Who is China's clutch queen Wang Siyu?

BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Wang Siyu will forever be an important figure in Chinese basketball all thanks to her heroics in the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022.

The 27-year-old etched her name in the proud nation's history by sinking the marginal free throws that towed China to a massive 61-59 victory over Australia in the latter's stomping grounds in Sydney to reach the Final.

Calm and collected, she scored both of arguably the biggest two points of her career with 3.4 seconds left, eventually leaving the hosts shattered.

Wang went on to finish with 14 points in the performance that serves as the crowning glory of her years with the national team to date.

Historical as well were those shots, for it led to China winning the silver following a gallant stand against the United States before 16,000 fans. It is their best finish since ending as runners-up in the 1994 meet -- also held in Australia.

Those are precisely the reasons why Siyu's moment from the stripe won FIBA Asia's Play of the Year 2022 fan vote.

 
The 1.80 M (5'11") guard may have just been known during the Sydney showpiece, but those who've been following the Asian hoops scene have seen her don China's royal red and gold for quite some time now.

Playing professionally since 2013, Wang has won medals with the women's national team, including of course on the FIBA stage. She was a main part of the crew that also made it to the Final at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2021 in Jordan.

Her stint in Jordan was also her best stint per Efficiency (13.4 EFF), though her production has been quite consistent throughout recent competitions.

Her best stint with the national team in terms of scoring happened in the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Asian Tournament in 2019, where she averaged 9.7 points with a 10.7 efficiency rating across three games.

The native of Shandong almost hit said scoring mark at the Women's World Cup, where she posted per-game norms of 9.3 points on top of 3.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists along with an efficiency rating of 12.7.

Wang's finest offensive outing in the Women's World Cup came in their first meeting with the USA in the Group Phase. There, she fired 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, together with 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal in 29 minutes.

FIBA