Hong Kong teams had contrasting fortunes in their opening matches at the week-long Asian inter-school basketball tournament being held in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
In front of spirited crowds at the city's University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, the SAR boys easily won their first match on Sunday against Malaysia 75-37, while the girls - conceding a significant height disadvantage - suffered a crushing 78-40 defeat to the China team yesterday.
The schedule for the girls' competition was changed after India withdrew at the last minute. But the change is good news for the Hong Kong girls as it means they now play six matches instead of just three.
Two groups of three and four teams have merged to form one group of six, with each team set to clash once in a round-robin format, and each playing a final position-deciding game.
The Hong Kong girls play Thailand in their second game this morning.
Yesterday, the boys cruised to a 65-34 victory against Macau in their second round-robin match. They play their penultimate match against India tomorrow, and take on Thailand on Thursday. The finals are on Sunday.
