The frontcourt duo of Han Xu and Zhang Ziyu both finished with double-doubles, helping China defeat Japan 101-92 in the third game of their FIBA Women's Asia Cup warm-up series in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, on Wednesday.

Han scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Zhang added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and guard Yang Shuyu contributed 17 points in China's win. Mai Kawai led Japan with 13 points in the loss.

Last year, China suffered back-to-back defeats against Japan in the warm-ups in Xi'an. Before their latest meeting, guard Li Yuan vowed that the Chinese squad would prepare carefully for the game, even though the Japanese side was missing some of its best players.

China took a 26-25 lead after the first quarter. Zhang Ziyu then bagged 10 points in the second quarter, helping the home team claim a 49-44 lead at halftime.

In the middle of the third quarter, China fired off a 10-4 run, extending the lead to 14 points. Japan responded with five three-pointers, cutting the deficit to 10 going into the final period.

Although Japan narrowed the gap to seven points in the fourth quarter, China regained control with a 9-2 run.

"Japan is actually a team with very prominent characteristics. They move fast and they are good at shooting from beyond the arc," said China coach Gong Luming. "We showed our advantages in height and strength, and what's more, all of the players had good performances on offense."

On the other hand, the coach wasn't too pleased with a key aspect of his squad's defense.

"However, we didn't deal with Japanese three-pointer shooters well. We will do some adjustments in the next game," added Gong.

The two sides will meet again on Friday in Hefei, the capital of east China's Anhui Province.