Team China's hoop heroes end wait for Asia Cup glory

Fans hailed the feat as a victory against the odds, given the absence of several core players — in particular the injured Li Yueru.

With Han and Li Meng interrupting their club careers in the United States for the tournament, there was significant pressure on the WNBA duo — and they both delivered for their country.

Opening with routine wins over Lebanon and New Zealand, Team China faced its first tough test at the Asia Cup when it dug deep to see off South Korea in overtime.

In Saturday's semifinal, Team China overcame host Australia 74-60 to earn a final showdown against defending champion Japan.

"From the very beginning of the Asia Cup, Team China faced numerous setbacks and challenges, including the absence of core players and limited preparation time to gel the team. Indeed, the squad was only fully assembled just a week before the tournament tipped off," read a commentary by thepaper.cn.

"The Japanese squad represented a very tough opponent, and there was possibly an additional mental block to overcome too. For the past decade, Team China and Japan have been dueling on the international stage. In most of their games, there were only a few points separating the teams at the final buzzer. In a way, the Asia Cup has witnessed the development of Team China and the Japanese squad."