Japan wins over China in women's basketball pre-Olympic warm-up series

Mai Yamamoto (163-PG-1999) had 11 points to lead Japan past China 74-56 here on Friday night in their second clash in a week. Yang Shuyu (182-F-2002) top-scored for China with 18 points, but without the services of several key players including Xu Han (208-C-1999) and Li Meng (185-F-1995), the home side couldn't hold the Japanese at bay. Japan opened with an 8-0 run before the Chinese cut the deficit to five thanks to Yang's early production. Japan was leading 24-18 after the first quarter. Yu Tang (188-PF-1999) impressed in the second period with 10 points, helping China build a brief lead at 28-26. However, Japan then hit a barrage of three-pointers to go up 40-31 at halftime. While Japan went seven of 14 from the 3-point line in the first half, China was just four of 10 overall in the second period. "With too many good insiders and forwards sitting out due to injuries, our offense was heavily impacted," said Zheng Wei, head coach of the Chinese women basketball team. "In the next phase of pre-Olympics preparation, we will work to enhance our players' ability of dealing with pressure," Zheng added. The Chinese women's team is scheduled to travel to Europe later this month for a series of friendly games with European teams.
Courtesy of: english.news.cn