four for the first time since 2015.
In a match that China led by as many as 18 points midway through the third quarter, social media attention turned to the 17 free throws awarded to the Koreans within a six-minute, 44-second span during the quarter.
The Koreans sank 15 to keep themselves in the game. China were awarded two free throws in those 10 minutes, but Liao Sanning, who finished with four points, missed both.
Chinese captain Zhao Rui (left) and Wang Junjie (right) thank the crowd after their win. Photo: Xinhua
While “you had 17 free throws, but you still couldn’t win” was among the most popular comments, others questioned the officiating.