NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- China and South Korea set up a women's basketball semifinal showdown at the 2026 Asian Games after both teams advanced from the quarterfinals on Thursday.
South Korea opened the day with a 101-59 rout of Indonesia, building a 22-point halftime lead and placing six players in double figures.
South Korea shot 52 percent from 3-point range, making 15 of 29 attempts, and outrebounded Indonesia 41-27 while holding a 33-17 advantage in assists.
"Because we were the stronger team, our focus was on finding balance among all our players and improving our teamwork," said South Korea forward Kang Lee-seul, who finished with 11 points.
"For the next game, we need to focus more specifically on the key aspects of that matchup, prepare well and play a stronger game."
South Korea will face China in Friday's semifinals.
"We don't have a true big player right now, and China has a lot of height," Kang said. "But I think if we can play faster in transition and defend more aggressively, we can have a good game."
China overcame a sluggish start to rout Mongolia 89-63, using a 21-0 second-quarter run to take control.
Mongolia hit consecutive 3-pointers to keep the opening quarter close, with China holding a 24-23 lead after the first period. But behind Zhang Ziyu and Yang Shuyu, China dominated the second quarter 25-5 to take a 49-28 advantage into halftime.
China maintained a comfortable lead for the remainder of the game, but head coach Gong Luming was unhappy with his team's slow start.
"We didn't start well, which presents a rather sharp problem for us," Gong said. "Although we won the game and reached the final four, it will be very difficult to play well in the semifinals without a good start."
Yang led China with 21 points, while Zhang had 20 points and nine rebounds and Sun Yu added 12 points.
"South Korea is an excellent team, and we have always prepared for them as a primary opponent," Gong said. "We believe tomorrow's game will definitely be a battle of wits, courage, strategy and execution."
In the other quarterfinals, Chinese Taipei beat the Philippines 83-71, while host Japan routed Thailand 86-29. Chinese Taipei and Japan will meet in Friday's other semifinal.
China endured a disappointing day in the 3x3 competition, with both its men's and women's teams eliminated in the quarterfinals.
China's men beat Indonesia 21-10 in a play-in game before losing 22-13 to South Korea.
China's women fell 17-16 to Japan. With the score tied at 16-16, Japan's Yuki Hirashita scored the decisive point with 25.6 seconds remaining before China's Zhang Jianping missed opportunities to tie the game.
Li Wenxia and Wang Yue scored five points apiece for China, with Zhang adding four and Sun Fengyi two. ■
