Basketball - China women's team pips Japan to claim Asia Cup title

China players celebrate victory with the winners' trophy after the end of the Women' Asia Cup basketball final match between Japan and China in Sydney on Sunday, July 2, 2023. - AFP

BEIJING, July 2 (Reuters): China's women's basketball team claimed their first FIBA Asia Cup title since 2011 after beating defending champions Japan 73-71 in a close final in Sydney, Australia on Sunday.

World number two China, runners-up at last year's world cup, were one of the pre-tournament favourites with the ninth-ranked Japan, who had won the previous five editions of the biannual competition run by the sport's world governing body FIBA.