China booked a berth of the quarterfinals of the Women's Olympic Basketball tournament Friday with an easy 69-48 victory over Mali at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.

China, who was out of the quarterfinals four years ago in Athens, now stands second with a 3-1 record in Group B and faces the Czech Republic (2-2) in the last preliminary round game on Sunday.

"I'm so happy because we finally reached the last eight, where we failed to do at last Olympics," Chinese center Chen Nan said.

"But it was the first step only before reaching our final goal that is a semifinal or a Olympic medal," she added. "The game to play against the Czech Sunday will be a tough matchup, but I have confidence to beat them."

China's backcourt star Miao Lijie scored 25 points on 10-of-15 from the field including 5-of-8 from 3-pointer line. Chen Nan contributed 11 points and 9 rebounds and Chen Xiaoli also added 11.

The game was never close and was effectively over when the host China jumped out to a 17-6 lead after the tip-off.

Mali, without its best player and team captain Hamchetou Maiga for injury, struggled at both ends of the court to contain the larger and more experienced Chinese players, committing 21 turnovers, shooting at only 28 percent from the field. But Mali outrebounded China 50-41.

"It's a pity I cann't help my team and play the Olympics," said 29-year-old Maiga, who plays with the WNBA Hornet Comets. She injured her ankle in the game against the Czech on Monday. "It need two more weeks to recover."

Djene Diawara and Aminata Sininta scored 11 apiece, while center Djenebou Sissoko grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for Mali, who has eliminated from the quarterfinals with a 0-4 record and will face Spain in its last game on Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2008)