LILLE, France, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China's women's basketball team squandered a nine-point lead to lose 90-89 in overtime to Spain in their opening group match at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday.
China head coach Zheng Wei attributed the narrow defeat to excessive turnovers. Despite out-rebounding Spain 45-30, China committed 23 turnovers compared with just eight for their rivals.
"Each game will be tough. We will treat every match as a final and prepare meticulously," said Zheng. "Our players fought like warriors today, and we won't disappoint our fans in future games."
Li Yueru, who scored a game-high 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, remained optimistic. "We won't be discouraged by one loss. We'll adjust and come back stronger to reclaim this point," she said.
Li Meng had 13 points and 11 assists for China, followed by 10 points from Sun Mengran.
Megan Gustafson led Spain with 29 points. Leonor Rodriguez added 25 points and Queralt Casas finished with eight points and eight assists.
China ended the first quarter 22-13 ahead thanks to a 9-0 run. Spain narrowed the gap to 27-23, before China went in 37-33 up at halftime. The third quarter was closely contested as China led 59-53 going into the fourth.
Spain's 10-3 run in the final quarter tied the game at 67-67 with 3:29 remaining. Despite a five-point lead with 25 seconds left, China couldn't hold on as Casas and Rodriguez led Spain to tie the game 76-76 in regular time.
In overtime, Spain maintained a slight edge. Li Yueru's late three-pointer help China narrow the deficit to 90-87, but Li's final basket with four seconds left wasn't enough to change the outcome.
China will now face Serbia and Puerto Rico in the group stage.
"Losing the first group game is tough, but it makes us realize that securing a good position won't be easy. We need to adjust our mindset as this is just the beginning," Han Xu said.
