Reigning champion China entered final as they upset Qatar 86-61 in the semi-final of the Asian men's basketball championship on Tuesday.

China will meet South Korea, who edged runners-up Lebanon 85-83 in the semi-final earlier on Tuesday, in the final. South Korea had shocked China 102-100 in the final of last year's Asian Games.

The two Asian basketball powerhouses will clash again after both made it through the two-tier stages of the round-robin, keeping a cleaning sheet in six matches respectively.

The 22-year-old Du Feng led China with 17 points with three-for- four three-pointers. NBA sensation Yao Ming scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Leading at 23-17 after the first quarter, China made a 9-0 run for a 46-31 advantage before the break.

Veteran Li Nan, who had 13 points and eight rebounds, was the most productive player in the fourth quarter as he made three three-pointers in a row, helping China to enlarge their leading advantage to 26 points less than three minutes to go.

Qatar's Yasseen Musa played a game-high 22 points and pulled down five rebounds.

"We did well in defense today, and transitions was also good. I am satisfied with my team's performance," said Chinese coach Jiang Xingquan at the press conference.

"We played to our best, but China is a better team. We tried not to let Yao Ming hold the ball, but we failed," said Qatar's coach Joseph Anthony Stiebing.

"Good luck to China in the final," he added.

China blew a nine-point lead in the waning minutes of regulation and then folded in overtime as they lost a 102-100 thriller to South Korea at the Asian Games last year. China got the chance to revenge on Wednesday.

The Asian Championship is slated for September 23-October 1 with the winner qualifying for the Olympic Games next year in Athens.

(China Daily October 1, 2003)