China beat New Zealand 98-84 in the semifinals at the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, advancing to the final at the tournament for the first time in 10 years.

As the 16-time Asia Cup champions, China had failed to go through the quarterfinals at the last two editions in 2017 and 2022. They knocked out South Korea 79-71 in the last eight on Thursday to end that disappointing streak.

Playing against New Zealand, China's captain Zhao Rui attacked with determination from the beginning. His accurate pass enabled Hu Jinqiu to make their first field goal with a layup and then scored eight straight points by himself for his side to lead 10-7. As Gao Shiyan, Liao Sanning and Lei Meng drove a 13-0 run for China in at the end of the first quarter, the team sat on a comfortable 28-19 advantage.

New Zealand displayed their defensive resilience in the second quarter and kept China from scoring any point in the final four minutes. Meanwhile, they launched a 9-0 run that cut their deficit to 42-40 before the halftime break.

Hu and Zhao joined hands again to show offensive dominance in the third quarter. Hu's solid screens created space for Zhao to either shoot off the dribble or charge the rim unimpeded. Zhao drew enough defensive attention before feeding the ball to Hu for easy buckets. Moreover, China's 20-year-old rising star Wang Junjie continued to make three-pointers. Though New Zealand matched their opponents in firepower in this quarter, they still trailed 68-66 when the quarter ended.

China began the fourth quarter with a 11-5 run to increase their advantage to 78-71. Zhao then contributed 10 of the team's 19 points to score a game-high 24. His final three-pointer was blocked by Mojave King, but the 29-year-old captain grabbed the ball back and knocked down a floater behind the arc to seal the deal for his side.

In the other semifinal, Australia crushed Iran 92-48. They will face China on Sunday to defend their championship.