China stays unbeaten in preparation for women's basketball OQT

Chinese women's basketball team rolled to a 9-0 record in their preparation for Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) with a 75-50 victory over Montenegro in 2016 Four-Nation Women's Basketball Tournament here on Saturday.

In their final warmup in homeland ahead of OQT, China dominated the game throughout, fueled by four players' double-digit points. Sun Mengran finished with a team-high 14 points. Veteran center Chen Nan added 13.

"We played with good energy today, better than yesterday. We had some nice plays," said China's head coach Thomas Maher.

China opened their scoring account from the paint, where Sun Mengran and Chen Nan, two starting post players, combined for the team's first 12 points. The hosts continued to execute the tactics of attacking from the paint after bench players went on, and built a 20-10 lead as the first quarter ran out.

Chinese players didn't find hot shooting hands as they just nailed 10 points in the second quarter, while restricting their opponents to four points on successful defense. Sun Mengxin's 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer gave the hosts a 30-14 lead at the break. China outrebounded at 24-12 in the first half.

"We started the second quarter trying to destroy them, while making many turnovers that hurt us," said Maher.

China heated up in the second half, recording a 29-13 third quarter, capped by Wu Di's layup. Owning a 32-point advantage in hand to begin the fourth quarter, China sealed their ninth straight win ahead of OQT.

Kristina Rakovic scored a game-high 15 points for Montenegro.

"We are a young team. Our players showed their aggresiveness in this match. We did well in defense, while underperforming on the offensive end," commented Momir Milatovic, Montenegro's head coach.

China is scheduled to head to France early in June for the final phase of preparation for OQT, which will be held from June 13-19 in Nantes. China is placed in Group D with Spain and Venezuela in the tournament.

"We are good enough to win the (Olympic) ticket if we play to our best. If we get distracted, it will a different thing, who knows," added Maher.