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27 September, 2014
05 October
12 Song GAO (China)
01/10/2014
News
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TURKEY 2014: Canada, France cruise into Quarters; China, Serbia win thrillers

ANKARA/ISTANBUL (FIBA World Championship for Women) - The line-up is now set for the Quarter-Finals at the FIBA World Championship for Women after Canada, France, China and Serbia all won games on Wednesday in Turkey.

Following Thursday's rest day, the Canadians will square off against Australia, Spain against China, tournament hosts Turkey against Serbia and defending champions USA against France.

China won just once in the Group Phase but that hasn't stopped them from progressing.

Tom Maher's squad mounted a successful fourth-quarter comeback to stun Belarus, 72-67.

The Far East giants trailed 60-47 with 10 minutes left and appeared to be on their way out of the competition but outscored Belarus 25-7 in the last frame.

The Chinese increased the defensive pressure in the last quarter and Shao Ting poured in nine of her game-high 23 points.

Belarus lost despite excellent performances from the trio of Yelena Leuchanka, Tatsiana Likhtarovich and Katsiaryna Snytsina for the first three quarters.

Leuchanka had 16 points, 13 rebounds and came up an assist shy of a triple-double while Likhtarovich scored 20 points and Snytsina poured in 15.

The Serbia success story at the FIBA World Championship for Women continued with Marina Maljkovic’s side winning 86-79 over a determined Cuba.

The 2013 FIBA Americas Championship winners got 18 points from Marlen Cepeda, 17 from Yamara Amargo and 16 from Oyanaisy Gelis but Serbia made key plays down the stretch to win.

Ana Dabovic, both with her ability to hit jump shots and penetrate, had another terrific performance for Serbia with 21 points.

Next up for the Serbians will be a clash with Turkey, the team that beat them in the third-place game at last year’s EuroBasket Women.

Canada, losers to Cuba in last year's FIBA Americas Championship Final, were 91-71 victors against the Czech Republic in Wednesday's first game of the Qualification to the Quarter-Finals.

In Ankara, Kim Gaucher had 17 points for the Canadians.

The Lisa Thomaidis-coached team opened up a 22-13 lead by the end of the first quarter and stretched that to 44-32 by half-time.

The Czechs stayed within striking distance in the third but their defense faded in the fourth when the Canadians outscored them 26-16.

Their next opponents, Australia, beat them 72-63 at the London Olympics but both sides have plenty of new faces.

France, the side that finished runners-up at the 2012 Games and at last year's EuroBasket Women, made it to the Quarter-Finals with a 61-48 triumph over Brazil.

Sandrine Gruda continued her fine play with 17 points and eight rebounds for Les Bleues, who now face the team that beat them in the London Games Final, defending world champions USA.

FIBA