Thanks to a second-half spurt, Chinese girls took "revenge" on their South Korean counterparts with a 74-58 win at FIBA Asia Women's Basketball Championship in Wuhan on Sunday.
China recorded two wins in a row, along with Japan and Chinese Taipei. Shao Ting led Chinese players with 17 points. Chen Xiaojia added 14.
"Naturally I'm very happy to beat such a good team as South Korea. They play very tough today and are very good at shooting. I think it's a terrific result for us," said China's head coach Thomas Maher.
China lost to South Korea twice in last edition two years ago, including a buzzer beater in the opening game. For China, South Korea is a arch-rival on their way to the champion, and the ticket to Rio Olympics, especially in terms of China's 11 titles in Asia Women's Championship history, compared with South Korea's 12.
The hosts had the same starting line-up as the opening game with Thailand on Saturday. Huang Hongpin made China's first shot with a jumper, while South Korea, regarded as "one of the best shooting team in the world" by Thomas Maher, begam to dispaly their fast speed and good shooting performance as the game went underway, and led by 18-15 after the first quarter.
Chinese players shone beyond the arc early in the second quarter, with Chen Xiaojia and Sun Mengran hitting three-pointers, while the first half is still in the visitors' control as they had a two-point advantage in hand when both sides went back to locker room.
But things began to change after the interval as Chinese players pleased home crowds with a 9-0 run. Shao Ting had five points in a row, followed by Sun Mengran's layup in the post. Tough defensive play also helped the hosts reverse the momentum in the third period, and they built a six-point lead into last 12 minutes.
With five minutes to go, China had a double-figure advantage in hand on Chen Xiaojia's fast break, and finally secured the victory.
Led by six players' double-figure points, defending champion Japan smashed India 131-31 on the latter's stunning 36 turnovers.
Mio Shinozaki made 10 of 14 field goals to finish game-high 25 points. Ai Mitani scored 16 points. Yuki Miyazawa and Chinatsu Yamamoto had 15 apiece.
In another level 1 match, Chinese Taipei thrashed Thailand 113-42.
In level 2 matches, Hong Kong, China beat Sri Lanka 72-52, Kazakhstan upset Malaysia 73-65, and Philippines edged DPR Korea 68-67.
China's opponents on Monday will be India.
