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ASIA CUP WOMEN: Australia tonight withstood the customary and traditional Korean long-range assault, advancing to tomorrow's Asia Cup Gold Medal decider off an 86-73 win in Szenchen, Opals captain Cayla George leading the way with a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double.

George was an offensive juggernaut, her 20 points at 60 per cent. But she had plenty of teammates offering cameos at key times, playmaker Steph Reid pairing nine points with eight assists, Sara Blicavs with 14  points, six rebounds and three assists while Alex Fowler continued to blossom.

Her defence was exemplary and she also collected 11 points, 12 rebounds - seven offensive - plus four assists and five steals ... only one less than the entire Korean team.

Izzy Borlase had the Opals off to a flyer, converting three strong drives to retake the lead at 6-5, which then blew out off 3-point swishes by George and Blicavs.

Free throws by Chloe Bibby (12 points in 14 minutes) made it 19-5, completing a whopping 15-0 run by Australia that, unfortunately, steadily was whittled back to a 22-13 buffer by the first break.

Opals coach Paul Goriss was far more conservative in his rotations, although sending in Ally Wilson as his first sub, given this was the first game of the tournament where she was cleared to play, did little to settle his team.

Courtesy of a Blicavs 3-point barrage, Australia pushed out to 31-18 in the second quarter before Korea began a long-range missile bombardment.

By halftime, it had knocked down 8-of-15 triples, and when Yeeun Heo (20 points, 4-of-5 threes) nailed her 3-pointer, Korea had swept to the lead 35-33 on a 17-2 run.

Subbing Bibby back in made an immediate difference as she scored six points of her own, including a wicked coast-to-coast drive after she hauled down a defensive rebound.

Jihyun Park (19 points) stuck another triple but a sizzling pass from Blicavs to Zitina Aukuso meant Australia led 42-38 at halftime.

Staying more true to his earlier rotations over the Cup tourney, Goriss was able to draw good service from an under-utilised bench, a powerful drive by Courtney Woods for a three-point play one particular standout in a second half the Opals largely controlled.

Ahead by double figures through most of the fourth quarter, Australia made slightly harder work of this than it should have but completed the job regardless, some of its passing and ball movement bordering on breathtaking.

GROUP A: China 110 d Indonesia 59; Korea 78 d New Zealand 76. New Zealand 75 d Indonesia 45, China 91 d Korea 69. Korea 95 d Indonesia 62, China 85 d New Zealand 51. Final: 1 China 3-0, 2 Korea 2-1, 3 New Zealand 1-2, 4 Indonesia 0-3. 

GROUP B: Japan 72 d Lebanon 68; Australia Opals 115 (Sowah 19, Blicavs 17, Bibby 16, Fowler, Woods 11, Borlase 10; George, Bibby 10 rebs; Ellis, Reid 9 assts) d Philippines 39 (De Jesus 9, Pastrana, Panganiban 8; Animan 5 rebs; Castillo, Panganiban 2 assts). Australia Opals 113 (Bourne 15, Reid, Ellis 14, Bibby 12, Blicavs, Fowler, Woods 11, Sowah 10; Bibby 12 rebs; Reid, Woods 7 assts) d Lebanon 34 (Labban 11, Raffoul 9; Naassan 7 rebs; Raffoul, Naassan 2 assts); Japan 85 d Philippines 82. Australia Opals 79 (Reid 15, Aokuso 14, Blicavs 13, Fowler 11; Aokuso 8 rebs; Reid 9 assts) d Japan 67 (Mawuli 19, Tanaka 10, Tokashiki 8; Tonno, Takada 6 rebs; Tanaka 5 assts); Philippines 73 d Lebanon 70. Final: 1 Australia Opals 3-0, 2 Japan 2-1, 3 Philippines 1-2, 4 Lebanon 0-3. 

For 7th: Lebanon 67 d Indonesia 57.

Qualification (for) Semi Finals: Japan 77 d  New Zealand 62; Korea 104 d Philippines 71.

For 5th: New Zealand 78 d Philippines 71.

Semi Final: Australia Opals 86 (George 20, Blicavs 14, Bibby 12, Fowler 11, Borlase 10; George 13 rebs; Reid 8 assts) d Korea 73 (Heo 20, Jihyun Park 19, Choi 10; 3 with 5 rebs; Shin 7 assts).

Semi Final: Japan 90 d China 81.

All pics courtesy of fiba.com