Japan beat Australia again to set up title game clash with China
BENGALURU (India) - Japan beat Australia for a second straight time in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, inching closer to a shot at a 4th straight title. Their final opponent is set to be China who handily defeated Korea for their first trip to the Finals since 2015.
New Zealand started off the day of competition by locking up 5th place with a win over Chinese Taipei, 71-56.
The two teams were closely contested until the Tall Ferns unleashed a 13-0 run to end the half. Chinese Taipei were held scoreless for just a bit over 4 full minutes before the half-time buzzer gave them a chance to talk things over. Nonetheless, the damage was done and New Zealand built a lead that went up to as much as 18 points on their way to a win.
(Micaela Cocks)
Micaela Cocks was on-point for New Zealand, drilling in 4-5 three-pointers to finish with a game-high 18 points.
The highlight game of the day was the 2017 Finals rematch between Japan and Australia. The Opals started the game in control and looked ready to get their revenge before Japan stormed back to win, 76-64.
Jenna O’Hea put Australia up 17-6 in the first quarter and everything seemed to be going their way. Japan eventually got things going, but Australia still ended the first quarter up ahead 23-15.
They started the second quarter with another basket from Ezi Macbegor, but it would only go south from there on out for the Opals. They were held scoreless for the next 6 minutes and finally lost the lead with less than 2 minutes to go in the half. It was a lead that they lost for good, allowing Japan to celebrate at the final buzzer once again in this venue.
Even with Maki Takada struggling for only 5 points on 2-15 shooting, Japan got their leading scorer going with 22 points along with a monster game from Yuki Miyazawa. The 26-year-old Miyazawa had her best game of the tournament with 19 points and 15 rebounds while knocking down 5-10 three-pointers.
For Australia, Asia Cup debutant Rebecca Allen recorded 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Japan will now make their way to the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup title game for a 4th straight time, hoping to win in just as many times. China and Korea have already completed a four-peat in the history of the Asia Cup and Japan are aiming to join the club.
Standing in their way will be China who led Korea from start to finish in their Semi-finals victory, 80-52. Korea were unable to build any momentum and a 20-2 third quarter in advantage of China more than sealed the door shut.
Coach Xu Limin embraced the big lead as a chance to distribute minutes along his roster, giving them much needed rest before going up against Japan tomorrow. All of China’s players got on the scoreboard, led by Han Xu and Yang Liwei who had 17 and 16 points, respectively. Shao Ting enjoyed her role as a distributor and got herself 7 assists.
China and Japan are now set to face each other for the 3rd time in the Women’s Asia Cup finals. Japan claimed the most recent matchup between the two in an 85-50 win back in 2015, the largest margin of victory in Women’s Asia Cup title game. However, it was China who claimed the final two meets in the Finals, highlighted by a historic 105-76 win in 2001 when Nan Chen scored a mind-blowing 50 points.
The championship game will be at 17:45 (GMT +5.5) while the 3rd place game will be played earlier between Australia and Korea at 15:30 (GMT 5.5).
Scores
New Zealand 71-56 Chinese Taipei
Japan 76-64 Australia
China 80-52 Korea
Daily Leaders
Points: 22, Yuki Miyazawa (JPN)
Rebounds: 11, Kalani Purcell (NZL)
Assists: 7, Shao Ting (CHN)
FIBA
