China's women's basketball team takes comfortable win in 2026 first warm-up

HEFEI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's women's basketball team notched a 95-39 win over a World Select team in a warm-up match here on Saturday evening.

As its first warm-up for the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup qualifiers, China led 55-21 at halftime and went on to complete a dominant victory. Zhang Ziyu scored a game-high 21 points, while Chen Mingling added 15 and Tang Ziting had 10.

China women's basketball coach Gong Luming said it was the first official game of the new team and served as a test for winter training.

"We want to show a brand-new image at the World Cup, aiming for ensuring the qualification first and strive for the best finish," Gong said.

He also said the team is likely to face Japan in the final at the Asian Games. "We hope our efforts can help us avenge last year's Asian Cup defeat in Shenzhen," he said.

The 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup qualifiers will be held March 11-17 in Wuhan, Hubei province. China will play Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Mali and South Sudan. Enditem