SHENZHEN - China used a balanced offense to ease past New Zealand 85-51, advancing to the semifinals as the top finisher in Group A at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup on Wednesday.

The reigning champion completed the group stage with a perfect 3-0 record and will await its semifinal opponent emerging from Japan and New Zealand, who will meet on Friday.

"As our team was just formed three months ago, we aimed to try different lineups through these group games," China head coach Gong Luming said at a postgame news conference. "We feel that it has taken an initial shape now, but still needs fine-tuning on some details."

"We hope that in future training, players can build better chemistry and be more familiar with our style of play, to be more creative in our play," he added.

China took the early initiative with seven unanswered points. Amid the rousing ovation at Shenzhen Sports Center, 18-year-old Zhang Ziyu was subbed in at the 3:46 mark and wasted no time opening her account, scoring a layup eight seconds into her appearance. A 14-2 run propelled China to a 25-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The host began to pull away, leading by 22 points early in the second period. The Tall Ferns tried to respond but never seriously threatened China's advantage the rest of the way.

After an 11-0 run, the game was all but decided when China raced ahead 53-28 midway through the third quarter.

All 12 Chinese players got on the scoreboard, with Zhang and Yang Shuyu each finishing with 12 points.

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"We didn't start well in these three matches. Hopefully we can improve that in our next game," Yang said.

"Zhang is our advantage. The opponents will deploy specific defenses against her, and we need to address that," she added.

Earlier in the day, South Korea cruised past Indonesia 95-62 to finish second in the group with a 2-1 record.

Competing in Division A for the first time, Indonesia showed its grit against the 12-time champion, trailing just 25-22 after the first quarter.

South Korea upped its game with signature 3-pointers in the second, as Lee Myung-kwan and Shin Ji-hyun combined for three consecutive shots from long range to build a 12-point cushion.

With a 48-34 halftime lead, South Korea continued to strengthen its hold on the game. A 24-14 third quarter extended the lead to 24 points, while Indonesia could not mount a comeback.

South Korean guard Park Ji-hyun contributed a game-high 18 points along with seven assists, and Shin added 15. Kim Pierre-Louis led Indonesia with 16 points.

"We didn't start the game very well. We had a tough first half," South Korea coach Park Soo-ho said. "But after halftime, our players came back. The next game will be the most important, and we will prepare well for it."

In Group B, the Philippines notched its first win with a nail-biting 73-70 victory over Lebanon. Naomi Natalie Panganiban scored 15 points, leading five Philippine players in double figures, including Jack Animam's double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds. Jillian Archer's game-high 23 points were not enough for Lebanon.

"This win represents everything that we've been working hard on for the last 10 years or so," Philippines coach Patrick Henry Aquino said. "We are glad to be competing, not just staying in Division A, but we still have to improve and we hope that we level up again soon."

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Gilas Pilipinas will vie for a semifinal spot against South Korea on Friday. The winner will face Australia, which advanced with three straight wins in group play.