China cruise past South Korea to earn bronze at FIBA Women's Asia Cup

China wrapped up their FIBA Women's Asia Cup campaign at home in dominant fashion, routing South Korea 101-66 in the third-place game in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, on Sunday.

The hosts came out firing from long range and maintained a quick tempo in transition. Luo Xinyu and Yang Shuyu both hit early three-pointers, helping the Chinese ladies jump out to a 13-2 lead.

Coach Gong Luming continued to experiment with various lineups, alternating between a small-ball unit without a center and a twin-tower setup featuring Han Xu and Zhang Ziyu. The adjustments paid off, as the home team built a 17-point lead at 31-14 by the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, guard Wang Siyu took over on offense, repeatedly slicing through the opposing side's defense for layups and drawing fouls. Facing relentless high pressure, the South Koreans struggled to score, relying heavily on mid-range jumpers and Kang Yoo-lim's drives into the paint.

After the hosts surged into a 58-29 at halftime, South Korea inserted veteran center Park Ji-su in the third quarter. Although her presence helped stabilize the squad's offense, China's Zhang continued to dominate inside on both ends, leaving the two sides to play out the string in the final period.

Wang led all scorers with 19 points; Zhang contributed 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists; and Luo added 15 points for China.

Park finished with a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds for South Korea, while Choi I-saem added 10 points.

Australia beat Japan 88-79 in the ensuing championship game to lift the trophy at this event for the first time.

(With inputs from Xinhua News Agency)