Despite a promising start that saw China take a 16-5 lead early on, Wizards big man Yi Jianlian‘s team became the final Asian participant bounced from the FIBA World Championships, losing in the round of 16 to new Toronto Raptor Linas Kleiza (30 points, 9 rebounds) and Lithuania, 78-67.
Yi, who missed China’s previous game with an Achilles injury, finished with 11 points, 12 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He finished the tournament averaging 20.2 points and 10.2 rebounds, some solid numbers that will boost the expectations for him this season with the Wizards, especially with Andray Blatche still recovering from the foot injury he suffered early in the summer. Yi could be on pace to battle for significant minutes at power forward.
Training camp opens in three weeks.
