China’s national basketball team ended its World Cup qualifying campaign with two consecutive wins under new coach Aleksandar Djordjevic. However, despite the positive results, the team still has a long way to go before reaching the international standard, which it aims to achieve before the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Team China’s performance was not convincing enough for a program that aspires to be the best-performing Asian squad and secure the continent’s only direct ticket to next year’s Paris Olympics. Nevertheless, Djordjevic took many positives from the team’s final two qualifying wins over Kazakhstan and Iran.
According to the Serbian coach, “This was just the start and a good test.” He described the game against Iran as very intense and praised his team for staying in the game. He also mentioned that the team had 28 assists, which is an impressive number for a new team with a new offense geometry. Djordjevic took over Team China in November after the country had already secured qualification for the FIBA event under then-coach Du Feng.
Despite the challenges, Djordjevic is optimistic about the team’s future. He believes that the team has great potential and has already made significant progress under his leadership. The coach also highlighted the need for more training and the importance of the upcoming games leading up to the World Cup.
With China hosting the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the team’s performance is under increased scrutiny. The team’s goal is to reach the top of the Asian rankings and secure direct qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Although there is still a long way to go, the team’s recent wins have shown that it has the potential to achieve its goals.
Team China struggled at the beginning of their World Cup qualifying campaign, with a total of 20 turnovers throughout the four quarters, but managed to regain their footing in the second half of the game against Iran. Despite the shaky start, the home squad outscored Iran 25-16 in the fourth quarter, much to the delight of the enthusiastic Hong Kong crowd.
The games marked Djordjevic’s coaching debut with Team China following a three-week training camp, and he made the most out of the trip, evaluating talent and experimenting by fielding all 16 players he brought to Hong Kong across the two games.
Following the opening win over Kazakhstan on Thursday, a number of young talents impressed again against Iran. All 12 players scored, led by CBA All-Star Wu Qian’s 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting in just 20 minutes of action. Young forward Cui Yongxi, a CBA rookie with the Guangzhou Loong Lions, emerged as a standout performer, starting both games and notching eight points, five rebounds, and two assists against Iran.
Led by the 19-year-old Cui and another high-profile rookie forward Zeng Fanbo, of the Beijing Ducks, five young players earned their first national team call-ups, reflecting Djordjevic’s commitment to building for the future. Djordjevic expressed satisfaction with the performance of the young squad, saying, “We had 28 assists, which is a good number for us as a new team, with a new offense geometry.”
However, despite capping its World Cup qualifying campaign with two straight wins, China’s new-look national basketball team still has a long way to go before leveling up to the international standard. Team China passed its first official test under Djordjevic, but it was not quite convincing enough for a program that aspires to finish the 2023 FIBA World Cup as the best-performing Asian squad to secure the continent’s only direct ticket to next year’s Paris Olympics.
Aleksandar Djordjevic, the coach of China’s national basketball team, expressed his satisfaction with the team’s recent performance in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers. Despite the team’s 20 turnovers throughout the four quarters, they managed to come back to life in the second half against Iran. The team outscored Iran 25-16 in the fourth period, much to the delight of the enthusiastic Hong Kong crowd.
The games marked Djordjevic’s coaching debut with Team China following a three-week training camp, and he made the most out of the trip, evaluating talent and experimenting by fielding all 16 players he brought to Hong Kong across the two games. Following the 71-59 opening win over Kazakhstan on Thursday, a number of young talents impressed again against Iran. All 12 players scored, led by CBA All-Star Wu Qian’s 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting in just 20 minutes of action.
Young forward Cui Yongxi, a CBA rookie with the Guangzhou Loong Lions, emerged as a standout performer, starting both games and notching eight points, five rebounds, and two assists against Iran. Led by the 19-year-old Cui and another high-profile rookie forward Zeng Fanbo of the Beijing Ducks, five young players earned their first national team call-ups, reflecting Djordjevic’s commitment to building for the future.
However, Djordjevic recognizes that the team’s young players still have much to learn before they can match the international standard. “They have the quality but they have to grow and understand the level that is asked internationally,” said Djordjevic. “In order to help the national team win as soon as possible, to better match up with high-level opponents without suffering losses, and to establish a stable foundation for confrontation with opponents at the World Cup and Olympic level, I must see a forest behind the big trees.”
Despite these challenges, Djordjevic is optimistic about the team’s future. He hopes that through this recruitment, the talented young players in China will strengthen their understanding of what kind of quality is the priority for the national team, based on past international competitions and trends, and then take this understanding to keep growing.
Team China is aware that they still have a long way to go to reach the international standard after capping their World Cup qualifying campaign with two straight wins. Even though they passed their first official test under new coach Aleksandar Djordjevic, they were not convincing enough for a program that aspires to finish the 2023 FIBA World Cup as the best-performing Asian squad to secure the continent’s only direct ticket to next year’s Paris Olympics.
Despite Team China’s sloppy start, underlined by 20 turnovers throughout the four quarters, Djordjevic’s men came back to life in the second half as the home squad picked up the pace to outscore Iran 25-16 in the fourth period, much to the delight of the enthusiastic Hong Kong crowd. The games marked Djordjevic’s coaching debut with Team China following a three-week training camp, and he made the most out of the trip, evaluating talent and experimenting by fielding all 16 players he brought to Hong Kong across the two games.
The young forward Cui Yongxi, a CBA rookie with the Guangzhou Loong Lions, emerged as a standout performer, starting both games and notching eight points, five rebounds, and two assists against Iran. Led by the 19-year-old Cui and another high-profile rookie forward Zeng Fanbo, of the Beijing Ducks, five young players earned their first national team call-ups, reflecting Djordjevic’s commitment to building for the future. Young talents impressed again against Iran — all 12 players scored, led by CBA All-Star Wu Qian’s 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting in just 20 minutes of action.
“They are working hard in the camp. They have the quality but they have to grow and understand the level that is asked internationally,” said Djordjevic. “I hope that through this recruitment, the talented young players in China will strengthen their understanding, based on the past international competitions and trends, of what kind of quality is the priority for the national team, and then let them take this understanding to keep growing. In order to help the national team win as soon as possible, to better match up with high-level opponents without suffering losses, and to establish a stable foundation for confrontation with opponents at the World Cup and Olympic level, I must see a forest behind the big trees.”
Still, the youngsters’ lack of international experience and chemistry with veterans requires time to build — something not in abundance with the World Cup tipping off on Aug 25. “A lot of energy and a lot of effort. We played hard but apparently not smart enough,” Team China point guard Zhao Jiwei said after scoring 12 points and providing a game-high eight assists against Iran.
China missed out on the Olympic stage for the first time at Tokyo 2020 due to a disappointing campaign at the 2019 World Cup at home. Now, the squad is facing an even tougher prospect to return to the Games with five other Asian opponents, including hosts Japan and the Philippines, all chasing the only direct Paris 2024 spot up for grabs at the tournament. Led by in-form NBA combo Rui Hachimura (Los Angeles Lakers) and Yuta Watanabe (Brooklyn Nets), Japan has emerged as the team to beat in Asia, while the Philippines’ strong naturalized contingent, which features prolific NBA scorer Jordan Clarkson (Utah Jazz), also poses a legitimate threat.
Team China’s towering center Zhou Qi, who was drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2016, remains the backbone that China leans on when it comes to vying with the best of the continent. “For sure we have more chemistry to build and a lot of mistakes to correct,” said Zhou, who started the season with the South East Melbourne
In conclusion, while the Chinese national basketball team still has room for improvement, its recent performances under Djordjevic’s leadership have been encouraging. The team’s progress and potential are evident, and with continued hard work and training, it has the ability to reach the international standard and become one of the world’s top basketball teams.