TEHRAN - China crushed Lebanon 85-68 in the third-place match at the FIBA U18 Asian Championship in Tehran on Sunday.

China, who had lost the semifinal to South Korea 89-85 on Friday, was led by Liu Lijia who notched 22 points. Yang Hansen contributed a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds.

China trailed by 20-25 after a poor defensive performance in the first quarter, but scored 12 unanswered points to start the second period to turn the game around 

China trailed by 20-25 after a poor defensive performance in the first quarter, but scored 12 unanswered points to start the second period to turn the game around. Zhang Junhao hit two consecutive 3-pointers to help China establish a 40-30 lead with three minutes to play, establishing the first double-figure advantage since tip-off. With their percentage in shooting from 3-point range greatly improved, China pushed their half-time lead to 15 points at 49-34.

Lebanon still could not trim their deficit back from the locker room, as China's lead ballooned to as many as 24 points after Liu made a layup early in the final period.

China shot 50.7 percent from the field, compared to Lebanon's 40 percent, and outrebounded 49-38.

Karim Rtail was Lebanon's most prolific scorer with 21 points, and Mostafa Assaf added 20.

READ MORE: Team China's ills laid bare in early Asian Cup exit

After reaching the FIBA U18 Asian Championship semifinals, both China and Lebanon have booked their ticket to next year's FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary, along with tournament finalists Japan and South Korea.