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China beats Japan 107-65 at the Asian women's basketball
championships on
Sunday. (Agencies) |
The powerhouse China hammered down Japan 107-65 for its second victory
at the Asian women's basketball championships on Monday.
With the dominance inside the key, China led from the very beginning
and open the gap by every quarter on the way seeking to claim its third
consecutive title in the event.
Japan, who finished 10th in the Athens Games in 2004, lost to South
Korea on the opener 108-62 on Sunday.
"It's easy to be happy when you win a game by 40 points, but I'm
happier with the way we played tonight," said Chinese head coach Tom
Maher.
China, who survived a surprising 102-96 overtime win over Chinese
Taipei Sunday, closed the first quarter with a 20-3 run by 33-12, and
extending lead before the break.
Beating Japan on the board by 46-27, China shot 33-out-0f-59 in the
field and 8-out-of-17 on 3-pointer while Japan was only 31 percent and
22.7 percent in these categories respectively.
The third quarter did not see much change of China's strong play under
the basket when the small Japanese tried to close the gap by outside
shooting in vain.
Centers Chen Nan and Zhang Xiaoni combined for 33 points and 15
rebounds for China, while Japan's center Kumiko Yamada and point guard Yuko Oga had 17 points
each.
China has claimed a berth in the World Championships next year in
Brazil with the top three teams in the first level group to qualify.
(Agencies) |