China's 3x3 women's basketball team bags two straight wins at Tokyo 2020

TOKYO, July 25 (Xinhua) -- China's 3x3 women's basketball team underlined their status as event favorites, as the reigning FIBA World Cup champions defeated Italy 22-13 and France 20-13 on Day 2 of action on Sunday at Tokyo 2020.

China stunned Italy with a 7-2 run in the first three minutes, before Italy fought back and cut the deficit to 11-9. China then dominated the court and smashed Italy with an 11-4 run, scoring past the 21-point winning mark two minutes and 47 seconds before the ten-minute limit.

Veteran Zhang Zhiting scored a game-high eight points with six rebounds for China, and Yang Shuyu added seven points, burying three 2-pointers out of five. Raelin D'Alie had a team-high six points for Italy and Chiara Consolini added five.

Against France, China began the game with a 4-1 run, before France turned the deficit into a 10-6 lead. China then clawed back to tie the game at 11-11 before stepping on the gas pedal to trounce France with a 9-2 run for their second victory in Day 2 action.

Wang Lili and Yang Shuyu scored seven points apiece for China. Mamignan Toure had a team-high five points for France and Ana Maria Filip added four.

China has a 3-1 win-loss record over the first two days of 3x3 action, and will face hosts Japan and top seed USA on Monday in the pool round.