China's towering teen basketball ace Zhang Ziyu stars again in Asia Cup build-up
China look set to unleash their 2.26-metre (7ft 5in) 'moving Great Wall' at the Women's Asia Cup after teenager Zhang Ziyu put in another towering display days after her debut.
The 18-year-old centre scored 18 points as China beat great rivals Japan 101-92 on Wednesday in Xian in a warm-up for the regional tournament next month on home soil.
It was her third appearance for the senior Chinese squad, having helped them to blowout victories over Bosnia and Herzegovina over the weekend.
Chinese state media dubbed her and gangly centre Han Xu the 'Twin Towers'.
Zhang's looming presence on court – footage showed her barely needing to jump to make a basket – seemed to stump Japan head coach Corey Gaines.
Zhang Ziyu greets an umpire before the match against Japan in Xian. Photo: AFP
Asked if he had figured out a way 'to deal' with the teenager, the American ex-NBA guard told reporters: 'We'll just say: Interesting. Very interesting.'
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China look set to unleash their 2.26-metre (7ft 5in) 'moving Great Wall' at the Women's Asia Cup after teenager Zhang Ziyu put in another towering display days after her debut. The 18-year-old centre scored 18 points as China beat great rivals Japan 101-92 on Wednesday in Xian in a warm-up for the regional tournament next month on home soil. It was her third appearance for the senior Chinese squad, having helped them to blowout victories over Bosnia and Herzegovina over the weekend. Chinese state media dubbed her and gangly centre Han Xu the 'Twin Towers'. Zhang's looming presence on court – footage showed her barely needing to jump to make a basket – seemed to stump Japan head coach Corey Gaines. Zhang Ziyu greets an umpire before the match against Japan in Xian. Photo: AFP Asked if he had figured out a way 'to deal' with the teenager, the American ex-NBA guard told reporters: 'We'll just say: Interesting. Very interesting.'
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