Tall Ferns take thriller; China, Japan, Opals coast to opening day wins

SYDNEY (Australia) - New Zealand win thriller while China, Japan, and Australia start their FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2023 campaigns with big victories in Sydney.

Tall Ferns hold on to win despite a furious rally by Korea

New Zealand and Korea tipoff the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2023 with an exciting clash as the former outlasted the latter for a 66-64 win.

 

It was a fiery start for the Tall Ferns as their built up a 23-point lead early in the first half with strong inside play. In particular, it was the spectacular play of Penina Davidson who finished the game with a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double. Davidson also added in 3 steals and 2 blocks to her name.

It was also Davidson who took advantage of the scramble in the paint to score the go-ahead basket in the waning seconds for New Zealand.

Korea shook off a slow start and clawed their way back into the game, tying things up for the first time after tipoff with less than 4 minutes in the fourth quarter, 60-60. However, they were not able to make that final push to claim the lead. Park Jisu was a catalyst for the second-half run by Korea and ended up with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 blocks in the comeback effort.

After three previous encounters, the win is New Zealand's first over Korea in the Women's Asia Cup.

China accelerate in second half to get past upstart Lebanon

Lebanon were fired up for their first game back in the top division of the Women's Asia Cup and kept the game close in the first quarter against powerhouse China, trailing by only 3 points.

However, once the Women's Asia Cup 2021 finalists finally got into their groove, they were able to easily make their way through to a first win, 89-44. China began to break away with an 18-9 second quarter before blasting the gap wide open in the third quarter with a 22-2 advantage.

 

All players saw the floor for China, with only one player left scoreless in the big victory. There was no surprise that star Han Xu (17 points) and veteran Gao Song (15 points) led the team in scoring, but it was impressive how 21-year-old Luo Xinyu managed to score 12 points (on 4 three-pointers) in her senior national team debut.

For Lebanon, it was a spirited effort by 23-year-old Zena Elias who had 12 points on 5-7 shooting and 8 rebounds.

We will bring you updates on all of today's action from the first day of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2023 in Sydney.  

Japan appear in-form in first game of title-defending campaign

Defending Women's Asia Cup 2021 champions began the quest to protect their throne with a resounding win over Chinese Taipei, 94-53.

 

Akatsuki Japan led in all but the first 1:22 minutes of the game when the score was knotted at zero. Coach Toru Onzuka's squad never lifted their foot off the pedal, especially in the final quarter where they outscored Chinese Taipei, 28-10.

The only person to not score on Japan's squad was Saori Miyazaki, though she will most likely not lose any sleep over the fact as she dished out 5 assists in the win. As a matter of fact, 10 players on the team recorded at least one of the 28 total assists for team, led by Mai Yamamoto (7 dimes).

In the scoring department, it was Stephanie Mawuli who led the way with 18 points while also leading Japan in rebounds with 9 rebounds.

Japan appear in-form in first game of title-defending campaign

The fans that packed the stands at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 were back once again at Quay Centre to root for their Opals who went on to beat the Philippines, 105-34.

 

In the first game, hosts Australia dominated from start to finish whether it was from inside the paint (64-22 rebound advantage) or outside the arc (44.4 three-point shooting percentage). Coach Shannon Seebohm was quick to go through the team's rotation as all players saw the court in the first half. At the final buzzer, not only did all of the Opals get on the court, they also all made it on the scoredboard as well with Darcee Garbin (18 points) as the leader.

Lauren Scherf had an all-around game in the first game of her second Women's Asia Cup appearance with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.

It wasn't only the Australia basketball supporters that came to Sydney Olympic Park to root for their team as there was also a large group of Philippines faithful fans in attendance as well. While Gilas Pilipinas Women benefitted from that extra jolt of energy from the stands, it was ultimately not enough to overcome the third-ranked team in the FIBA World Ranking for Women, presented by NIKE.

A silver lining for the Philippines is the impressive debut of Vanessa De Jesus who was making her national team debut. The Duke University player led the team with 18 points on 4 three-pointers.

Daily Highs

Efficiency: 32 - Penina Davidson (NZL)
Points: 24 -Penina Davidson (NZL)
Rebounds: 11 - Akiene Reed (NZL)
Assists: 7 - Mai Yamamoto (JPN), Tess Madgen (AUS)
Steals: 4 - Park Jisu (KOR)
Blocks: 4 - Park Jisu (KOR)

Results and Fixtures

Group A
Korea vs New Zealand - 64-66
China vs Lebanon - 89-44

Group B
Japan vs Chinese Taipei - 94-53
Australia vs Philippines - 105-34

FIBA