Wednesday bore witness to Japan and China clinching their respective semifinal spots at the FIBA Asia Cup for Women, assuring them spots in the FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying tournament.
Japan earned their spot with a 67-62 victory over Korea in the first game of the four-game bill at the Prince Hamza Arena in Amman.
The duo of Himawari Akaho and Saori Miyazaki carried the defending champions against their East Asian rivals, combining for 36 points. The latter came close to notching a triple-double with seven rebounds and nine assists.
Korea clawed their way back from a slow start with steady play in the second quarter, reducing their deficit to a single point into halftime. They buckled down in the third quarter by limiting Japan to just six points in the period to erect a 48-43 lead.
The Olympic silver medalists responded with a strong start in the fourth quarter, taking the lead for good at 55-53.
Korea had a chance late to make up the deficit, but they were unable to score in the last two minutes after cutting the deficit to 63-62.
Isaem Choi led the team in scoring with sixteen points.
In contrast, China earned their semifinal spot with an impressive 82-64 victory over Australia.
After a relatively even first half, China took things to a higher notch in the third quarter, holding the Opals to just ten points in the period to establish a 58-49 lead. They doubled that lead in the final period to set the table for a dominant win.
Xu Han proved to be a handful with a double-double of sixteen points and eleven rebounds, whilst Sijing Huang nailed two triples in the fourth to finish with twelve points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Captain Sami Whitcomb starred for the Opals with 24 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
In the other two matchups, New Zealand secured their path into the crossover quarterfinals with a dominant 109-49 victory over India, as Mary Goulding and Penina Davidson each contributed eighteen points. The latter also added eleven boards for an impressive double-double performance. In the process, they renew their Oceania rivalry with Australia for a chance to make the final four.
Capping the events of the day was Chinese-Taipei's 93-52 victory over the Philippines, allowing the East Asian side to nab the final crossover quarterfinal berth and a matchup against Korea.
As for the Philippines and India, the two will tangle in the seventh-place game that will decide which team will remain in Division A or be relegated to Division B.
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