Kazakhstan's men's basketball team opened its Group C campaign at the XX Summer Asian Games with a 61-99 loss to China. The game was played in Japan, where Nagoya is hosting the Games from September 19 to October 4, according to infohub.kz.
Alexander Lysyak's squad trailed the favorites in all four quarters — 12-31, 19-27, 13-21, 17-20. Kazakhstan finished 38 points behind the winners.
Center Askar Maidekin was Kazakhstan's top scorer with 11 points. Daniil Severgin added 10 points. Zhenglin Pang led the opponents with 19 points.
In other games on the day, South Korea beat Saudi Arabia 82-66 in Group A, while Japan crushed Indonesia 98-53. In Group B, Iran lost to Qatar 53-59, and Jordan fell to Chinese Taipei 80-83. The second Group C match between the Philippines and Bahrain was to finish later.
Tomorrow Kazakhstan will face the Philippines, and on the 14th it will play Bahrain. The top two teams from each group, plus the two best third-place teams, will advance to the quarterfinals.
The official opening ceremony will take place on September 19. The following day will feature the men's 5x5 basketball final and bronze-medal game. The Games program also includes a women's 5x5 tournament and men's and women's 3x3 competitions.
Kazakhstan has competed in basketball at the Asian Games since 1994. At the 2002 Games in Busan, South Korea, the team won bronze. In 1998 and 2014, Kazakhstan finished fourth.
China has won the tournament more often than any other country — 8 times. The Philippines are the reigning champions. So Kazakhstan's group opponents are serious.
The XX Summer Asian Games will be held in the Japanese city of Nagoya from September 19 to October 4. The multi-sport event, featuring athletes from 45 countries, will award 460 sets of medals: 217 in men's events, 204 in women's and 39 in mixed events. Competitions will be held in 68 disciplines across 41 sports.
More than 500 athletes will represent Kazakhstan at the Games.