SYDNEY, July 2 (Xinhua) -- China dethroned Japan to win a classic final at the FIBA Women's Basketball Asia Cup here on Sunday, while hosts Australia had a consolation third-placed finish.
World number two China broke a 12-year title drought and ended Japan's stranglehold of the tournament with a tense 73-71 victory to claim the gold medal.
MVP Han Xu capped off a dominant campaign with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while WNBA player Li Meng hit clutch shots to finish with 17 points and six assists.
"It's not easy to be champions of this tournament," Han said. "As the tournament went on, we had better chemistry. I really wanted to get this championship and I'm glad we are back on top of Asia."
It was sweet revenge for China, who had lost to Japan in the final of the last two Asia Cups, including a heart-breaking 78-73 defeat in 2021.
"It was really tough and today was a test against Japan," China coach Zheng Wei said.
"I'm glad our team didn't give up and I'm very proud of our players because we hadn't been Asia Cup champions for 12 years."
Maki Takada top-scored with 17 points for Japan, whose bid for a record-extending sixth-straight title fell short.
"We tried really hard and all the players did well," Japan coach Toru Onzuka said. "We will learn from this game against this great Chinese team."
China had lived up to the billing of title favorites with an unbeaten run to the final but faced a red-hot Japan who had won each of their four games by 25 points or more.
China's chances of a record-equalling 12th title were made harder without captain Yang Liwei, who suffered a leg injury late in the semifinal against Australia.
Little separated the teams in a high-quality start until Japan took advantage of Han resting on the bench to score the last 16 points of the first half.
Han fuelled a China comeback in the third quarter, but there were several twists ahead as the match went down to the dying stages.
World Cup silver medalists China, however, held their nerve with a late 7-2 run proving decisive much to the delight of their strong contingent of fans in the stands.
After being overrun by China in the semifinals, Australia regrouped to beat New Zealand 81-59 to finish with the bronze medal.
Australia started fast to build a 22-14 lead after the first quarter before extending the margin to double digits by halftime. They continued to smother New Zealand, who shot just 3 of 20 on three pointers, and ran away with an easy win.
Alice Kunek had 19 points to lead Australia, who had five players scoring in double figures, while New Zealand star Penina Davidson finished a strong tournament with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Australia had their fourth straight podium finish since joining the competition in 2017 and unveiled several emerging stars, including 24-year-old Anneli Maley who had 11 points and 11 rebounds against New Zealand.
"Super proud of my 11 other teammates. We got thrown together as a brand new team last week and the coaching staff did a great job putting together a game plan," Australia captain Tess Madgen said.
Having never before gotten this far into the tournament, New Zealand fell short of a first Asia Cup medal but was encouraged by a solid campaign, which included thrilling wins over 12-time champions South Korea and the Philippines.
China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Qualifying tournament.
Winless Chinese Taipei was relegated and will be replaced at the next Asia Cup in 2025 by the winner of Division B held in Bangkok, Thailand in August. ■
