SEREMBAN (Malaysia) - Li Yuanshan and Sun Hanyun saved their best for last, powering China to a 106-69 rout of Korea to finish third in the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2026-Division A, Saturday at the Karisma Arena.
Li fired 35 points and 10 assists, while Sun produced 32 points and 6 rebounds as the tandem led the third-quarter breakaway to salvage a podium finish after the 16-time champions missed the Final for the first time since 1990.
Teammates since the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Cup last year, the two knocked down a triple each to open the said chapter, sparking the decisive 10-0 run to inflate their lead to 61-43 with 7:29 on the clock.
And that proved to be the beginning of a lopsided affair, with the young Team Dragon refusing to let up as they vented all their frustrations on the Koreans after that frustrating loss to Australia in the Semi-Finals.
Thanks to Li and Sun, the Chinese will be going home with a consolation bronze, their second ever after winning the first back in 1990 as well - an edition eventually ruled by Korea by beating Japan in the finale.
"They are two very excellent players," lauded head coach Nan Chen of her two prized charges, who have also played together in the prestigious FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 in Czechia last July.
"They're both very talented and are also very promising, because they've been through the U16 Asia Cup and the U17 World Cup. They proved their ability. But I always tell them they still have a long way to go," she added.
Others also contributed significantly in the win, with Zhao Zirui supplying 14 points and 6 assists. Pang Yunshu chipped in 12 points for Team China, who finished the tourney with an overall win-loss record of 3-2.
"I want to thank my players today, they gave it their all. They fought hard to win the game. As I said before the game, today's game wasn't going to be easy so we prepared," said Nan. "We played more like a team today."
Lim Yeonseo, on the other hand, had 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists against 7 turnovers for Korea, who haven't won a medal in a decade now or since copping bronze in the 2016 competitions in Bangkok, Thailand.
Lee Sohee had 15 points. Cho Heewon made 14, while Kim Damhee chipped in 11 and 5 rebounds in the loss that couldn't be more painful for the 7-time champions after starting out so promising with a pair of wins.
"The Korean U16 women's team has a lot of good players. So, we're very optimistic that in the upcoming U18 tournaments and other events in the future, we will have good players," said head coach Lee Younghyun.
FIBA