Day 1: Action opens with wins from Australia, Korea, Japan and China

22/10/2017

Review

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Day 1: Action opens with wins from Australia, Korea, Japan and China

BENGALURU (FIBA U16 Women's Asia Championship 2017) - Action in Bengaluru, India opened with the favorites marching on to separate victories as Australia, Korea, Japan and China all notched opening wins.

In the first game, the U16 Opals subdued their Oceania rivals New Zealand, 61-43. Australia had a slow start to the game, scoring just 7 first quarter points, but they picked up their scoring afterwards and routed the U16 Tall Ferns. Shyla Heal, Eliza Hollingsworth and Isabel Palmer each scored 10 points to lead Aussies, while Charlisse Leger-Walker had an impressive 13 points and 13 rebounds for New Zealand.

The second game saw Korea use a second half surge to defeat Chinese Taipei, 90-68. Things were close in the first half before the Koreans dropped a 30-4 bomb in the third quarter to break the game open and never look back. Jung YeRim recorded a sublime triple-double - 14 points, 19 rebounds and 10 steals - to spearhead Korea's charge, while Taipei drew 8 points and 7 boards from Liao Wei-Ching.

This was followed by Japan's masterful 115-37 conquest of Thailand in the third match of the day. The Japanese established their footing early with a 16-point lead at the end of the first period, and they continued their barrage the rest of the way. Maika Miura was truly brilliant in this victory, scoring 20 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists. On the other end, Parinya Sarathana had 5 points and 5 boards for the Thais.

Defending champions China closed the first day of action with a tremendous 141-32 drubbing of Hong Kong. The Chinese showcased their imposing size and depth as Hong Kong just could not get anything going at any point in the game. Wan Jiyuan's 21 points was the gold standard for China, which also drew 21 points and 10 rebounds from star center Liu Yutong. Team captain Law Nga Wing was the only one in double-figures for Hong Kong with 11 points.