China downs Japan for fourth straight win in women's basketball Asia Cup warm-ups

HEFEI, China, June 20 (Xinhua) -- China seized its fourth straight victory in the Asia Cup warm-up here on Friday, beating Japan 93-61.

China took a 26-23 lead in the first quarter, and in the second quarter, swiftly expanded the margin to double digits, leading 51-31 before halftime.

In the second half, Zhang Ru, Han Xu and Yang Shuyu started to rake up scores, stretching the lead to 30 points. Japan initiated a counterattack and ran off eight consecutive points, but the deficit remained large, and China saw out the win.

Wang Siyu notched a game-high 17 points, while Zhang Ziyu collected 16 points and 4 rebounds, and Zhai Ruoyun scored 11 points.

"We want to take this chance to train the team and adapt to the fast transition pace, so that we can go all out for the Asia Cup," said China head coach Gong Luming, noting that the current team is a mix of different ages and takes time to build chemistry. "But we will keep working."

China will face Australia on July 6 in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, with the two teams set to clash again in Changsha on July 8. ■