China crowned women's basketball champs at Asian Games

Ting Shao

The Chinese women's basketball team claimed their sixth title at the Asian Games after edging the Unified Korea team 71-65 in the final here on Saturday. China took ten points in a row in the first three minutes, but later the Unified Korea team managed to fight back, with WNBA player Ji-Su Park (195-C-98) and 38-year-old Lim Yung hui scoring eight points respectively, they narrowed the gap to 22-23 by the end of the first quarter. The Unified Korea team tied China 32-32 in the second quarter, then the two teams'scores seasawed to 38-38 after the first half of the match. At the beginning of the third quarter, team China was surpassed by a Unified Korea team 38-40 for the first time. China bounced back with Han XU (200-C-99) and Li Yuan (170-PG-00)'s two-pointers, edging Unified Korea 58-53 at the end of the third quarter. At the key moment of China's 64-61 lead, Yueru Li (192-C-99) scored a crucial two-pointer to widen the gap, giving China the victory, 71-65. Captain Ting Shao (183-F-89) had a team-high 17 points, Meng Li (185-F-95) and Yueru Li also bagged double-digit scores. Four years ago, China lost to South Korea in Incheon in the final, missing out on the gold medal. "Ting Shao played a crucial role as team leader, but she still needs improvement in the future," said coach Xu LiMin . "We didn't expect to win this gold medal before, I am so lucky to have such many young and talented players in the team, such as Li Yuan and Yueru Li, they are very promising. I will do anything I can to help the team reaching a higher level, even the Olympic podium," he added.
Courtesy of: xinhuanet.com