In the semifinals of the U18 Women's Basketball Asian Cup, the Chinese team defeated the South Korean team with an overwhelming victory with Zhang Ziyu's outstanding performance and successfully advanced to the final. The 17-year-old Zhang Ziyu contributed an astonishing stat of 34 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists in just 21 minutes, showing extraordinary dominance and all-round skills. FIBA's official website and South Korean coaches have spoken highly of the rising star, comparing her to "female Yao Ming".
The U18 Women's Basketball Asian Cup attracted a number of strong teams from Asia, among which China, Australia, South Korea and Japan were particularly prominent. In the semi-finals, China defeated South Korea by a landslide, while Australia beat Japan, and the two undefeated teams will compete for gold in the final. South Korea and Japan will battle it out for third place and will also compete for a ticket to the U19 World Cup.
The biggest highlight of the game is undoubtedly Zhang Ziyu's amazing performance. In the game against South Korea, Zhang Ziyu only took 21 minutes and 35 seconds to hit 34 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal, with a shooting rate of 68% and an astonishing efficiency of 47. Especially in the second quarter, Zhang Ziyu's outstanding play directly reversed the situation of the game, and he took the lead alone.
South Korea coach Kang Byung-so was full of praise for Jang at his post-match press conference. He said: "Zhang Ziyu, a 17-year-old girl from the Chinese team, is 220 centimeters tall and very dominant. As long as she lifts the ball, our players can't reach it. In addition, Zhang Ziyu also has excellent playmaking skills, and she can pass the ball after attracting the bag. In our opinion, Zhang Ziyu is the female Yao Ming. ”
FIBA's official website also praised Zhang Ziyu's performance, calling her a "17-year-old genius". The article pointed out that Zhang Ziyu's efficient performance in the semi-finals not only helped the Chinese team lock up the victory, but also reserved physical energy for the finals.
Zhang Ziyu played more than 10 minutes more in this game than against Japan, which shows that the Chinese team is more flexible in terms of tactical arrangements and knows how to adjust the playing time of the main players according to the strength of the opponent and the importance of the game. This reasonable rotation strategy not only ensured victory in the semi-finals, but also reserved enough physical energy for the upcoming finals.
China will play against Australia, who are also unbeaten. South Korean media "JUMPBALL" analysis believes that the Chinese team has more advantages in the final, mainly because the tallest player of the Australian team is only 1.91 meters, a full 29 centimeters shorter than Zhang Ziyu. This huge height difference could be a key factor in determining the direction of the race.
The outcome of the race is not based solely on height advantage. As a traditional strong team, the Australian team will definitely formulate a special defensive strategy against Zhang Ziyu. The performance of other players will also directly affect the direction of the game, and the Chinese team needs the whole team to work together to achieve the final victory.
As the final approaches, fans are hotly discussed: Can Zhang Ziyu continue his heroic performance in the semifinals? Will the Chinese team be able to defeat Australia and win the Asian championship again after many years? Let's wait and see what happens!