China rallied to win their first FIBA Women’s Asian Cup title since 2012, as they beat five-time defending champions Japan 73-71 in an epic final on Sunday.
And it seemed that China might fall behind in the first half for the third time in a row in the title match, as defending champion Japan scored the last 14 points in the first half to lead by nine points.
Led by tournament center fielder Xu Han, China took the momentum early in the third quarter and had what proved to be a game-changing lead late in the game to end their 12-year wait for a gold medal in front of a packed home crowd. Sydney.
Shaw finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds to complete his feat of scoring a double-double in every game of the tournament. Siu Wang scored 17 points.
Maki Takada led Japan with 17 points and four rebounds, and Saki Hayashi scored 12 points for Japan.
China’s title follows their silver medal at the FIBA Women’s World Cup, also held in Sydney late last year.
Japan and China met in the 2019 and 2021 tournaments, with Japan edging out the two to win their fourth and fifth titles.
Earlier on Saturday, hosts Australia claimed their third consecutive bronze medal, edging New Zealand 81-59 to repeat their result from Bengaluru, India, in 2019 and Amman, Jordan, in 2021.
Alice Conk contributed 19 points to her team, Agnelli Male completed a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Tess Madgen had 14 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Opals.
The eight-team regional tournament doubles as next year’s Olympic qualifiers, with the semi-finalists – Japan, Australia, China and New Zealand – advancing to Paris 2024.
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