After Weathering Challenges and Sharpening Their Edge, China Women's Basketball Team Targets Quarterfinals Tonight

Source: Rolling News Report

In the early hours of September 8 Beijing time, in the final game of the Women's Basketball World Cup group stage, China defeated Italy 71-51, finishing second in the group with two wins and one loss and advancing to the qualification playoffs. Looking across the three group-stage games, China experienced ups and downs, starting slowly before improving.

After losing their opening game to the world's top-ranked United States team, China's game against the Czech Republic on September 6 Beijing time became the key match of the group stage. China, trailing during the game, fought hard to force overtime and eventually escaped with a 74-70 victory. After reviewing the game, China head coach Gong Luming said: “This game was very important for us and for the Czech team. The Czech team showed very strong fighting spirit during the game and created many difficulties for us. Our advantage in the paint was not fully utilized.” After completing the comeback in adversity, the team's cohesion continued to improve. Han Xu said: “The game against the Czech Republic was very difficult, but we did not give up. We started from defense, my teammates and I made some difficult shots, protected the rebounds, played good defense, and finally won the game.”

China bounced back in the final group-stage match. Against Italy, the team drew lessons from its game with the Czech Republic, reducing turnovers from 29 to 13, improving free-throw accuracy from 44.4% to 62.5%, and raising three-point shooting from 30.8% to 42.1%. “Against Italy, we played our best game since the start of the tournament. After learning the group draw, we identified Italy as a major opponent to study and carried out many drills on both offense and defense,” Gong Luming said.

For the players, the three group-stage games were both a competition and a process of growth. At this World Cup, 19-year-old prospect Zhang Ziyu, who is 2.23 meters tall, made her World Cup debut. Han Xu took on the responsibility of a veteran and helped young players develop. “If we are on the court at the same time, I hope I can bring her positive energy. She is only 19 years old, and this is her first World Cup. The intensity of the physical competition she faces is especially high, but opportunities and difficulties coexist. I hope she continues to improve in the future.” Gong Luming said: “We need to further increase the role of young players in major tournaments, help them adapt quickly, and gain experience through major competitions. The contributions of the veteran players at this World Cup deserve praise!”

On the night of September 9 Beijing time, China will face Puerto Rico and launch a challenge for a place in the quarterfinals.

Puerto Rico defeated Turkey 75-71 in the final round of the group stage, finishing third in Group C and securing the final qualification playoff spot. China and Puerto Rico have met four times in official FIBA competitions, with China winning all four and holding a psychological advantage. The two teams met twice in 2024, with China winning both games by large margins, 80-58 and 105-69.

Based on the current world rankings, China is fourth while Puerto Rico is 13th. Whether in terms of overall strength or historical head-to-head results, China holds the advantage. However, an advantage does not guarantee victory. Puerto Rico has a typical American style of play, with a flexible approach and fast pace, and is good at creating threats through transition offense. To win, China still needs to control many details: reduce turnovers, find its rhythm quickly, maintain stable free-throw and three-point shooting, fully utilize its dominance in the paint, and avoid giving opponents opportunities.

Regarding the upcoming matchup, Gong Luming said: “We will attach great importance to it and carefully study how to play this game well. We hope the team can further improve its confidence.”

Image source: Xinhua News Agency