Japan and Korea are big winners on Day 4 in Wuhan

WUHAN (2015 FIBA Asia Women’s Championship) - One team blew out a fellow podium contender while another snuck past the hosts. Despite their contrasting routes to success, however, both Korea and Japan were undoubtedly the biggest winners of Day Four in the 2015 FIBA Asia Women’s Championship.

Korea seem to be gaining a lot of momentum in Level I (Group A), especially after defeating Chinese Taipei, 76-58. Coach We Sung-Woo's team quickly built a double-digit lead against their East Asia rivals and successfully kept them at bay.

Korea hit 13 three-pointers with Park Hye-Jin’s accounting for five of them as part of a game-high 17 points. Yang Ji-Hee also impressed with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals, while Chinese Taipei struggled from the free-throw line, making just 12 of their 20 attempts. Wu Ying-Chieh and Lin Yu-Ting each tallied 14 points to pace the losing side.

Wily guard Asami Yoshida came through in crunch time with a magical shot in traffic and helped defending champions Japan to pull the rug from under China, 57-56, in the schedule’s most heart-pumping contest.

Yoshida hit the marginal shot with just 3 seconds to go, a few plays after Huang Hongpin’s free throw gave the home team the slimmest of margins, 56-55, with 51 ticks left. Coach Thomas Maher’s crew still had a chance to take a shot in the waning moments, but Sanae Motokawa forced a turnover off of Huang Sijing to put the outcome beyond doubt.

Ramu Tokashiki bounced back from a subpar performance in Japan’s previous game to record 19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals, leading Japan to their fourth win in as many games.

As for China, Shao Ting stood out with a team-high 15 points, while Gao Song added 12 points and 9 rebounds.

Thailand finally notched their first win, but it didn't come easy as they had to prevail over a tough Indian team, 65-63. Coach Pojana Sujaritwobool's charges got off to a splendid start, outgunning their opponents 21-14 in the first quarter, but, true to form, the Indians clawed back, and it was a nip-and-tuck affair all the way to the end.

The dynamic duo of Naphat Kruatiwa and Thidaporn Maihom were stellar for Thailand, scoring 21 and 19 points respectively. Kruatiwa was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and grabbed 7 rebounds, while Maihom collared 10 rebounds and had 8 steals.

India got 21 points and 10 rebounds from Jeena Skaria and Bhandavya Mahesha produced 10 points in support.

Earlier in the day, Kazakhstan opened with a 78-50 rout of Sri Lanka. Tamara Yagodkina had 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists to give her team their third win in four tries. Anjalee Ekanayake tried her best to lift Sri Lanka with 17 points and 3 triples, but it was to no avail.

The Philippines also continued to roll, booking their third win, 75-62, at the expense of Hong Kong. Once again, it was Allana Lim who starred for the Filipinas, dropping 20 points, while Afril Bernardino added 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals. Cheuk Ting paced Hong Kong with 17 points in the defeat.

DPR Korea notched a much-needed victory, blasting Malaysia, 83-45, behind the hot shooting of Pak Hyang-Jong. Pak unleashed her full offensive arsenal here, scoring 29 points on 12-of-22 field goal shooting to lead her team atop the Level II (Group B) standings. Three other Koreans backstopped her effort with double-figure scoring, while Malaysia drew a combined 23 points from Yap Fook Yee and Eugene Ting.

The final day of group play promises to be a humdinger, with the top two Level II (Group B) slots at stake and teams like Korea and China hoping to gather more steam heading into the semifinals. The ones to watch are definitely the matches pitting the Philippines against Kazakhstan (the winner gets the last slot in the qualifying round), and the joust between old rivals China and Chinese Taipei.

FIBA