A last-second three-pointer helped Chinese women cagers win the match Thursday against the Czech Republic by 64-63 at the 23rd Universiade, one day after China lost to Poland by 45 points.

The match became the fiercest one in the first two days of women's basketball competition, which started one day ahead of the official kick off of the Universiade, slated for August 11-21.

The two teams tied six times throughout the 40 minutes, thrilling the audience with a 61-all draw just one minute before the final whistle. Zhang Hui sent all the Chinese people in the hall into ecstasy with an accurate three-pointer at the last second of the game.

"This match represents our true quality, our players are just performing well," said Chinese coach Liu Jin.

She said the Czech Republic was not much weaker than Poland.

"Most of our players are university students who don't have much experience in international arena. They won the match today as they have become more familiar with the atmosphere," said Liu.

Also in Group B, the United States encountered almost no defense from South Africa and won the game by 92-22 for the largest margin in the first two days of matches. The United States now ranks first in the group.

In Group A, host team Turkey beat Slovenia 53-45, while Australia outscored Thailand 80-50. Turkey and Australia now jointly hold the top position of this group.

In Group C, Japan stunned Lithuania 81-74 while Russia crushed Ireland 76-62 to secure a top position in the group.

Group D saw another one-sided game between Serbia and Montenegro and Lebanon, with the former winning by 59 points at 93-34. And Chinese Taipei outscored Britain 70-55.

Top two teams of each group will qualify for the quarterfinals.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2005)