Chinese girls suffer first loss in EAG basketball

TIANJIN - The Chinese women's basketball team suffered their first loss at the 6th East Asian Games (EAG) here on Saturday.

Japan's Tokashi made a free throw with 1.0 second remaining to secure the 65-64 victory. She also scored a game-high 16 points.

With 2.1 seconds left, Tokashi got the ball in the paint field to make a layup, which was fouled by China's Yu Dong to send the former to the free throw line.

"She (Tokashi) jumped very high. Our player didn't defend in front of her, which was one point that we didn't deal with well," said Chinese coach Wang Guizhi.

"I hope that the team will get better and better through two games with Chinese Taipei and Japan," she said.

China built a 51-45 lead into the fourth period, but that was erased by Miyamo's three-pointer to tie the game at 60.

Four Chinese players contributed a double-digit points. Shi Xiufeng and Cheng Feng had 15 and 12 points respectively.

China lost the initiative for the title as Japan ranks first with three consecutive wins. China's next opponents will be Hong Kong of China on Sunday.