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China loses to favorite Spain in women's basketball Olympic qualification

Xinhua, June 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Chinese women's basketball team's bid to qualify for the Rio Olympics suffered a major blow on Tuesday when they lost to world No. 3 Spain 77-43 here on Tuesday.

None of Chinese player scored double-figure points. Shao Ting led the team with nine points. Sun Mengran and Chen Xiaojia added 8 and 7 respectively.

China coach Thomas Maher made one change in the starting five, with Huang Hongpin replacing veteran Chen Nan as the center.

But Spain displayed their strength in depth as China never got the upper hand throughout the game. Alba Torrens' layup with 5:30 remaining in the second quarter earned Spain a double-figure lead, before she hit in two 3-pointers in the third as Spain extended the margin to nearly 20 points. With four minutes to go, Spain led as many as 30 points.

Torrens finished with a game-high 22 points for Spain. Lyttle helped with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

China, who finished the group stage with 1 win and 1 defeat, is waiting for Wednesday's result between Spain and Venezuela. If Spain wins the game, China will progress to the quarterfinals as the second-placed team in Group D.

Twelve teams were divided into four groups, with top two of each group advancing into the last eight. Winners of each quarter-final secure four Olympic tickets, while the four losers fight for the fifth one. Endit