China has made its way into the finals of the 2018 Asian Games women’s basketball tournament where it will face Unified Korea (COR) after defeating Japan 86-74 in the semifinals at Istora Stadium at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex (GBK) in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday.
The victory was China's second over Japan at the 2018 Asian Games, after its 105-73 victory in the qualifying phase of Group Y.
The Unified Korea – China contest will be held on Saturday, Sept. 1, after the third place playoff between Japan and Chinese Taipei.
Although Japan’s captain Mio Shinozaki was the highest scorer on the court with 17 points, it was not enough to take her team to victory.
Shao Ting scored the most points for China with 16, followed by Meng Li (14 points) and Yang Liwei (11 points).
The first quarter ended with China holding a narrow lead, up 20-17.
China then increased its lead to 34-24 with a three pointer from Huang with 4 minutes and 33 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The first half ended with China leading 40-30.
The third quarter was China’s most productive, as it scored 31 points to increase the margin to 71-54.
Although Japan outperformed China in the final quarter, scoring 20 points to 15, it was too little too late, with China recording a 86-74 victory.Source