Yao reacts after scoring two of his 29 points against Puerto Rico on Tuesday. Yao shot 60% from the floor, grabbed 8 boards and blocked two shots, but the Chinese lost a heartbreaker 90-87 in OT. Yao fouled out late in the fourth quarter, and that was probably the difference in this game. The Chinese are now 0-3 and have to win their final two games (vs. Senegal and Slovenia) in order to have a chance to advance to the next round in the World Championships in Japan. Click here for more photos from the game. Click here for a story on the game.

What a disappointment for fans of the Chinese national team. The CNT had a chance to steal a victory from Puerto Rico, but Yao’s fouling out with just a few minutes remaining in the game really hurt. I didn’t see the game, but Raymond in China saw it, and he thought some of the calls were very questionable.

Oh well, at least Yao put his head to good use, which resulted in Puerto Rico center Peter Ramos applying a head butt on Yao. Click here to see the photos and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

I remember seeing Ramos at the Vegas Summer League last month, and that boy is one big dude. Probably 7’4,” only an inch or two shorter than Yao. He’s probably one of only a couple of guys who could head-butt Yao. Shaq probably couldn’t even do that!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006 at 2:59 am and is filed under 2006 World Championships. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.