China beat South Korea 106–69 in the U18 Women’s Asia Cup bronze-medal game in Seremban, Malaysia, on October 10. Li Yuanshan scored 35 points and supplied 10 assists, while Sun Hanyun added 32 points and 6 rebounds. Their combined 67 points led the team to a winning finish to the tournament.
A contested first half gives way to a decisive opening to the third quarter
Li Yuanshan scored 14 points in the first quarter as China led 30–23. South Korea cut the deficit to 3 in the second quarter before China scored 9 unanswered points to pull away again. China led 51–43 at halftime.
Li Yuanshan and Sun Hanyun each hit a three-pointer at the start of the third quarter to spark a 10–0 run. With 7 minutes 29 seconds remaining in the quarter, China led 61–43, expanding its 8-point halftime advantage to 18. China continued to widen the gap and eventually won by 37 points.
Alongside the two players scoring more than 30, Zhao Zirui contributed 14 points and Pang Yunshu 12. The four combined for 93 points.
Chen Nan praises young players and stresses the need to keep gaining experience
Head coach Chen Nan praised Li Yuanshan and Sun Hanyun afterwards, noting that both had benefited from the U16 Asia Cup and U17 World Cup and demonstrated their ability in this game. She also cautioned that they still had a long way to go and hoped they would continue making steady progress.
Australia subsequently beat Japan 83–82 to win the tournament for a third consecutive time. China finished third and South Korea fourth. As host of the 2027 U19 Women’s World Cup, China had already qualified for that competition; this game was a contest for Asia Cup bronze.
INKA SPORTS analysis: a burst of perimeter scoring helps China pull clear
China had opened a lead in the first half, but South Korea still kept the halftime deficit to single digits. Two three-pointers at the start of the third quarter initiated a scoring run that quickly extended the advantage to 18. That burst changed the closely contested pattern of the first half and shows that most of the final 37-point margin was built after halftime.
Li Yuanshan and Sun Hanyun’s 67 points accounted for about 63.2% of China’s total, making them the main scoring sources in this win. Li also had 10 assists, helping team-mates score as well as scoring herself. Her contribution therefore extended beyond what the individual scoring totals showed.
Conclusion
The key to China’s bronze was its two main scorers continuing to apply pressure at the start of the second half, turning the first-half lead into a larger advantage. Chen Nan praised their performance while identifying further accumulation of competitive experience as a priority for their development.
