WUHAN, March 11 (Xinhua) -- China kicked off its quest for a FIBA Women's World Cup spot with an 81-68 victory over Mali, while the Czech Republic crushed South Sudan 89-52 here on Wednesday.

Starting center Han Xu scored China's first nine points, but it was not until Yang Shuyu's jumper with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter that China built its first lead of the game. Towering teenager Zhang Ziyu's layup at the buzzer ended the first quarter at 20-20.

Fielding Han and Li Yueru, both of whom just returned from overseas leagues, China had a 9-0 run at the start of the second quarter en route to a 35-29 halftime lead.

Rokia Doumbia made two consecutive 3-pointers as Mali pulled within 43-42 midway through the third quarter, while Yang helped steady China with her own. The Chinese captain forced the opponents into a timeout with a fast break layup that set it 51-44.

Zhang showed her strength in the paint back into action, scoring four points in a row as China possessed a nine-point lead going into the final frame.

Zhang's consistent under-basket play and Han's 3-pointer helped China stretch its lead to 12 points with seven minutes to play, and Li followed with another shot from 3-point range. China maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way, and Li's three-point play with two minutes remaining effectively sealed the host's win.

Li had a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Han and Yang chipped in 14 points apiece.

"Though we won the game, the contact level was not as we expected. Our players need to be more physical, especially on rebounding," China coach Gong Luming told a post-game press conference.

"We want to learn our lesson from this game because we want to play more strong teams at international level in the future. This is a good learning process for our team," he added.

Six players scored in double figures in the Czech Republic's lop-sided win. Natalie Stoupalova led the way with 16 points. Julia Reisingerova added 15.

Relying on its advantage in the paint, the Czech Republic dominated the opening stages, taking an 18-6 lead before a more athletic South Sudanese side scored nine points in a row to trim the deficit within three points. The Czech Republic led 20-15 at the end of the first quarter.

South Sudan went without a point for three and a half minutes entering the third quarter, as the Czech Republic rode on an 11-0 run to pull away. A 31-16 third quarter extended its lead to 29 points and South Sudan never made a serious run from there.

The Czech Republic is trying to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2014.

"It's been quite some time since we last participated in the World Cup. But I think it was the easiest game that we could start with, and we could distribute time between all the players. We are looking forward to the upcoming game, it will be harder," said Czech Republic coach Romana Ptackova.

Despite the defeat, South Sudan coach Alberto Antuna expressed pride in his players.

"Thirteen months ago, we were trying to qualify for our first ever AfroBasket, but one year later, we are playing with the best 23 teams in the world, so I want to congratulate the team, the federation and the players," he said.

Also on Wednesday, Belgium led throughout the game in a 99-70 victory over Brazil.

Featuring a total of 24 teams, the FIBA Women's World Cup qualifiers are being held across four competition zones from March 11 to 17, with 11 spots being up for grabs.

Six teams are competing in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Belgium has already secured a World Cup spot as the European champion, meaning that three berths will be decided among the other five teams.

China will face Belgium on Thursday.

Speaking of the clash, Belgium coach Mike Thibault said, "We are looking at a lot of size. They zone a lot more than other teams. That's a little bit different from the teams we played last summer. But it's good for us to be put in that position." ■