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South Korea wins Asian U-18 Women's Basketball Championship
Kim Jungeun scored 25 points in 30 minutes to help South Korea beat Chinese Taipei 96-75 at the Asian under-18 women's basketball championship in Shenzhen on Saturday. South Korea, who edged Japan 73-65 in its opening match at the tournament on Friday, now ranks top in Group A. China, who had bye on Saturday, and Japan were in joint place with one victory. Earlier on Saturday, Japan crushed Thailand 82-36. After the score was tied at 8-8 with 5:28 remaining in the first quarter, South Korea went on a 9-2 run to lead 17-10 before entering the second at 29-18. Park Semi scored 10 of her 16 points in the second quarter as South Korea built a 22-point advantage at halftime. Chinese Taipei, the runner-up of last Asian U-18 championship in 2001, seemed to find its rhythm after the break and cut the deficit to 14 points with 8:38 left to go in the fourth period. But the South Koreans, who hit seven 3-pointers in total against Chinese Taipei's one, didn't allow their opponents to go further. "We didn't play our normal basketball," said Yang Shu-fen, headcoach of the Chinese Taipei team. "The inexperienced players got nervous after a bad start." "We should try to avoid the same mistake when we meet Japan," she added. Li Wan-Ting scored 23 points to lead all Chinese Taipei players. Liu Yi-Chun had 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Chang Shih-Chien added 17 points. In Group B's action, India thrashed Macao of China 97-37, and Singapore brushed aside Malaysia 89-46. According to the competition rule, teams in Group B compete for promotion to Group A, while those in Group A vie for the title. The biennial regional tournament kicked off on Friday and runs through next Thursday. Top two finishers of the event qualify for next year's world championship in Tunisia. |
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