Players of China celebrate in tears after beating France 16-14 in 3x3 women's basketball bronze medal game at the Aomi Urban Sports Park in Tokyo, Japan, July 28, 2021. /CFP
China defeated France 16-14 in 3x3 women's basketball third-place game in the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, winning the bronze medal of the Olympic debut event.
China's Wang Lili scored nine points and four rebounds. Zhang Zhiting had two points and seven rebounds. Yang Shuyu and Wan Jiyuan got three and two points, respectively.
China lost to Russian Olympic Committee in the semifinal earlier on Wednesday. The U.S. beat their opponent, France.
Yang Shuyu (#6) of China shoots in 3x3 women's basketball bronze medal game against France at the Aomi Urban Sports Park, July 28, 2021. /CFP
Both sides invested a lot of effort in defense from the beginning. However, neither team scored until 8:35, when Wang broke the ice for China. Wang continued to penetrate and make one shot while taking a foul from a defender. Then she assisted Zhang to score another point under the rim before making a 2-point herself.
Wang's explosive performance gave China a 6-1 early lead. Though France did not give up and managed to cut their trail down to three and two points in the following game, China remained in the leading position. Yang and Marie-Ève Paget made the last shot for China and France respectively when the score reached 16-14, a two-point lead for China.
Wang Lili of China celebrates in tears after beating France 16-14 in 3x3 women's basketball bronze medal game at the Aomi Urban Sports Park, July 28, 2021. /CFP
Neither side managed to score in the rest of the game. Instead, they missed three 2-point attempts while committed three turnovers. In the end, China won this close game.
Four Chinese players hugged together in tears after the game. China won women's basketball bronze in 1984 in Los Angeles and silver in 1992 in Barcelona. Claiming 3x3 women's basketball bronze in Tokyo already matched the team's second-best performance in the Olympics.