SENDAI Jan 18: Defending champions China fended off Taiwan 103-53 in the semi-finals at the Asian women's basketball championships on Sunday to earn a berth in the Athens Olympic Games.

The Chinese women, who lost to 11-time former Asian champions South Korea in the preliminary round Friday, will now try to retain the title in Monday's final.

The top three championship finishers will be eligible for the Olympics. South Korea and Japan were to face each other in the other semifinal later in the day.

In the second group, Malaysia defeated India 88-77 to take top place with three straight wins in the four-team round robin and will join the first division in the next championships. India were second with a 2-1 win-loss record and the Philippines third with a 1-2 ahead of winless Hong Kong at the bottom.-AFP