China’s women battle back to seal first Fiba Asia Cup title in more than 10 years, down Japan in epic final
- Giant centre Han Xu has 26 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists as China win 73-71 in Sydney
- New York Liberty’s superstar helps side win title for 12th time, while denying defending champions sixth straight crown
China fought back to take their first Fiba Women’s Asia Cup title in more than a decade, beating Japan 73-71 in an epic final in Sydney.
Down nine points at half-time against the defending champions, China looked like losing a third final in a row, until a sterling third quarter turned the game on its head.
The giant centre was in typically dominant form, pouring in 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to complete the impressive feat of recording a double-double in every game of the tournament.
Han said the journey to becoming champions had not been an easy one for China, but the team had found its chemistry as the tournament progressed.
“For me, I really want to get this championship, I am glad we made it, I just want to thank my coach for having me, I hope that we can win more championships in the future,” she said.
New York Liberty’s Han also had two assists at Sydney Olympic Park, while fellow superstar Li Meng poured in 17 points to hand world No 2 China’s its 12th crown and first since 2011.
The victory snapped Japan’s dominance in the tournament dating back to Bangkok in 2013 and ended the Tokyo Olympic silver medallist’s dream of making it six in a row.
No nation other than Japan, China or South Korea has won the Asia Cup since its inception in 1965.
Hosts Australia took bronze for the third consecutive tournament after crushing New Zealand 81-59.
China’s head coach Zheng Wei said the result felt unreal as she had not expected her side to become champions.
“We had some problems before the tournament, injuries and not all the players were available at the training camp,” Zheng said. “But from the training camp and the warm-up games in Europe, our team got better and better, we fixed some small about skills and tactics.”
Despite going unbeaten throughout the tournament, Zheng it wasn’t until her side’s 74-60 win over Australia in Saturday’s semi-final that the team had “finally played to our strengths.
“There were many ups and downs in today’s game, both teams took the lead and I am glad my players did not give up, so I am very proud of our team,” Zheng added.
Weina Jin scored an early bucket for China but Japan quickly found their stride in an intense first quarter that ended level-pegging at 17-17.
With lightning-fast transition and aggressive defence, Japan went 18-2 to reach half-time 35-26 in front.
China lifted the tempo after the break and edged ahead, but Japan weathered the storm to take a 51-48 lead into the home stretch.
But in a nail-biting finish, the Chinese held their nerve to triumph in a game that went to the wire.
All four semi-finalists in the eight-team competition secured a place at the 2024 Paris Olympic qualifying tournament.
