China qualifies for 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup in advance after fourth game in Wuhan

China secured its place at the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup with an 84-74 victory over the Czech Republic in the qualifiers in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, on Sunday.

The hosts broke an early 12-12 tie with a 9-0 run, bridging the first and second quarters.

Zhang Manman sank China's first three-pointer of the game with 7:09 remaining in the second period, helping the home side grab its first double-digit lead at 26-16. The advantage grew to 14 points after Chen Mingling made a layup, before Veronika Vorackova and Emma Cechova moved the Czech Republic back into contention. China led 37-30 at halftime.

Playing in her first major international competition, Chen Yujie sank a buzzer-beating floater as China stayed ahead 59-53 entering the final quarter.

China moved the ball well at the start of the fourth period, regaining a double-digit lead through Han Xu and Luo Xinyu's layups, respectively set up by passes from Yang Shuyu and Zhang.

The Czech Republic made a strong late charge, pulling within 70-68 on Natalie Stoupalova's second-chance bucket. Both sides traded shots from downtown on four consecutive possessions. Veteran guard Wang Siyu showcased her skills, scoring six points in a row in the last minute to help China close out the contest.

Wang led China with 14 points and Han added 12, while Yang and Luo contributed 11 apiece.

"We're not just satisfied with the qualification," China coach Gong Luming said after the win. "We want to go further, we want to be a better team, so this game is also a good test for us. They played hard and challenged us, and things went well, things went wrong, and we tried to stay together and play together. In the future, we want to play better basketball together."

In the day's other games, Brazil rallied from a 14-point deficit to edge Mali 76-73, while Belgium clinched its fourth straight win by extending South Sudan losing streak to four games 102-64.

Tuesday's final round of qualifying games will feature China facing Brazil, Belgium taking on the Czech Republic and South Sudan going up against Mali.

FIBA Women's World Cup qualifiers are being held across four competition zones from March 11-17, with four teams from each zone advancing to the World Cup.

In Wuhan, Belgium qualified directly as the European champions, leaving three spots up for grabs among the remaining five teams. After China clinched the second bid, the other two places will be contested by the Czech Republic, Brazil and Mali, with South Sudan already eliminated.