FIBA Asia Women's Cup: Mighty Japan crush Korea

Bengaluru: On a day when hosts India enjoyed a breather, the focus shifted to Division A where Japan claimed regional supremacy over neighbours Korea, winning 70-56 in their second Group B FIBA Asia Women’s Cup match at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Monday.

The Akatsuki Five struggled to find their footing in the first quarter, trailing the Koreans 12-14. All that changed when shooting forward Moeko Nagaoka (13 points) streaked through the Korean defence to power Japan to a 38-21 second quarter lead.

A large contingent of Korean fans egged their team on to mount a comeback. But it was smooth sailing for Japan as they effected quick transitions through point guard Manami Fujioka (14 points) and power forward Maki Takada – often going from defense to offence in a trice.

The telling story was the 21 points scored by Japan through turnovers, as Korea struggled to deal with the pace of play.

In their last group game, Japan will face World No. 4 Australia in a heavyweight clash, who eased to a 107-65 win over the Philippines earlier in the day. Power forward Sara Blicavs stole the show with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals as star centre Marianna Tolo sat out with a minor injury.

While Tolo will be back to face Japan, Blicavs acknowledged the strength of opposition. “Basically, we’ve just got lock down defensively. They (Japan) are a very structured team. Their main tempo is to try and rush us, so we’ve just got to stay poised,” the 24-year-old said.

Ferns stand tall
New Zealand bounced back from their opening defeat against eleven-time winners China to subject DPR Korea to a 71-50 loss. Experienced shooting-forward Jillian Harmon was once again the pivot of the side, carrying the side with a double-double (23 points, 13 rebounds) whilst captain Micaela Cocks chipped in with 16 points.

Results: Division A: Group A: New Zealand 71 (J Harmon 23, M Cocks 16, K Purcell 11, A Edmondson 10) bt DPR Korea 50 (H Pak 17, S Ro 15); China 102 (S Huang 25, Y Li 19, H Huang 15) bt Chinese Taipei 63 (P Huang 13, Y Lin 12) Group B: Australia 107 (S Cumming 18, S Blicavs 17, K Ebzery 12, A Smith 12, L Mansfield 12, L Hodges 10) bt Phillipines 65 (J Pontejos 18, M Lim 11); Japan 70 (M Fujioka 14, M Nagaoka 13, M Takada 10) bt South Korea 56 (Y Lim 12, J Kwak 12, H Park 10) Division B: Group B: Lebanon 90 (N Schoucair 21, M Mokdad 14, C El Charif 13, K Chammas 10) bt Fiji 48 (B Koyamainavure 13, S Dobui 12); Kazakhstan 73 (T Yagodkina 16, Z Kurazova 15, O Ossipenkko 14, O Ivanova 10) bt Singapore 52 (C Poon 15, J Chu 13)  

China pin hopes on Ting

In recent times, the Chinese women’s basketball team has underperformed in major tournaments. They finished a woeful 10th at the Rio 2016 Olympics and haven’t closed higher than sixth in the World Cup over the last 20 years.

The silver lining of that disappointing Olympic campaign was Shao Ting on whom the team depends on for success here at the FIBA Asia Women’s Cup, a competition perennially dominated by China.

The 27-year-old took the scenic route on her way to breaking through the team. “Ting broke the system; she went to university and then joined the National team. They usually do it when the players are younger. She has done it very hard and did it very well,” China assistant coach Michelle Timms said.

After revelling in the women’s Chinese Basketball Association, the shooting forward became one of China’s few exports to the hallowed Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA), playing briefly for the Minnesota Lynx.

She lists former Houston Rockets’ centre Yao Ming as one of her biggest influences. “Yao Ming became the chief of the CBA (China Basketball Association) and focuses on women’s basketball. He always encouraged us to play harder, telling us about his experience (in the NBA).”