Team China

Donewald: limping yi jianlian a 'warrior'

By Chen Xiangfeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-03 09:39

Yi Jianlian was a "warrior", head coach Bob Donewald Jr said, for playing despite sustaining an Achilles's tendon injury against Russia.

Yi Jianlian of China slam dunks against Puerto Rico during their FIBA Basketball World Championship game in Ankara August 31, 2010. [Agencies]

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The NBA player starred in the team's first three games at the World Championship but was not as impressive on Wednesday, making six of his 12 shots from the field and finishing with 14 points. The power forward battled hard, though, even as he was playing with an obvious injury.

"He's on one leg. You must have noticed he was limping a bit. It was hard for him to get moving," Donewald said. "He's a man. It's (the Achilles) is inflamed a little bit."

The coach shrugged off any major concerns about Yi.

"He is a warrior. He's going to be OK and I do not think it's an injury," Donewald said.

"It has been an unbelievable tournament for him. Today he made 12 shots, but he could have made four to five more shots if he was not on one leg."

Yi is averaging 22.5 points and 9.8 rebounds so far at the tournament.