Shenzhen, July 18 -- Japan and South Korea progressed to the final four with victories at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup here on Friday.
Japan outplayed New Zealand 77-62 to set up a highly anticipated semifinal against defending champion China, while South Korea will face Australia after routing the Philippines 104-71.
Kokoro Tanaka opened Japan's scoring account with five straight points, while a more physical New Zealand side leaned on its paint attack to respond.
After building a narrow 19-17 first-quarter lead, Japan stretched it to 27-19 less than two minutes going into the second period after Tanaka sank a triple.
New Zealand began to claw its way back, with Esra McGoldrick's layup turning it around at 35-34, before Bailey Flavell...