'Invincible' 223cm teen basketball player stars as China win bronze / Photo: © AFP
'Invincible' 223cm teen basketball player stars as China win bronze
Zhang Ziyu played a starring role to drag China to women's basketball bronze at the Asian Games on Saturday, with her coach predicting the teenager standing 223cm (7ft 4in) will one day be "invincible".
The 19-year-old is already taller than NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal and she made full use of her advantage as China beat Taiwan 77-64 in the third-place match in Nagoya.
Zhang has made a name for herself in recent weeks, impressing American superstar Caitlin Clark at the Women's World Cup in Germany.
She has made her significant height advantage count at the Asian Games, with Philippines head coach Javier Alvarez Garcia calling her "amazing" and tipping her to become the world's best player.
Zhang said she had "a lot to work on" despite scoring 14 points against Taiwan.
"I just want to be able to do my part and contribute for the team," she said.
"I'm keen to work hard and learn more. I've put a lot of work into agility.
"I'm thankful to all the effort put into helping me become a better player," she added.
Zhang looked in a different league at times against Taiwan, plucking the ball out of the air over her opponents' heads and dropping it into the basket.
She headed into the game with China's highest points average per game.
Mongolia's Amari Robinson, who faced Zhang and China in the quarter-finals, said "her height alone is obviously another opponent".
"She has great hands, great footwork," said Robinson.
"I just tried to be as tall as I could with what I had."
Zhang drew praise from Clark during the World Cup, with the WNBA star saying she had "never played against a woman of that size".
Zhang could end up in the WNBA one day and Philippines coach Alvarez Garcia has no doubts that she can succeed there.
"She's great, she's amazing," he said.
"She will probably be like top one, top two players in the world, for sure."
China coach Gong Luming said Zhang had "improved a lot in terms of her mobility".
He cautioned that she was far from the finished article but said the world is her oyster if she can keep developing.
"Her height is one of her weapons, so we hope she can make the most of it," he said.
"If she can, she will be invincible."
H.Miller--VC
