Primed and ready for battle

With its depth tested, flaws exposed and young guns firing well on a triumphant group-stage run, the Chinese women's squad is braced for even tougher battles en route to retaining its Asia Cup title, starting with the semifinals.

Of course, its first three wins, all in commanding fashion, looked quite convincing, as did towering prodigy Zhang Ziyu, whose imposing dominance in the paint has left opponents, fans and pundits at the FIBA continental showpiece in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, in awe.

No one on the host team, though, is getting carried away by the feel-good run, as it gears up for a likely semifinal clash against its East Asian neighbor Japan, another continental powerhouse, on Saturday at the Shenzhen Sports Center Gymnasium.

China's head coach Gong Luming has reiterated that, following the additional "warm-ups" of the group stage, his team has still not shown its full potential yet.

"These three wins here, and the six scrimmages we played before the tournament, are all part of the building process," Gong said after guiding Team China to a rout over New Zealand 85-51 in its final Group A match on Wednesday.

"We are still a developing side, put together only three months ago. Building team chemistry is a long process. We are taking shape as a competitive unit, but still need to improve some details and our consistency.