NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The women's basketball competition of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games tipped off on Thursday, with Indonesia, the Philippines, and host Japan all securing comfortable victories in their group-stage openers.
The 11-team tournament features three groups, where the top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed sides, will advance to the knockout stage.
In the tournament opener, Indonesia dominated the glass with a 50-36 rebounding advantage to overcome Thailand 61-52 in Group A, which also includes powerhouse China.
China will begin its campaign on Saturday against Thailand. "We don't expect to win. We are here at these Asian Games because we want the young generation to get a chance to play with such high-level players. That way, they can get the chance to become better and challenge themselves to see how hard they can push to be a good player," said Thailand captain Supavadee Kunchuan.
In Group B, the Philippines cruised past Kazakhstan 86-58, while host Japan overwhelmed Hong Kong, China 114-37. Japan mounted a fierce 11-0 opening run and held its opponent to just six points in the second quarter and seven in the third, stretching the lead to 65 points by the end of the third period to put the game out of reach. ■
