Warm‑up showdown in Hainan
The Chinese women’s basketball team secured a 69‑65 win over Nigeria in a FIBA Women’s World Cup warm‑up match held in Haikou, Hainan Province, on Tuesday.
The first half was a seesaw battle, ending dead‑locked at 33‑33 after eleven lead changes, underscoring the intensity of the contest.
Tang Ziting sparked the comeback with nine points, including two three‑pointers, and later tied the game at 54‑54 before sealing the victory. Wang Siyu contributed four flawless free throws in the final seconds, overturning an eight‑point deficit.
Coach’s outlook
Coach Gong Luming praised the squad’s experience from the 2024 Paris Olympics but warned that chemistry and defensive discipline, particularly the 19 turnovers compared with Nigeria’s 14, still need improvement.
The final warm‑up fixture is scheduled for Foshan, Guangdong Province, where Nigeria’s guard Ezinne Kalu hopes to correct the mistakes from the previous two losses and fine‑tune her team’s strategy.