The Australian Gliders suffer disappointing loss to China

The Australian Gliders suffer disappointing loss to China

The first six minutes of the game saw a tough battle between the two teams, who had both come prepared with good form. China then went on to have a 10 to 0 run on the scoreboard companied with full court defensive pressure, leaving the Gliders trailing by 12 points at the first break.

The Australians were unable to hit the scoreboard in the second term, meaning China pushed their lead out to a 35-point margin. China had strong chair skills and a high-speed game, with the Gliders unable to match this intensity.

With the scores at 4-39 at the major break, it was a tough ask for the Gliders to come back and defeat China. Head Coach Stephen Charlton had a strong and supportive discussion with the Gliders at half time and they were able to come out and demonstrate their strength of play. Sarah Vinci sparked some positivity on court with some offensive rebounds alongside some impressive plays from Teisha Shadwell. Shelley Cronau, Ella Sabljak and Georgia Munro-Cook proved strong in the Gliders defensive efforts, bringing a better tempo and taking the third quarter 13-10.

The final quarter saw the Gliders get back to their style of basketball, making some valuable in-roads to the scoreboard. Shadwell continued to put in strong effort with the help of Hannah Dodd and Sablijak playing their necessary roles.  Despite the second half being 20-16 it was the Gliders disappointing first half that cost them the game, with China leaving the day as 31-point victors.

The Australian Gliders will take on Japan today in the AOZ Championships semi-final.

SCORE:

GAME 4 – AUS v CHI

The Australian Gliders have failed to defeat China in game four of the AOZ Championships going down by 31 points.

Basketball Australia

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