Having a world-class center is just that satisfying.

Last night's Women's Basketball World Cup qualifier saw China's women's team fight hard to beat Puerto Rico and advance to the top eight. The difficulty was expected, as the game was highly competitive with 22 lead changes and a maximum score difference of just 6 points, going right down to the final second.

Puerto Rico is a strong opponent; their fast breaks are quick, and their half-court offense is very structured. Although we have a considerable height advantage, they still have formidable interior players. Our three-point shooting started off well, but their offense kept pace, and the score remained close throughout.

After Zhang Ziyu entered the game, she became an absolute powerhouse. While the opponents couldn't stop her on defense, they always managed to respond offensively. This shows that Puerto Rico is a formidable team with a strong-team mentality, able to precisely exploit weaknesses in China's guard line.

Throughout the entire game, we committed 17 turnovers again. Against a team that transitions so quickly in fast breaks, this turnover rate inevitably means gifting the opponent more points. Our guard line issues were clearly exposed in the Czech Republic game; Wang Siyu played through an injury, and the other point guards couldn't step up. Only Yang Shuyu has been consistently improving.

In this game, Yang Shuyu recorded 15 points, 11 assists, and 2 steals. She was the most decisive player in the backcourt, taking three-point opportunities when available and driving without hesitation when needed. Her pick-and-roll with Han Xu in the fourth quarter was the team's sharpest weapon, and the crucial three-pointer by Luo Xinyu at the end came from Yang Shuyu's 11th assist of the game.

Han Xu once again proved to be the absolute pillar of the team, carrying the squad forward. After scoring just 7 points in the first three quarters, she erupted in the fourth quarter with 14 of the team's 23 points, dominating the interior and hitting two three-pointers from outside. She was simply unstoppable.

It is worth noting that all of Han Xu's 14 points in the fourth quarter came during high-pressure moments when both teams were pushing hard; every basket hit the opponent's weak spots. From the opponent's perspective, how do you deal with a center who can't be defended inside and is also knocking down threes from the outside?

For the game, Han Xu played 30 minutes and 34 seconds, shooting 9 of 18 from the field and 3 of 7 from three-point range, scoring 21 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing out 1 assist without a single free throw attempt. She has recorded double-doubles in all four tournament games, including the one against the USA, and has played over 30 minutes in each of the last three games. This team simply cannot function without her—without Han Xu, we might not have won a single game.

So far in the tournament, Han Xu is averaging 18.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks in 29.5 minutes per game, with a field goal percentage of 50.8% and a three-point percentage of 50.0%. She leads the team in scoring, rebounds, and efficiency rating, and ranks second in scoring in the tournament.

Having such a world-class center brings a sense of reassurance. When the offense is stuck, we look to Han Xu; on defense, we rely on her help-side rim protection. With Li Yueru absent this time, Han Xu took on even greater responsibility and perfectly led the women's team into the quarterfinals, achieving the set goal. Among the eight teams in the quarterfinals, only China is an Asian team—Japan and South Korea both fell in the qualifying rounds.

A few years ago, due to the pandemic, Han Xu ended her WNBA stint early. When the opportunity to go abroad came again, she resolutely set off once more to continue improving herself. This courage and determination command great respect. Her postgame comments and interviews also show a very mature side of her.

Less than 24 hours after reaching the quarterfinals, the Chinese women's team will face France tonight. France is the second biggest title favorite in this World Cup, behind only the USA. In the last World Cup, we defeated France to take the silver medal. This time we meet again, we hope the girls can play at their best and leave no regrets.