Post trio lead China's roster for FIBA Women's World Cup qualifiers

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Overseas-based centers Han Xu and Li Yueru, along with towering teenager Zhang Ziyu, have been selected in China's 12-player roster for the upcoming FIBA Women's World Cup qualifying tournament.

FIBA updated the teams' rosters on its website on Monday, two days ahead of the kick-off of the qualifiers.

Han played with the Perth Lynx, finishing runner-up in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) in Australia, while Li helped Mist BC capture the championship in the 3x3 Unrivaled league in the United States.

China's roster also includes Zhang Manman, Wang Jiaqi, Wang Siyu, Yang Shuyu, Tang Ziting, Zhang Ru, Luo Xinyu, Chen Yujie and Chen Mingling.

11 World Cup spots are up for grabs across the four qualifying tournaments from March 11 to 17. China will face Belgium, Brazil, South Sudan, the Czech Republic and Mali in Wuhan, and its first game will be against Mali on Wednesday.

Belgium, as the European champion, has already secured a place in the World Cup finals, leaving the remaining teams to compete for three qualification spots.

China started its preparations for the World Cup qualifiers from January 4, and won the warm-up games against Brazil and the Czech Republic earlier this month. ■