Basketball: Tough task in store for Chinese Taipei

China head into tonight's women's basketball final as hot favourites to beat Chinese Taipei and claim their second successive Asian Games title at Basketball Indoor Hall.

Both teams are unbeaten after China eased through their semifinal against Korea by a 24-point margin and Chinese Taipei defeated Japan by 11 points.

China, ranked 10th in the world and victorious in their last two meetings with Chinese Taipei, will look to Chen Na, with eight rebounds per game, to defend the board.

Meanwhile Miao Lijie, the leading three-point shooter in the competition, will head the attack.

Chinese Taipei will need another big game from Chiang Feng Chun, joint leading scorer in the tournament with more than 20 points per game.

"We are not as good as them [China] but in every game we play against them we try out different methods. Our team's defence is getting better," said Lin Hung Ling Yao, the Chinese Taipei coach.

"In the past two years our team has played many international games and it has made them grow up. There are a lot of Asian teams that are evolving at the moment and we are one of them. In the next two years it will be Chinese Taipei's opportunity."

Thomas Maher, the China coach, meanwhile said of his opponents: "The Chinese Taipei team is street smart rather than performance smart."

Korea take on Japan in the bronze medal game, looking to make up for a disappointing competition. The Koreans are ranked ninth in the world, with Beon Yeon Ha leading their attack with 16 points a game.

15th Asian Games, Doha 2006