Peninsula Chief Reporter Du Jincheng.
On February 8, Beijing time, the Chinese women's basketball team ushered in the first opponent of the Olympic qualifying tournament, the New Zealand women's basketball team, and in the end, the Chinese women's basketball team sitting at the home of Xi'an defeated the opponent 94:47. Next, the Chinese women's basketball team will play "back-to-back" against France and Puerto Rico on February 10 and 11. Judging from the ranking and strength of the three opponents, the New Zealand women's basketball team is the weakest team among them. In the face of the schedule of easy and then difficult, the Chinese women's basketball team must deal with it carefully.
In the latest FIBA (FIBA) world rankings, the New Zealand women's basketball team is ranked 15th, which is the lowest ranking of the three opponents of the Chinese women's basketball team in this Olympic qualifying tournament. Not only that, but the three main players of the New Zealand team, Penina Davidson, Tupea and Christo Walker, did not travel with the team. In last year's Asian Cup, the Chinese women's basketball team defeated the New Zealand team 80-46. Therefore, whether in terms of team strength or the psychology of the players, the Chinese women's basketball team has the upper hand.
At the beginning of the game, the Chinese women's basketball team sent Wang Siyu, Li Meng, Zhang Ru, Huang Sijing and Han Xu to the starting lineup. Han Xu hit two three-pointers in a row at the beginning, and then Huang Sijing hit three points again, and the Chinese women's basketball team played a 9:2 start. This start also became a microcosm of the whole game. The Chinese women's basketball team has rotated players in a large area since the second half of the first quarter, and the score started early. The New Zealand women's basketball team tried to open the situation through the inside, but Han Xu and Li Yueruzhen made the opponent helpless. At halftime, the Chinese women's basketball team led the opponent with a score of 53:22.
Such a half-time difference also made the game basically lose suspense early, and the girls of the Chinese women's basketball team played a very smooth offense in the cheers of the home fans. In the final quarter of the game, the Chinese women's basketball team continued to expand its advantage, and finally won the game with a huge advantage of 94:47 and nearly 50 points. In the next game, the Chinese women's basketball team will play against the world's fourth-ranked French women's basketball team on February 10, the first day of the Lunar New Year. This game will be the strongest opponent that the Chinese women's basketball team will encounter in this Olympic qualifying tournament.
According to the rules of the qualifying round, the top two teams from the group other than the Paris hosts, France, will qualify for the Olympic Games. Therefore, this qualifying tournament is a "ticket grabbing battle" between China, Puerto Rico and New Zealand teams. Although the French women's basketball team has already qualified for the Olympics in advance by virtue of its status as the host, the French team still attaches great importance to the last international women's basketball tournament before the Olympics. Two-time Olympic veteran Marlene Johannes returns to the national team after a year's absence. The veteran played for the New York Liberty in the WNBA and was named the best defender in the UEFA Champions League. This game is a good training opportunity for the Chinese women's basketball team.