LILLE, France, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese women's basketball team smashed Puerto Rico 80-58 on Saturday, securing third place in its group and keeping its hopes alive for advancing to the knockout stage at the Paris Olympics.
According to the qualification rules, the top two teams from each of the three groups automatically qualify. The remaining two spots are awarded to the two best third-place teams across the three groups. Despite finishing third in Group A with a 1-2 record, China still has a chance to advance, pending the outcomes of Sunday's matches in the other two groups.
Chinese head coach Zheng Wei emphasized the importance of this match, saying "with the losses in the previous two games, we had no other option but to win today."
"Over the past few days, we have made psychological adjustments to help the team play more freely today. We also focused heavily on defending their key players, which prevented the opponent from scoring explosively. I believe this was the key to our victory," Zheng said.
China grabbed 10 more rebounds (48-38) and dished out 12 more assists (26-14) over Puerto Rico the whole game. It also hit 11 of 28 three-pointers, while Puerto Rico managed only 5 of 26 from beyond the arc.
Five Chinese players scored in double figures. Li Meng led the team with 18 points and 7 assists, Li Yueru added 14 points and 7 rebounds, Wang Siyu contributed 13 points, and both Huang Sijing and Han Xu scored 10 points each. For Puerto Rico, Arella Guirantes had 20 points and Brianna Jones added 13 points.
"This was our best game of the three we've played so far. If we can continue to advance, we hope to carry this momentum forward and play even better in future games," said Li Yueru.
China started strong with a 7-0 run, leading 17-11 at the end of the first quarter. It extended the lead with another 7-0 run at the start of the second quarter, going into halftime with an 11-point advantage (40-29). Li Meng hit a transition three-pointer, pushing China's lead to 16 points (55-39) in the third period and forcing Puerto Rico to call a timeout. China continued its dominance in the final quarter, with a 10-0 run extending the lead to 23 points, putting the game beyond reach. ■
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