JAKARTA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese women's basketball team won their second straight match at the 18th Asian Games after battering their Japanese counterparts 105-73 here on Friday.
Chinese Taipei was the other women's team with 100 percent winning record following their 87-85 overtime victory over Unified Korea team.
Five Chinese players scored double digits, led by Li Meng and Liu Jiacen's 18 apiece. Han Xu made 8 of 9 field goals to add 16.
Liu Jiacen opened China's scoring with two free throws, before teammate Li Meng snatched the following eight points. Li Yuan's layup on fast break pushed China on the brink of a double-digit advantage at 12-4, forcing Japan into a timeout early in the match.
Then Japan took advantage of their speed on consecutive fast breaks, cutting their deficit to three points. However, the Chinese team took on an 11-0 spurt to set up a comfortable cushion, and led by 35-22 as the first quarter ran out.
Talented rookies Han Xu, Li Yueru and Li Yuan were given more playing time as China extended their lead beyond 20 points early in the third period, and never seemed to be challenged en route to their victory.
"The fourth quarter was not quite good. Our players messed up with the ball in several possessions, but it can become problems for young players.
"Our main goal is not to win a match, but take every match and every possession seriously. It's not a strong team, and needs to be further tested in the future," said China's head coach Xu Limin.
Hayashi Saki led Japan's scoring sheet by 17. Miyazaki Saori was the other Japanese player to finish double-figure points, scoring 10.
Sitting atop Group B with perfect record in as many as two matches, China will face Mongolia next Monday.
Murat Bulbul and Battogtokh Unurzaya combined 60 points, guiding Mongolia to an 83-79 victory over Hong Kong, China.
In Group A, Chinese Taipei and Unified Korea team traded leads several times before being forced into an overtime.
Chinese Taipei built a five-point lead with two minutes from time, before their opponents cut the deficit to one point into the final minute.
Peng Szuchin drew a foul with nine seconds remaining and converted one of two shots on the free-throw line to give Chinese Taipei a scary victory.
Peng led Chinese Taipei with 21 points. Huang Pingjen and Cheng Ihsiu scored 17 and 15 points respectively.
Kazakhstan beat India 79-61 in the other Group A match on Friday.
