China head coach Gong Luming is targeting a clean sweep of Nigeria’s D’Tigress after the hosts rallied from an eight-point deficit to secure a 69-65 victory in their second pre-World Cup exhibition game in Haikou on Sunday.
The result means China have now won both meetings with the African champions, following their narrow 70-67 victory in the opening game on Friday.
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The three-match series is part of both teams’ preparations for next month’s FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin, with China now looking to complete a 3-0 sweep when the sides meet for the final time in Foshan on Wednesday.
Nigeria appeared in control heading into the final quarter after a strong third-quarter display saw D’Tigress knock down five three-pointers to establish a 54-46 advantage.
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However, China responded strongly when it mattered most, as Tang Ziting opened the final-quarter scoring with China’s first three-pointer of the contest before adding another long-range effort to level the game at 54-54.
Centre Zhang Ziyu then continued to cause problems inside the paint before Wang Siyu kept her composure from the free-throw line, sinking four crucial shots in the closing seconds to complete China’s comeback.
Tang finished with nine points, while 19-year-old Zhang was the standout performer, recording a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds.
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She had been restricted to just six points in the first half, a significant improvement from her 24-point performance in Friday’s opening encounter.
D’Tigress battled hard, but China prevailed
Nigeria relied on their physical defence to remain competitive during a fiercely contested first half that featured 11 lead changes.
The teams went into the interval level at 33-33 before D’Tigress produced their best spell of the game in the third quarter.
China, however, struggled with their ball control, committing 19 turnovers; five more than Nigeria, but still managed to stay within touching distance before turning the contest around in the final period.
Gong acknowledged the value of facing a Nigerian side featuring considerable Olympic experience and believes the games will benefit his young team ahead of the World Cup.
“As seven of their players competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, it was a good test for our young team,” Gong said.
“We need to build chemistry and draw experience from these games. We need to connect well against such a high-pressure defence.
“Compared with the first game, we improved our rebounding today, but our turnovers were still high. We hope to improve that in the next game.”
D’Tigress continue ‘Road to Berlin’
The China series is the second stop on D’Tigress’ five-stage “Road to Berlin” preparation programme.
READ ALSO: Nigeria’s D’Tigress end WNBA tour with heavy defeat
Nigeria began their preparations in the United States, where they played exhibition games between 29 July and 2 August, before travelling to Haikou for the three-game series against China.
The two teams will meet again in Foshan on Wednesday before D’Tigress move their training camp to Tenerife, Spain.
Nigeria are scheduled to play further preparation matches against Spain and Belgium between 15 and 24 August, before travelling to Zaragoza for additional games against Mali and Puerto Rico from 25 August to 3 September.
The team will then head to Berlin for the FIBA Women’s World Cup, which runs from 4 to 13 September.
D’Tigress have been drawn in Group B alongside South Korea, Hungary and France, with the African champions hoping their demanding preparation programme will put them in the best possible shape for another major global campaign.
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