Team China fall to Australia in women's basketball warm-up ahead of FIBA Asia Cup

The Chinese women's basketball team fell to Australia 76-63 in a warm-up game for the FIBA Asia Cup in Haikou on Sunday.

This was the first defeat for China after five games in the warm-up series, having beaten Bosnia and Herzegovina and Japan both twice in June.

After the tip-off, Han Xu opened the scoring for China with two points, and the two teams traded baskets early on. But after Han left the court, Australia capitalized on the opportunity to attack China's defense. China trailed 28-19 by the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, China struggled to find rhythm in offense. The team was then plagued by turnovers and fouls, while Australia maintained their aggressive play, taking an 18-point lead into halftime.

After the break, China started to find form, with players including Yang Liwei and Luo Xinyu scoring multiple three-pointers, cutting the deficit to just 7 points. However, Australia managed to seal the game with back-to-back three-pointers.

Han finished with a team-high 15 points and 9 rebounds for China. Australia had three players scoring in double digits, with Isabelle Bourne also contributing 15 points for her side.

The two teams will meet again for their next warm-up game on Tuesday in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province.

The FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2025 will be held in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province from July 13 to 20.