Photo: Cui Meng/GT

The Chinese women's national basketball team lost 81-90 to Japan on Saturday in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, in the FIBA Women's Asia Cup semifinal. The team will face South Korea on Sunday for third place.  

Japan took an early lead due to Kororo Tanaka's five three-pointers. The Chinese team, however, rallied and led 51-49 at halftime.

The "twin towers" pairing of 18-year-old Zhang Ziyu, who stands at an imposing 2.26 meters, and 25-year-old Han Xu was brought in for the fourth quarter in hopes of closing an eight-point gap. However, Japan's high perimeter shooting accuracy sealed a disappointing defeat for China.

In warm-up matches held in June, the Chinese team defeated the Japanese team twice. However, the Japanese team did not field its full-strength roster with key players such as Maki Takada and Ramu Tokashiki absent.

China won the Asia Cup in 2023 by defeating Japan, ending a 12-year title drought. 

Global Times