DONGGUAN (China) - Dongguan New Century caught fire in the second quarter and never cooled down on the way to torching Fujitsu, 95-67, to rule the FIBA Women's Basketball League Asia (WBL Asia) 2025, Sunday night.
Yi Shen and Huang Sijing combined for five threes in the said period, powering a 23-11 outscoring of their foes to build a 41-27 entering the break, and they could no longer be denied as they broke the game wide open after.
So dominant was the reigning WCBA champions' second half that it practically signaled an early celebration not just within the squad itself, but among their fans that trooped to the Dongguan Sports Center as well.
That's because they've become just the second ever team to rule Asia's premier women's club competition after Sichuan Yuanda Meile won the inaugurals last year, thus ensuring that the crown stays within China.
"At the beginning of the tournament, it was difficult because we had four starters just making it back, so we didn't really have time to practice," recalled head coach Zheng Wei. "So we set our goal to improve each game."
"Entering the Semi-Finals we were doing better on both ends. And when we played the team from Japan today, it was the best defense we've played throughout the entire tournament," added the veteran mentor.
A total of five players finished in double figures in the rout, with Yang Shuyu leading the pack with 23 points.
Huang delivered 20 points on 6 treys, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Yang Liwei produced 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Chen Mingling almost tallied a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.
"We only focused on ourselves, and we played our basketball," said Huang.
Yi Shen also added 12 as she contributed four to the team's 18 triples in total, giving their WJBL counterparts a dose of their own medicine as they came into the Final as the the meet's best three-point shooting team.
The Red Wave were shooting over 40-percent from deep prior but only went 3-for-22 this time.
"We executed really well on defending their transition and their three points. On offense we used our advantage on size to make the defense collapse more in the paint and find opportunities from the three-point line," Wei said.
"We had the best ending to the tournament," she added.
Yuki Miyazawa led Fujitsu with 18 points. Aki Fujimoto had 13 points while Saki Hayashi added 10 as the Japanese club settled for silver with the loss, which is still an improvement from their bronze in 2024.
FIBA