Kenneth Ogbe (L) of Germany vies with Xu Mengjun of China during the match between team China and team Germany at the International Basketball Championships Tournament in Xi'an of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, July 26, 2018. Team Germany won 68-60 and claimed the title. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)
XI'AN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Germany's national basketball team beat China 68-60 to claim the 2018 Belt and Road International Basketball tournament title here on Thursday.
China beat Nigeria and Iran in their previous two matches.
The first half saw an energetic Germany. Jonas Grof's three-pointers helped the visitors take a 16-10 lead. His teammates broke the deadlock with three consecutive free throws to regain the advantage after China equalized with 25-25 at the end of the second quarter.
The hosts' shooters were not as good as before while center forward Yan Pengfei was still not at his best.
Although China spared no efforts to try to narrow the gap at the end, the advantage the visitors built was enough for Germany to lift the trophy after three straight wins.
"Although we missed out on the title, I'm very pleased to witness my boys growing tough and showing endurance," said Wu Qinglong, the head coach of the China national Olympic basketball team.
In the other match on Thursday night, Iran hammered Nigeria 77-58.
