China beat Belgium 81-55 in their last group game at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday. After this victory, China are placed second in Group A and will enjoy a favorable position in the draw for the quarterfinals matchup.

China were already qualified for the knockout stage after defeating Puerto Rico 95-60 on Monday, but they shared the same 3-1 record with Belgium before Tuesday's game. Both sides needed a win to be second of this group, so they will face either the third or fourth team, instead of the first or second team of the group in the quarterfinals.

Moreover, Belgium are fairly China's strongest opponent following USA in this group. Playing against them can help Chinese players get ready for the more difficult competitions in the knockout stage.

Chinese players began Tuesday's game well-prepared on the defensive front. Their size advantage didn't slow them down when they were chasing Belgian players during off-ball movement. As a first-class 3-point shooting franchise, Belgium took only six triple attempts in the first half and missed all of them.

Neither side was smooth on the offensive end and failed to reach 40 points (35-28) in the first half. Belgium began to grow hot from downtown in the third quarter and so did China. After a close third quarter (19-17), China managed to extend their lead dramatically in the final quarter with continuous fast breaks that came from a solid defense.

Li Meng was the most productive Chinese player, scoring 16 points. Though her shooting performance of making seven of 23 attempts was not efficient, she was one of the few on China's roster who could change the opponents' defense via isolation, both by slashing from the outside and posting up in the low block.

Wang Siyu and Huang Sijing provided timely firepower from outside when the game switched from a slow, physical defense contest to a fast and open game. Han Xu though didn't start on Tuesday, her offensive presence was everywhere from shooting in the middle range and finishing in the paint.

Despite the victory, Belgium exposed some of China's shortcomings. For example, China failed to use their height advantage in the rebound protection. They allowed 11 offensive rebounds by the opponents. Though it didn't hurt too much because China grabbed 18 rebounds on the offensive glass too, mistakes like this can be more damaging to China when they are playing stronger teams like France and Australia. So will the open layups they missed in Tuesday's game.