SHENZHEN (China) – Speed reigned supreme over size this time as Japan took down China, 90-81, to complete the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2025 Final picture, Saturday night at the Shenzhen Sports Center.
Kokoro Tanaka set the tone by firing 21 of her 27 points in the first quarter alone, giving the traditional contenders enough confidence to thwart their bigger foes – and silence the home crowd that filled the venue.
Yuki Miyazawa, Norika Konno, and Stephanie Mawuli all came through with timely hits to keep the opposition at bay during the fourth quarter, before the 19-year-old came alive again and helped apply the final touches.
Captain Maki Takada then came through with the dagger, hitting one from near the rim with 32.3 seconds left to play to settle the eventual scoreline and complete their ouster of the erstwhile defending champions.
The win somehow exorcised the ghosts of 2023, where the Japanese’ bid of bagging home the gold medal for the sixth consecutive time got spoiled by Team Dragon by way of a 73-71 decision in the finale in Sydney.
Team Japan’s victory, furthermore, brought flashbacks of their title bout in 2015 where they also beat China in their own turf in Wuhan to win the second championship of an unprecedented ‘five-peat’ run.
Now, Coach Corey Gaines & Co. will turn their attention to the Final tomorrow, Sunday, July 20, against Australia, who earlier beat Korea to be the first to advance. The gold medal game is set at 19:30 local time.
*This article will be updated.