SHENZHEN (China) - Zhang Ziyu made her first-ever stint with China even more memorable by earning Most Valuable Player honors in the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2024, Sunday night at the Longhua Cultural and Sports Center.
In a coronation witnessed by the ever-appreciative home crowd, the 2.20M (7'3") center bagged home the award as she stood head and shoulders above the field with tournament-leading per-game averages of 35.0 points and 12.8 rebounds per game.
Zhang had two 40-point performances in the tilt. The 17-year-old poured 44 in their victory over Japan to set the competition single-game record in scoring.
She then had 42 and 14 rebounds in the Final against Australia, where the perennial contenders finished as runners-up for the second consecutive time.
In winning the award, Zhang bannered the All-Star Five made up of teammate Xu Peilin, Lara Somfai and Saffron Shiels of Australia, and Japan's Kokoro Tanaka.
Xu was an all-around piece for Team China that supported Zhang's dominance, putting up norms of 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.
Shiels, now a two-time champion, was the Gems' leading scorer and rebounder in the tourney with 18.0 points and 11.6 rebounds per game - both being top 3 in each category among all players. Shiels had 31 and 15 in the title clincher.
Somfai, on the other hand, averaged 17.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest as she and Shiels joined hands in spearheading the Aussies' five-game sweep of the meet.
Tanaka finished as the second-best scorer of the tournament with 19.0 points as she helped Japan win the bronze for the second time in a row.
FIBA