China beat Hungary at the FIBA Women's 3x3 World Cup final and won their first ever World Cup title in Amsterdam on Sunday. The win also helped them secure the qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, as the sport prepares to make its Olympic debut next summer.
Team China's previous best finish was fourth place last year, but after beating the Hungarians in the group stage, the Asian Games gold medalists came in confident about adding another trophy to their growing collection.
China's team included Wu Di, Jiang Jiayin, Li Yingyun, and Zhang Zhiting, who reached the final by edging Australia 15-14 in the last four.
The Chinese ladies took the upper hand from the start, with Zhang scoring the first seven points to give them a quick 7-0 lead.
China's Zhang Zhiting celebrates as her team wins the final against Hungary in the FIBA 3x3 World Cup basketball at the Museumplein in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 23, 2019. /VCG Photo
Hungry tried to fight back and they closed the gap to just four points in the last three minutes. But Li quickly regained the advantage for China by scoring two points in a row.
With less than 30 seconds left, Li dished to Zhang for China's final bucket, en route to a 19-13 victory. Jiang was named tournament MVP after the match.
"I want to thank my team. We have been through a lot in order to win this trophy. Our teamwork was everything from the start until the end. We had only one goal, which was to win the title, and we gave it all we have," Jiang said after the awarding ceremony.