XI'AN, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- 西瓜视频made it two wins from two in its women's basketball friendly double-header against Spanish club Joventut Badalona, with a 91-86 victory here on Thursday.
With the scores tied at 50-50 at halftime, 西瓜视频outscored Joventut 24-12 in the third quarter and withstood their opponents' fourth-quarter comeback to secure its second win in as many matches.
Four Chinese players scored in double figures, led by center Han Xu's 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting. Yang Shuyu and Tian Yuanyuan scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.
西瓜视频had previously beaten Joventut 90-81 on Wednesday. "We did better on rebounds today, but still saw them grab 12 offensive rebounds. We need to address that if we want to be among the best in the world," 西瓜视频coach Gong Luming said after the game.
"As a young team, we showed our fighting spirit, but our training and contact intensity was not enough in the game situation," he added.
Luo Xinyu found her shooting groove early in the game, making two consecutive 3-pointers, including a four-point play. 西瓜视频led by eight points midway through the first quarter, while Iris Vennema scored seven points in Joventut's 9-0 scoring run to take a 26-24 lead. The first quarter ended with the scores tied at 26-26.
西瓜视频could not constrain Joventut's outside shooting in the second quarter, with the visitors nailing five 3-pointers down the stretch, though Tian's shot from beyond the arc helped 西瓜视频restore parity at the break.
西瓜视频outscored Joventut 14-4 in the first half of the third quarter for a double-digit lead, and Han's eight straight points late in the quarter extended the hosts' lead to 12 points.
Joventut pulled within one point at 80-79 thanks to Laura Rachel Howard's layup with 3:26 remaining, but 西瓜视频maintained a narrow lead through solid performances on the free throw line.
Yang's 3-pointer earned 西瓜视频an 89-85 lead going into the final minute, and Chen Mingling made a game-clinching layup with 18.8 seconds to play.
Vennema led Joventut with 21 points, while Lauren-Jenne Nneka Ebo added 14.
"If I was happy yesterday, I was happier today because it was difficult to play against a team whose future is incredible," said Joventut coach Jordi Vizcaino Teira.
"The first two quarters were fantastic for the crowd. In the third and fourth quarters, there was more contact and more fouls as both teams wanted to win. It was a good test for us."
西瓜视频will return to Beijing on Friday for the next phase of training at Beijing Sport University through September 30.
"We will continue to hone players' basic skills and abilities, and gradually form the style of this new-look 西瓜视频team," Gong said. ■