Gold medalists China team pose for photographers after the award ceremony for the Women's basketball at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. China defeated Japan 74-72 in the final. - AP
HANGZHOU (AFP): China's women's basketball team made up for their men's shortcomings at the Asian Games on Thursday, retaining their title with a thrilling 74-72 win over Olympic silver-medallists Japan in Hangzhou.
China's men crashed out in the semi-finals with a last-gasp defeat to the Philippines 24 hours earlier, disappointing the basketball-obsessed home nation.
But the women provided a tonic after a tense finish at a packed Hangzhou Olympic Centre Gymnasium, taking an early lead and just about holding off a Japan fightback to claim gold.
Wang Siyu sank the game-winning basket with seconds remaining, sparking wild celebrations among the crowd.
China fielded 6ft 8in (2.03m) Han Xu and 6ft 7in Li Yueru, giving them a huge height advantage over their Japanese opponents.
Han, who has been compared to eight-time NBA All-Star Yao Ming, scored 10 points while Li bagged 13.
Both were outscored by team-mate Li Meng, with 17.
Japan lost to the United States in the final of the Tokyo Olympics and were looking to win Asian Games gold for the first time since 1998.
They chipped away at China's lead until they drew level with just under three minutes remaining.
A huge three-pointer from Li Yuan eased China back in front before Wang settled it with a lay-up on the final attack.
South Korea cut neighbours North Korea and their giant centre Pak Ji Na down to size to win bronze.
Pak stands 6ft 9in and scored 51 points in a first-round game against Taiwan, but she could not lead her team to a medal as South Korea ran out 93-63 winners.
Pak scored a game-high 27 points, but South Korea coach Jung Sun-min said her players were ready for their towering opponent this time, having also faced North Korea earlier in the Games.
"Back then, we didn't have any information about Pak Ji Na, we didn't know about her playing style or her movement, so we just had to test it out and see," she said.
"But today's game was our sixth of the tournament and we got a lot of information from our first game."
A unified Korea women's basketball team won silver at the last Asian Games, in 2018.
They were among three unified Korean teams, along with rowing and canoeing, at those Games.
Thursday's bronze-medal game featured four players from the 2018 team -- two from each side.
"It was nice to see them again," Park Ji-su, who was part of the 2018 team, told Yonhap news agency.
"But after that I felt nothing special as they were just like players from other countries." - AFP
