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E-mail Xinhua, July 30, 2024
A re-match of the final of Tokyo 2020 saw the United States win again on Monday, beating Japan 102-76 to open their campaign for their eighth Olympic gold in women's basketball.
After losing the Tokyo 2020 final 90-75, Japan have made many changes to their roster, including the head coach and playing style.
The U.S. displayed solid defense as they dominated the board with 56 rebounds, compared to Japan's 27, making 11 blocks, compared to Japan's none, and scoring 16 points from Japan's turnovers.
The Americans never trailed and led by as many as 32 points when A'Ja Wilson had 24 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and four assists and Breanna Stewart added 22 points and eight rebounds.
Maki Takada led Japan with 24 points, but her side shot only 37 percent in the field, 13 from 35.
Elsewhere, Nigeria upset former world champions Australia 75-62 to have a good chance to be the first African team to reach the quarterfinals at an Olympic Games.
Australia had an early 6-0 lead before Nigeria clawed back and led 18-17 by the end of first quarter.
A 17-3 run saw Nigeria lead 41-28 before the break, but Australia cut the deficit to only two points twice: 49-47 towards the end of the third quarter, and 58-56 midway through the decisive period.
Australia's momentum halted after the last close-in, and Nigeria pulled away by 67-58 with 1:16 minutes left.
Ezinne Kalu led Nigeria with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Alanna Smith scored 15 points for Australia.
Germany showed their dominance and determination as they led from the very beginning of the match and crushed European champions Belgium 83-69.
On their Olympic debut, Germany led 25-11 in the first quarter and 46-26 in the first half to set the match as Satou Sabally chipped in 17 points, while Nyara Sabally and Leonie Fiebich added 16 each.
Belgium's pivot Emma Meesseman had a game-high 25 points, while Julie Vanloo and Kyara Linskens added 18 and 12 respectively, but the rest of the squad was nowhere to be seen as they combined for only 14 points in total.
In Monday's other match, hosts France thrashed Canada 75-54 to show a great team effort as every player pitched on court scored, led by Marieme Badiane's 13 points.
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