SHENZHEN, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Team Blue of the Chinese men's basketball national team lost 68-61 to Tunisia in the 2018 Stankovic Continental Cup here on Thursday night.

Tunisia took the spoils thanks to a burst of 17 consecutive points in the fourth quarter, condemning Team Blue to their first loss in the tournament. Point guard Omar Mouhli played particularly well, contributing 12 points from just four attempts.

Team Blue struggled from three-point distance with a shooting percentage of just 25.9%. However, Hu Jinqiu produced a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

"Yesterday we lost to Croatia, we played really badly. But I don't think it was a normal game. Today we corrected our mistakes. We played especially well in the second half," commented Tunisia coach Mario Palma.

After playing against both Chinese national teams, Palma said he thought Team Red was the best in the Stankovic Cup. "They have two big guys [Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin]. It's difficult for us to stop them because of their size."

"I really wish those two big centers could play for my team. Maybe I should talk to Yao Ming!" he quipped.

Despite the loss, Team Blue coach Du Feng spoke highly of his players' performance in defense.

"It's our first loss this summer, and I feel a bit of pity. My players fought until the end of the game."

"Wu Qian, Hu Mingxuan, Hu Jinqiu all had a fever. Han Dejun also failed to continue playing because of an injury to his waist," revealed Du.

On Friday, Team Blue will face Croatia, while Team Red will fly to Jakarta to prepare for the first Asian Games group stage match against the Philippines. Enditem

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