Belgrade, Serbia, February 8, 2020: Captain Shao Ting made a brilliant shot plus a free throw at the end of a thrilling game as China stunned European champions and World No. 3 Spain 64-62 in the FIBA Olympic women's basketball qualifying tournament on Saturday.
The win guaranteed an Olympic ticket for the Chinese team to Tokyo 2020 as China had already beaten Britain here in Belgrade on Thursday in the opening round of the four-team group which also includes Korea.
China had led 52-38 at the end of the third quarter but Spain fought back in the final quarter to set up the tense finish.
China’s Li Meng and coach Xu said at the press conference that the victory came after hard work, and represented a vital experience for the improvement of the team.
"This is only a beginning for our team, not our final goal. The ticket is only a key to open our future," Li told Xinhua News.
Coach Xu Limin added: "You know that we had a lot of difficulties. Originally we were supposed to be the host in Foshan but then the venue was changed to Europe.
“Everybody knows about the novel coronavirus outbreak. So many difficulties we had to overcome in order to play very well today against Spain, in this kind of a hard situation. Thus, the victory is even more valuable to us."
Source: Xinhua News
