Japan, Australia continue to win at FIBA Women's Asia Cup

Japan defeated the Philippines 85-82 in their second game in Group B at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, on Monday, securing their second straight win.

Japan outscored their opponents 31-20 in the first quarter and continued to increase their lead steadily as the game went on. Maki Takada made five of her six attempts outside the three-point line to score a team-high 20 points for Japan. After Miwa Kuribayashi made an easy layup at the beginning of the fourth quarter, they were ahead by 22 points at 81-59, the largest gap of the night.

However, the Philippines fought back hard and outscored Japan 25-8 in this quarter. Jack Animam showed dominance in the paint on her way to a game-high 24 points. When Vanessa De Jesus made the last-second three-pointer from the left corner, she helped her side cut their deficit to no more than three points at 85-82. 

In the other group B game, Australia showed nothing but dominance against Lebanon with a 113-84 win and had eight players getting at least 10 points.

Australia and Japan will face each other on Tuesday.