China ends Japan’s long reign to win women’s basketball Asia Cup title

China’s Wang Siyu attempts too block a shot from Japan’s Anri Hoshi, left, during the Asia Cup women’s basketball final in Sydney, Australia, yesterday

China rallied to claim its first women’s basketball Asia Cup title since 2012 as they beat five-time defending champion Japan 73-71 in an epic final yesterday.

Trailing at halftime it appeared China may fall for a third consecutive time in a title game as reigning champions Japan scored the last 14 points of the first half to lead by nine points.

Led by player of the tournament center Xu Han, China seized the momentum early in the third quarter and took what proved a match-winning lead late in the game to end their 12-year wait for a gold medal in front of a large crowd in Sydney.

Xu finished with a match-defining 26 points and 10 rebounds to complete the feat of recording a double-double in every game of the tournament. Siyu Wang scored 17 points.

Maki Takada led Japan with 17 points and four rebounds, with Saki Hayashi scoring 12 points for Japan.

China’s title follows its silver medal at the women’s basketball World Cup, also held in Sydney, late last year.

Japan and China met in the 2019 and 2021 title games with the Japanese prevailing in both to claim their fourth and fifth titles.

The eight-team regional tournament doubled as qualifying for next year’s Olympics, with the semifinalists — Japan, Australia, China and New Zealand — qualifying for Paris 2024. MDT/AP