Day 2: China show title ambitions; Japan and Korea make it rain, Opals too good again

SYDNEY (Australia) - Australia and China showed their teeth impressively on the second day of action at the FIBA Women's AsiaCup 2023, while Japan and Korea both let fly from downtown.

 

Are China champions in waiting?

China put on a big show and reminded everyone why they are one of the favorites to land this year's title after producing a brutal shutdown of the Tall Ferns in a 80-46 Group A success.

After a relatively close first-half, China blew New Zealand away in a 32-7 third quarter to show their defensive quality. Meanwhile at the other end of the court, Xu Han was mostly unstoppable as she finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, with Li Meng also highly influential in the game. 

Akatasuki Five tuning up their title charge

You can almost feel Japan working their way through the gears as they continued their title defense by easing away from Philippines in Group B to take a 95-57 success. The victory was founded on a stunning 18 three-pointers.

Their still winless opponents made them work hard for victory in a competitive first-half, but Japan turned on the taps after the half-time break to pull clear and stay perfect..

Mai Yamamoto continued her good form with s smart 15 points, while 2021 tournament MVP Himawari Akaho impressed with 16 points. 

Opals overrun Chinese Taipei to go to 2-0

The result between Australia and Chinese Taipei was never in doubt after the Opals took immediate control in the paint and strode their way to an eye-catching 91-45 Group B triumph.

They out-rebounded their opponents 68-21 as they used their depth to great effect to keep the home fans happy. Anneli Maley stood out with  15 board, while fellow frontcourt operator Keely Froling came up with 16 points and 9 rebounds.

Korea get first win on the board

Korea bounced back from their opening day defeat to the Tall Ferns as they sunk 14 triples in a 76-54 Group A victory, with Jihyun Park dropping four long-range scores on her way to a team-high 18 points. She also added four rebounds and 3 assists.

Lebanon will be hoping it's a case of third time lucky when they head into Wednesday's matchup with New Zealand still searching for their first win. Trinity Baptiste did her best to inspire her team against Korea with a huge 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Daily Highs

Efficiency: 24 - Trinity Baptiste (LEB)
Points: 20 -Trinity Baptiste (LEB)
Rebounds: 15 - Anneli Maley (AUS)
Assists: 7 - Anri Hoshi (JPN), Jihyun Shin (KOR), Yuan Li (CHN)
Steals: 3 - Afril Bernardino (PHI)
Blocks: 2 - Multiple Players

Results

Group A
Lebanon 54-76 Korea
New Zealand 80-46 China 

Group B
Philippines 57-95 Japan 
Chinese Taipei 45-91 Australia 

 FIBA