South Korea will be first big test for Team China

China's national women's team will launch its quest for an Olympic berth against South Korea next month.

The schedule for the Nov 14-17 Asia-Oceania pre-qualifying tournament in Malaysia was revealed on Twitter on Thursday.

Team China has been drawn in what should be a competitive Group A with South Korea, New Zealand and the Philippines.

Group B is made up of Japan, Australia, Chinese Taipei and India.

China squares off against South Korea on Nov 14 before facing New Zealand two days later and the Philippines on Nov 17.

The top two teams in each group will advance to FIBA's global Olympic qualifying tournaments in February.

The African tournament, featuring six teams, will produce two qualifiers, while the Americas competition will see eight teams contend for four qualifying berths.

The top six teams from this year's FIBA Women's EuroBasket tournament－namely Spain, France, Serbia, Britain, Sweden and Belgium－will proceed directly to the Olympic qualifying tournaments.

Sixteen teams in the Olympic qualifying tournaments will be divided into four groups, with the top three finishers in each pool qualifying for the Tokyo Games.

Edmonton, Canada and Buenos Airies, Argentina, will play host to FIBA's pre-qualifying tournaments for the Americas next month.

The United States, as reigning Olympic champion, and Japan, as host, qualified directly for the Games.

XINHUA