BEIJING (2015 FIBA Asia Women's Championship) - Tom Maher may be delighted with the way China are shaping up ahead of the 2015 FIBA Asia Women's Championship but his team have been hit by some worrying injuries.

Participating in a preparation tournament on home soil, his side romped to an eye-catching 89-51 victory over Italy, but had their elation soured after Wen Lu and Liwei Yang were both taken to the locker room early for treatment.

Having already beaten Germany, both players were withdrawn from the tournament and will be assessed to ensure they are able to recover ahead of the upcoming FIBA Asia Women's Championship to be played on home soil in Wuhan (29 August-5 September).

Yang went down with just three minutes remaining on the game clock after she sustained a neck injury during a collision with an opposing player.

However, despite concerns over his personnel, Maher was thrilled with the way his team stayed in a high gear during a one-sided encounter.

"I was very satisfied as it was a high-quality game," he said.

"Our players did well on the defensive end - not just the starters, but the bench also performed well.

"This demonstrates our progress and it was a very good all-round game for us.

"We asked the players regardless of the lead to maintain the same intensity - no matter how many points ahead we got.

"To apply ourselves with the same intensity throughout, is the only long-term way to develop a good feel for the game.

"There were not only many fans in the arena watching us, but it was also a nationally televised game. Therefore we had to show the audience the image of a good team."

Maher also paid tribute to Xiaojia Chen who really did manage to light it up from long-range with no fewer than five three-pointers against the Italians.

"When Xiaojia is unguarded during practice, she makes around 65 percent of her three-point shots," he revealed. 

"So, reaching over 40 percent in a game situation is normal for her."

China came in third at the last edition of the FIBA Asia Women's Championship in Bangkok and are strong favourites to recapture their title this year.

FIBA