Olympic squad win basketball title at National Games
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E-mail Xinhua, September 15, 2021
China's Olympic members romped to a 100-52 win over Jiangsu and bagged the 14th National Games women's basketball championship on Tuesday.
Bearing the name of the "United Team", the Chinese internationals dominated the game from the tip-off. 11 players contributed to the scoreboard, including five with double figures. Han Xu led the team with 18 points and nine rebounds, and Li Yueru scored 14.
The United Team dished out 23 assists. Jiangsu had 13 assists, but suffered 28 turnovers.
"We didn't have much time for rest after the Olympic Games in the lead up to this National Games and the FIBA Women's Asia Cup earlier this month. We just competed with ourselves at the National Games with an aim to improve our offense and defense. I'm proud of my players," said Zheng Wei, head coach of the United Team.
"We aim to showcase our best level for the best result at the Asia Cup," she added.
The United Team started the match with a 10-0 run, as Wang Siyu scored six points down the stretch.
Veteran guard Chen Xiaojia snapped Jiangsu's scoring drought in three minutes with a layup. Yang Liwei then began to take care of the game, scoring seven points afterward as the United Team rode on another 10-0 surge to set up a 27-12 cushion after the first quarter.
Jiangsu came back midway through the second quarter with an 8-0 scoring run, but Li Yueru steadied the United Team with consecutive baskets in the paint. The Chinese national center registered 10 points in the second quarter, while Jiangsu conceded 16 turnovers and trailed at 32-50 at the intermission.
Jiangsu only managed seven points in the third quarter, seeing the United Team extend their advantage to 40 points going into the final period, and the remainder of the game was a routine job for the United Team.
Sun Li finished with a team-high 13 points for Jiangsu. Xu Chenyan and Chen Xiaojia added 12 and 11 respectively.
"We cherish this opportunity of playing against the national team, and have found an all-round gap between us and them. Their defense imposed a huge difficulty on us," commented Jiangsu head coach Ding Tie.
Guangdong pocketed a bronze medal after moving past Shandong 68-64.
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