Former WNBA players help PLA collect 7th consecutive National Games title

By (Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-19 16:30

Players of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) team salute on the podium during the awarding ceremony for the women's basketball at the 11th Chinese National Games in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, Oct. 18, 2009. The PLA team won the title by beating the team of Liaoning Province 90-68 in the final. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

QINGDAO: Defending champion PLA beat Liaoning 90-68 to snatch the gold medal in the women's basketball tournament of the 11th Chinese National Games on Sunday, winning its 7th consecutive title at the quadrennial event.

The Liaoning side, who were desperate to take revenge, surprised the reigning titlist with a 7-2 spurt at the beginning of the first quarter. PLA then switched to one-to-one defence and effectively restricted the opponents. The first quarter ended with PLA leading 21-15.

The defending champions maintained the momentum from the second quarter till the last minutes, with former WNBA players Chen Nan and Sui Feifei notching 16 points and 10 points respectively. Chinese international Liu Dan pocketed a match-high 20 points to secure PLA's winning margin.

Forward Zhang Wei scored a team-high 17 for Liaoning but failed to save her team from a disappointing silver finish.

Jiangsu, runner-up at the 10th National Games and led by Asian Championship MVP Bian Lan, won the bronze medal after defeating Guangdong 86-69.