In a thrilling start to the women's basketball pre-Olympic warm-up series, Japan edged out China with a close score of 61-58 in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.
Akaho Himawari led Japan's charge, scoring 15 points to secure the victory. The game kicked off with China taking an early 5-0 lead, thanks to Zhang Ru's performance. However, Luo Xinyu responded with back-to-back three-pointers, pushing China's lead to 20-13 by the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw China struggle with a five-minute scoring drought, allowing Japan to mount a comeback and take a two-point lead midway through the period. Adjusting their offensive strategy, the teams entered halftime tied at 31-31, both being runners-up in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Returning from halftime, Yang Shuyu gave China a five-point cushion with her first basket of the third quarter. However, Japan's Mai Yamamoto and Evelyn Mawuli continued to excel from beyond the arc, narrowing China's lead to three points as they headed into the final quarter.
In the last period, Yamamoto and Saki Hayashi kept the momentum going for Japan, pushing the score to 51-50 within the first two minutes. With just under four minutes remaining, Akaho Akaho extended Japan's lead to seven points with an easy layup.
Despite China's efforts to claw back in the final minutes, Japan held firm to secure the road win. Reflecting on the challenging match, China's head coach Zheng Wei commented, \"We have played four tough games consecutively, the busy schedule is a challenge for us.\"
China is set to face Japan once again on the same court this Friday, promising another exciting showdown in the series.
Reference(s):
Japan edge China in women's basketball pre-Olympic warm-up series
cgtn.com
