On June 30, Beijing time, the U18 women's basketball Asian Cup final began, and the Chinese women's basketball team and Australia competed for the championship. In this game, the Chinese women's basketball team bit three and a half quarters, but collapsed at the last moment of the final quarter. In the end, the Chinese women's basketball team lost to Australia 79-96 and unfortunately won the runner-up.
In the first four games, the Chinese women's basketball team won four consecutive victories under the leadership of Zhang Ziyu. In the group stage, the Chinese women's basketball team defeated Indonesia, New Zealand, and Japan one after another, and eliminated South Korea in the semifinals. In these four games, Zhang Ziyu all showed efficient performances and led the whole field. In the game against the Japanese team, Zhang Ziyu scored 44 points and 14 rebounds, setting a record for the game. Australia also made it three straight wins in the group stage, beating Japan by five points in the semi-finals and meeting the Chinese women's basketball team in the final. In front of the Chinese women's basketball team is a tougher opponent with a thicker bench. The starting five tigers of the Chinese women's basketball team in this campaign are Xu Fengwei, Wang Jiaxin, Li Yuwang, Zhang Ziyue, and Zhang Ziyu.
In the first half of the game, the Chinese women's basketball team was suppressed by Australia most of the time. Especially Zhang Ziyu, who was "taken care of" by the opponent like never before, and the opponent frantically wrapped up and fouled fiercely at the beginning, giving Zhang Ziyu strength. The Chinese women's basketball team could only open the situation from the outside at the beginning, but fortunately, the score difference has not been opened, and the Chinese women's basketball team fell behind 19-22 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Australian team blossomed more, and the Chinese women's basketball team once trailed by 14 points after the half-quarter. In the face of adversity, it was Zhang Ziyu's 2+1 to stop the bleeding, and her continuous inside attacks helped the Chinese women's basketball team catch up to single digits, falling behind 42-49 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Chinese women's basketball team continued to chase points, Xu Peilin sprinted to the basket to equalize, Zhang Ziyu continued to overtake with firepower, and the Chinese women's basketball team was like being pressed by the opponent for most of the court, and finally struggled out of the water. However, not long after Zhang Ziyu left the court at the end of the third quarter, the Chinese women's basketball team was overtaken by the opponent 8-0, and fell behind 63-68 after the third quarter. In the final quarter, the two sides started hand-to-hand combat, it was difficult for the guard to hand over the ball to Zhang Ziyu, and when the score difference was narrowed, the Chinese women's basketball team always passively chased points, and the opponent's No. 4 player became a headache for the whole team. At the last moment, the Chinese women's basketball team replaced Zhang Ziyu and replaced the small man to grab three points, but was completely blasted by the opponent's No. 4 player. In the end, the Chinese women's basketball team lost to Australia 79-96.
There are many things that the Chinese women's basketball team needs to summarize in this game, although Zhang Ziyu has an advantage in height, but the opponent has taught us a lesson in details such as rebounding. However, the Chinese women's basketball team still achieved the goal of being in the top three, and entered the World Youth Championships, which is also rewarding. Despite the unprecedented difficulties faced by Zhang Ziyu, she showed excellent adjustment ability. I hope that next year's World Youth Championships, the Chinese women's basketball team can continue to shine.