DANDONG, China, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Powerhouses Sichuan and Jiangsu both clinched one-sided victories as China's 15th National Games women's basketball qualifiers kicked off on Sunday.
Sichuan, a two-time winner in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) league, overwhelmed Shanxi 140-31, while last year's National Women's Basketball Championship runner-up Jiangsu powered to a 115-33 victory over Heilongjiang.
Boasting a star-studded lineup, including China internationals Han Xu and Wang Siyu, Sichuan encountered little challenge from Shanxi, who saw its star forward Zhai Ruoyun sidelined while still recovering after the FIBA Women's Asia Cup held in July.
After building a 26-point lead after the first quarter, Sichuan saw it balloon to 62 points at halftime after a dominant 40-4 second quarter.
Despite mainly dispatching its substitutes after the break, Sichuan extended its lead to eventually win by a margin of 109 points.
Li Meng top scored with 25 points on 10-of-10 shooting, as seven Sichuan players cracked double figures in scoring.
Facing a young and inexperienced Heilongjiang side, Jiangsu came out on a high note, racing into a 37-11 lead as the first quarter ran out.
With a balanced attack, especially from 3-point range, Jiangsu extended its advantage to 70-20 at halftime.
Heilongjiang scored only two points in the third quarter, on a layup from Xu Yizhuo with one minute left to play, while Jiangsu showed no mercy en route to a dominating win.
Jiangsu shot 16 of 25 on 3-pointers, and outrebounded Heilongjiang 49-21. All of its 12 players scored, including six in double figures, led by national team forward Luo Xinyu's 21 points.
"Although Heilongjiang is a young side, we told ourselves not to look down upon them. We took this game as a training session and tried to get everyone into the game to brace up for tougher challenges ahead," Jiangsu player-coach Chen Xiaojia told Xinhua.
In the other game of the group, Hubei rallied past Xinjiang 78-63 thanks to a 27-16 third quarter.
The 15th National Games women's basketball qualifiers are being held in Dandong, in northeast China's Liaoning Province, and Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, from August 10 to 16.
The 14 teams are divided into two groups of seven, with the top four from each group qualifying for the finals, while the remaining six teams will contend for three spots through the playoffs.
In Group B games held in Nanjing, Shandong overwhelmed Tianjin 100-35, Beijing sailed past Hebei 109-61, and Liaoning edged Henan 62-61. ■
微信扫描下方的二维码阅读本文
