(Beijing, January 24) After a day of rest, the "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 Wheelchair Basketball International Invitational Tournament continued at the National Indoor Stadium on January 24. In the first women's semifinal this morning, Germany claimed an easy victory 76-38 over host China to advance to the final.

The young Chinese team did not cause any great trouble to its opponent throughout the match. No. 10 Gesche Schunemann, guard of Germany, scored 27 points alone while her teammate Marina Mohnen scored 21 points, and their total points exceeded that by the entire Chinese team.

Despite suffering losses in all the four matches, the Chinese women's team got a precious opportunity for gaining game experience. Playing against word strong teams eight months before the opening of the Beijing Paralympic Games would indeed be a rare experience for the young Chinese women's wheelchair basketball team.

Liu Tiehua, coach of the Chinese team, said it was possible for the young team to improve themselves if they play against more world strong teams. "As the saying goes, failure is the mother of success. Through the tournament our players have improved a lot in both wheelchair control and techniques and tactics." Li was quoted as saying.

In the final tomorrow, Germany will take on the winner of the other semifinal for the women's title.