VIENNA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- China's women's team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup after defeating Romania and Italy 21-7 and 21-18 respectively here on Friday.

Photo: Agencies

The 2019 World Cup winners proved too much for Romania, with Wan Jiyuan showing high efficiency by scoring seven out of eight one-point attempts and one 2-point shot. Zhang Zhiting grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

In their final pool game, China prevailed against Italy and won by three points. Wang Lili collected a game-high 10 points and six rebounds.

"We played against Italy and Romania many times before, and we know each other well. I did a good job in the first game," said 20-year-old Wan Jiyuan.

"But in the second game, I was running out of energy. Fortunately, we have Lili and Zhang Yi who scored the points and kept the lead till the end," she added.

Zhang Zhiting told Xinhua that the Chinese team's plan was to win the group to save energy for the knock-out stage.

"The games against Romania and Italy are very important. It matters if we can finish as the number one in the group," said the 1.95m tall player.

"Italy is a strong team. We played good tactics with good quality and finished well in every pick and roll along with shots, especially when we were tired at some crucial moments."