Fiba Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022: China storm into last eight with convincing win over Puerto Rico
- Centre Li Yueru leads way with 16 points and eight rebounds, while forward Zhang Ru adds 14 points, and sharpshooter Huang Sijing 12
- Belgium up next for Chinese side, who can finish in top two with victory on Tuesday
China stormed into the quarter-finals the Women’s Basketball World Cup on Monday with a convincing 95-60 win over Puerto Rico.
A third victory from four games moved China into the last eight, where they have been joined by three-time defending champions the United States and Belgium.
All three teams are in Group A, with the top four going through to the knockout stage.
It was an even performance from China, with all 12 players hitting the scoreboard. Centre Li Yueru led with 16 points and eight rebounds, forward Zhang Ru finished with 14 points, and sharpshooter Huang Sijing added 12 points.
The Chinese team hit 57.7 per cent from the field, including 11 of 25 from three-point range, and had a staggering 41 assists with 11 players contributing to the tally.
The 18-year-old Trinity San Antonio from Puerto Rico scored a game-high 19 points.
China raced out to an early 10-2 lead and exploited their height advantage over Puerto Rico, whose head coach Gerardo Batista substituted his entire starting line-up in a bid to get some momentum going.
It initially paid dividends for Puerto Rico, who produced a historic first World Cup win against Bosnia and Herzegovina in their opener.