Chinese women gain valuable experience in US
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China women's basketball coach Sun Fengwu was proud of his young team's effort during its two-week trip to the United States but acknowledges it has some way to go to be a medal chance at next year's Olympics.
"It has been a great experience and also a good opportunity for the young players to compete with the WNBA players," Sun said on Monday after his team played in a three-way tournament with New York and Connecticut.
"They have played five games and gotten better and better."
The Chinese finished fourth at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, losing to Russia in the bronze medal game. They followed that with a disappointing 13th-place finish at the World Championship.
"We were in a transition period the last few years," said Sun, who took over as coach after the Olympics. "At the World Championship, injuries and the younger players not being ready caught up to us. We're getting better and next year we'll be more able to improve."
The Chinese lost by 38 points to Connecticut in their first exhibition game before falling to New York by 14 on Friday. On Monday, China held its own in a series of one-quarter games, even leading New York by a point in the final game.
"They've definitely improved over the two weeks," Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said. "Their younger players gained confidence. It takes a while to get used to playing the more physical international game."
To qualify for the London Games, China will need to win the Asian championships in August where South Korea and Japan will be the stiffest competition.
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