China believes it has right numbers

BEIJING (Reuters) - Basketball is a game of numbers -- 7-foot players, 10-foot high baskets, 5-player teams, 3-point shots and a 24-second rule are just a few of the figures in the games that lasts 40 minutes.

There were two other numbers looming over the China-Lithuania quarter-final match on Wednesday: China is the world's most populous nation with 1.3 billion. Lithuania has 3.6 million.

However, the bottom line was Lithuania beat China 94-68.

"It's kind of scary to think what they can do with the resources they got and all the people they got," Lithuanian's Linas Kleiza told Reuters after his team eliminated China in the quarter-finals.

"We got a great tradition in basketball in Lithuania and China is still a work in progress," the Denver Nuggets forward.

"Everyone in Lithuanian loves basketball. We got great fans who follow us everywhere and love us -- until we lose."

Kleiza said in the long run the numbers were on China's side.

"They're catching up fast," he said. "It's scary."

(Additional reporting by Erik Kirschbaum; editing by Keith Weir)