Chinese learning to slow speedsters

TONGCHUAN, Shanxi province - China's national basketball team is concentrating on how to handle opponents' speedy guards as the first step of its preparations for the FIBA Asian Championships in September.

While the team tends to dominate the paint against its Asian rivals, China sometimes struggles while facing fast-moving opponents, particularly from the Republic of Korea and Iran, whose guards trouble its defense a lot.

To work on the problem, the national squad has scheduled three exhibition games against Elkhart Express, a United States professional team, which boasts quickness and athleticism, in a bid to test its young guards under pressure.