China ease past New Zealand to reach FIBA Women's Asia Cup semifinals

China used a balanced offense to ease past New Zealand 85-51, advancing to the semifinals as the top finishers in Group A at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup on Wednesday.

The reigning champions completed the group stage with a perfect 3-0 record, and will face either Japan or New Zealand in the semifinals, with those two sides set to meet on Friday.

"As our team was just formed three months ago, we aimed to try different lineups through these group games. We feel that it has taken an initial shape now, but still needs fine-tuning on some details," China coach Gong Luming said at a postgame news conference.

"We hope that in future training sessions, players can build better chemistry and become more familiar with our style of play, to be more creative in our play," he added.

China took the early initiative with seven unanswered points. Amid a rousing ovation at the Shenzhen Sports Center, 18-year-old Zhang Ziyu was substituted in at the 3:46 mark and wasted no time opening her account, scoring a layup eight seconds into her appearance. A 14-2 run propelled China to a 25-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The hosts began to pull away, leading by 22 points early in the second period. The Tall Ferns tried to respond, but never seriously threatened China's advantage the rest of the way.

After an 11-0 run, the game was all-but-decided when China raced ahead 53-28 midway through the third quarter. All 12 Chinese players got on the scoreboard, with Zhang and Yang Shuyu each finishing with 12 points.

Earlier in the day, South Korea cruised past Indonesia 95-62 to finish second in the group with a 2-1 record.

Competing in Division A for the first time, the Indonesians showed some early grit against the 12-time champions, trailing just 25-22 after the first quarter.

The South Koreans upped their play with a series of three-pointers in the second period, as Lee Myung-kwan and Shin Ji-hyun combined for three consecutive long-range shots to build a 12-point cushion.

After jumping out to a 48-34 halftime lead, South Korea continued to strengthen their hold on the contest. A 24-14 third quarter extended the lead to 24 points, and Indonesia could not mount a comeback.

South Korean guard Park Ji-hyun poured in a game-high 18 points while Shin added 15. Kim Pierre-Louis led the Indonesians with 16 points.