CHN – China held their nerve in showdown with Korea

WUHAN (Olympics) - The way the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Women in Japan began for China, a place in the London Games looked to be anything but a certainty.

The Chinese went into the event as the dominant force on the continent for the past two decades with eight gold medals in the tournament.

Korea had reached the top of the podium in 1997, '99 and 2007.

After the opening day’s play in Omura in August, however, fans must have been wondering if this was going to be another of those special Korean summers because Sun Fengwu's China had fallen to Korea, 99-93.

Lee Younhoa's two free-throws with 4:35 remaining had put the Koreans in front to stay.

Thankfully for Chinese fans, it's not how a team starts but how it finishes.

China followed up that setback with decisive victories over Lebanon and India before defeating Chinese Taipei, 72-63.

In their last Preliminary Round game, China hammered hosts Japan, 76-53.

That meant the two sides would meet again in the Semi-Finals.

China again romped to victory after storming into a 21-8 lead over the Japanese by the end of the first quarter.

By half-time, the Chinese had a 38-21 lead and they were able to coast to a 76-62 victory that put them back into a rematch with Korea.

This time, however, an Asian Championship gold medal and a place in the London Games were at stake.

China trailed 47-45 at the start of the fourth quarter but Zengu Ma hit two shots from the arc in the first 27 seconds of the frame to put them on top, 51-47.

Korea battled back and knotted the game at 51-51, only for Chen to hit one of two free-throws with 6:56 to play to put the Chinese back in front.

The game remained tight until the finish.

With China clinging to a 63-62 advantage, Korea had the ball and an opportunity to move in front but Youn Ah Choi missed a shot and China rebounded.

Lim Dal Shik's team fouled Chen to stop the clock with 12 seconds to play and the veteran center sank both free-throws for a 65-62 lead.

Lee, who had hit the go-ahead shot in the first meeting, found space to launch a potential game-tying three-pointer for Korea but missed.

China held on to celebrate a three-point victory.

Miao Lijie was named the MVP of the FIBA Asia Championship and Nan Chen joined Lijie on the all-tournament team.

Now both will play at the Olympics for a third time in a row.

In 2008, the two were leading lights in the side that finished fourth in front of the home fans at the Wukesong Arena in Beijing.

In Athens four years earlier, the Chinese finished a disappointing ninth.

An upset defeat to a New Zealand team coached by Maher had prevented them from reaching the Quarter-Finals in Greece.

But China have had some very good times in their Olympic history.

The women’s national side made its first Olympic appearance in 1984 and clinched a bronze medal in Los Angeles.

Following a sixth-place finish four years later in Seoul, China had their best-ever Olympics at the 1992 Barcelona Games when they captured silver.

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, China came in ninth while the national team did not qualify for the Sydney Games in 2000.

FIBA