Chinese player Li Meng reacts during their match against Indonesia in the women's basketball tournament at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sept. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)
China and South Korea both registered their second straight victories in women's basketball tournament at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Friday.
HANGZHOU, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- China thrashed Indonesia 101-52, while South Korea rallied past DPR Korea 81-62 in the women's basketball tournament at the Hangzhou Asian Games here on Friday.
Li Meng scored China's first point with a quick layup, while the host's second blink on the score sheet came nearly four minutes later with Li's two free throws.
Despite several missed shots from center Han Xu, Jin Weina and Huang Sijing, China didn't have much trouble against Indonesia's drives thanks to their absolute height advantage.
China's icy shooting touch extended in the second quarter, but they managed to widen the lead. After Luo Xinyu hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the corner, China ended the first half 40-18 ahead.
NBA legend center Shaquille O'Neal showed up in the arena during the mid-game break, hyping the crowd as the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival fell on Friday.
With Han's dominance in the paint, China continued to pull away in the second half and sealed the victory without suspense.
Li Yueru scored 22 points to lead China's boxscore and Li Meng added 18.
Chinese player Li Yueru (C) competes in the match against Indonesia. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)
China's head coach Zheng Wei said at the post-game press conference that her team focused on defense but didn't do well offensively, which they will review after the game as part of her "practice with games."
"It was such a cool experience playing against China. It's about confidence-building, China was such a great team. I'm very proud of my team and our program," said Indonesia's Kimberley Pierre Louis, who scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
In an early Group C fixture, Kang Lee-seul and Kim Dan-bi scored 16 points apiece, helping South Korea come from behind to defeat DPR Korea, who applied a seven-player rotation. DPR Korea was led by 20-year-old center Pak Ji Na with 29 points.
In other games played on Friday, Japan smashed Kazakhstan 92-30, the Philippines cruised past Hong Kong, China 99-63, Chinese Taipei rallied past Thailand 58-54, and India narrowly defeated Mongolia 68-62.
Without any surprise, Asia's top three seeds, China, Japan and South Korea, have all won their first two games to currently place first in their respective groups.
China will face India on Sunday. ■
