NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korea held off a late Japanese rally to win the women's basketball gold medal 75-70 at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games here on Saturday, while China beat Chinese Taipei 77-64 for bronze.
South Korea led by 19 points at halftime, but Japan clawed back to within two, 70-72, with 15 seconds left before South Korea closed it out at the free-throw line.
South Korea's Lee Hae-ran led all scorers with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Kang Lee-seul added 21 points and seven rebounds. Japan's Haru Owaki nearly posted a triple-double with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists.
"We built a big lead early on, but they came back quite a lot in the second half. I don't think we maintained our concentration very well... but in the end, we won, so I'm extremely happy," Lee said.
Japan's Miyu Okamoto pointed to a slow start. "If we had a better start, I think we would have had a much better chance of winning," she said.
In the bronze medal game, China overcame a cold shooting night from deep, 1 of 10 from behind the arc in the first half, to pull away in the third quarter behind 2.23-meter center Zhang Ziyu, before Luo Xinyu, Tang Ziting and Zhang Manman sealed it with fourth-quarter threes.
Chen Mingling led China with 20 points, with Zhang and Luo adding 14 and 12, respectively. Chinese Taipei's Lin Yu-ting had a team-high 15 points, and Chen Yen-yu scored 11.
"We only put up 13 threes yesterday, compared to their 40. If you want them to go in, you have to keep shooting," China's Yang Shuyu said.
China's head coach Gong Luming struck a reflective note afterward. "We came here to win gold, and we didn't get it. But for a young team like this one, chasing a shared goal together means something," he said. ■
