The 2024 FIBA U18 Women's Basketball Asian Cup in Shenzhen has entered the final showdown of defending champions Australia against hosts China. As the leaders of Group A and Group B, the two teams that stood on the final stage reached the final battle with four victories and undefeated performances, which is a well-deserved peak battle of this tournament. In this needle-tip game against Maimang, the two sides fought evenly in the first quarter, the second quarter of the Australian U18 women's basketball team began to exert strength, the third quarter of the Chinese team once overtook the score, but in the final quarter of the final battle, the Chinese team failed to bite the score, the last three minutes did not score a point, can only accept the bitter ending of 79-96 regret loss to the opponent. The Australian women's basketball team successfully defended its title, and the Chinese team won the silver medal again after two years.
In this campaign, the high-profile "female Yao Ming" Zhang Ziyu has already worked hard, she played an average of only 21 minutes per game, and played almost 27 minutes in this game, shooting 18 of 36 in the sports battle, and got a team-high 42 points and 14 rebounds, plus 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block. In fact, whether Zhang Ziyu is present or not determines that the Chinese women's basketball team is completely two teams, and when she is present, at least there is the guarantee of rebounds, the protection of the basket, and the absolute strength of the offensive end; When she was off the pitch, the whole team lost their bearings, unable to attack and hold under the onslaught of an experienced and disciplined Australian team.
Zhang Ziyu's plus/minus value is +5, indicating that during his play, the Chinese team still won, but unfortunately basketball is a five-person sport after all, two fists are hard to beat four hands, when teammates are confused with confidence and show operation, Zhang Ziyu, who can only run back and forth on the court, has also been imperceptibly consumed fighting spirit and sharpness. Originally, this game was regarded as a strong dialogue between Zhang Ziyu and Australia's number one star, the 1.92-meter-tall center Laura, but the confrontation between the two was one-sided, Zhang Ziyu, who was the first in the scoring list per game, cut half of the points of the Chinese team, while Laura, who was second in the scoring list per game, was 3 of 15 and only scored a pitiful 6 points.
However, although Zhang Ziyu won a complete victory in the ace duel, in the second point of the competition, no one around her could stand up to share her worries. Next to Laura, there is Safren Hills, the fourth-highest scorer. The star forward was in no one's wildest game, shooting 12-of-14 from the field, including 12 from beyond the three-point line, and recorded a luxurious record of 31 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists, and was the biggest contributor to Australia's victory.
On the other hand, there are no reliable scoring points around Zhang Ziyu, and there is not even a defender like Liu Wei who can feed Da Yao stably...... There are a lot of people who make a mess, like No. 8 Wang Jiaxin, looking at her style of play must be the absolute core in the usual club, but in this kind of confrontational game, you also have to weigh how many pounds and taels you have, whenever the Chinese women's basketball team relies on tenacious defense to approach the score, she always has to show off her skills, all kinds of unreasonable three-point shots, directly burying Zhang Ziyu's overall efforts.
It can only be said that Zhang Ziyu really tried her best, without her, she may not be able to stabilize the Japanese team in the group stage, and she may not be able to beat the South Korean team in the semifinals, her existence covers up the problem that the Chinese U18 women's basketball team has too much, and in the follow-up, Wang Guizhi has to think carefully about how to build a team and train around Zhang Ziyu. The other players of the Chinese team should also work harder, and next year's Czech U19 Women's Basketball World Cup will not be held back.