In a high-octane warm-up at Linyi City in eastern China, China’s women’s basketball team cruised to a 101-55 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. This commanding performance marked their first international tune-up ahead of the Asia Cup.
At the helm is head coach Gong Luming, back in charge after two decades. Gong sees these six scheduled warm-ups as a proving ground: “We will test our recent training outcomes, experiment with different lineups and check players’ conditions,” he said.
China stamped its authority early, racing to a 20-7 lead in the first quarter. Dynamic guard Yang Shuyu and sharpshooter Zhai Ruoyun drained three-pointers that pushed the margin beyond 20 by halftime. Both teams lit up the scoreboard in the second half, but Bosnia and Herzegovina couldn’t close the gap.
Three Chinese players recorded double-digit points: Han Xu, Luo Xinyu and rising talent Zhang Ziyu. The 18-year-old Zhang delivered a team-high 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds in her senior international debut.
"This is the first time that Zhang Ziyu participated in an international game as an adult team member. Her performance impressed us. I am looking forward to cooperating with her more," said forward Han Xu.
As China fine-tunes its roster, Gong revealed, “We will bring 15 or 16 players to these warm-up matches, and then select our Asia Cup squad consisting of players in the best form, with a strong team spirit and the best execution ability.” The road to continental glory is under way.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
