The Paper reporter Hu Jie
This Asian Cup may be the most troubled event in the history of the Chinese men's basketball team.
Before the expedition, the team lost many core players including Guo Ailun, Zhou Qi, Zhao Jiwei, Shen Zijie, and the team had to adjust the players' temporary lineup.
Although the results of the Asian Cup no longer determine the qualifications for the Olympics and World Cup, it is still related to the honor of the national team and the world ranking of the Chinese men's basketball team.
In the first game of the Asian Cup, the Chinese men's basketball team, which was short of major generals, faced its old rival South Korea. When Zhou Qi, Guo Ailun, and Wang Zhelin were unable to play, Du Feng chose to speed up, but still unfortunately lost to South Korea 81-93. , missed a good start in the Asian Cup.
In this game, Zhao Rui scored 22 points, Sun Minghui 14 points and 7 assists, Gu Quan scored 322 points, Fan Ziming had 5 points and 11 rebounds, Hu Mingxuan only scored 1 point and 2 rebounds.
Zhao Rui performed well in this game.
Changing generals at the last moment was full of difficulties
"This group has encountered unprecedented difficulties. Almost no one trained some time ago, and most of them were in isolation with fever and cough Chest tightness . The day before the game, everyone was not assembled, but they still went to fight. ! No one can say anything about such a team, let’s cheer for them!”
Three hours before the game, Zhao Jiwei’s Weibo revealed the difficulties of the Chinese men’s basketball team.
After the World Cup preliminaries in Australia ended, the Chinese men's basketball team encountered the impact of the new crown epidemic - including core players such as Zhou Qi and Guo Ailun.
There were only 7 team members left on the plane that departed for Jakarta . Half of the team members had to stay in in Melbourne for isolation observation and treatment due to being infected with the new crown .
Although it is not yet clear how the epidemic appeared in the team, it is generally speculated that the Chinese men's basketball team was infected during two matches with Chinese Taipei team . Especially in the second game between the two teams, when the Chinese men's basketball team arrived at the arena, they found that the Chinese Taipei team members were wearing masks during warm-ups. Although Du Feng immediately asked all players to wear masks for self-protection, contact between the two sides during the game was not allowed. avoid.
Although the symptoms of the infected players were generally mild, Guo Ailun still failed to turn negative until the start of the Asian Cup, and Zhou Qi even fainted due to physical discomfort.
Although the Chinese men's basketball team had already made an emergency plan before going on the trip, preparing a 24-person tour roster and urgently recruiting 5 players to go to Jakarta, such a hasty adjustment also caught the Chinese men's basketball team off guard.
Jiang Weize, Gao Shiyan, He Xining, Fan Ziming, and Zhai Xiaochuan (from left to right) compete in the Asian Cup.
There is only one person left in the starting lineup
Since the Asian Cup player roster cannot be changed, among the 12-man roster, Guo Ailun, Zhao Jiwei, Shen Zijie, Zhu Junlong, Ren Junwei, and Lu Wenbo, who originally participated in the World Preliminaries, were not selected. Among the five players urgently recruited, Jiang Weize, Zhai Xiaochuan and He Xining entered the Asian Cup roster at the buzzer.
For this reason, Guo Ailun specifically wrote on Weibo: "I still have a cough and chest pain that has not turned negative. The coaching staff asked about my condition and physical condition and decided to protect me. It is a pity that I was unable to participate in this Asian Cup."
"I really want to fight side by side with my teammates. This opportunity is really rare and I feel really sad."
Guo Ailun Weibo.
In addition to the absence of Guo Ailun, although Zhou Qi is still on the roster as an important part of the technical and tactical system, he is still in Melbourne for treatment. It is not yet known whether he can catch up with the three games of the group stage.
As a result, compared with the first game of the World Cup preliminaries, the starting five players of the Chinese men's basketball team in the first game of the Asian Cup have adjusted four players, with only Hu Mingxuan still serving as the starter.
Changing players on the spot is a taboo on the basketball court. The two teams of men's basketball team only practiced together once after the round in Jakarta.
This is why in the Asian Cup strength list just updated by FIBA, the Chinese men's basketball team is only ranked seventh, while its first opponent, the South Korean team, is ranked fourth.
Chinese team’s Asian Cup squad.
has the advantage, and the striker is the key to breaking the game.
Even so, Du Feng still said in an interview before the game: "We don't have time to practice together, so this game may be a big challenge. Although it is very difficult, I I believe the team will complete the Asian Cup tasks better.”
This time the Chinese men’s basketball team was assigned to Group B. The opponents in the same group include South Korea, Bahrain and Chinese Taipei . In the first game, the Chinese men's basketball team will face the South Korean team, the strongest opponent in the group stage. Therefore, the outcome of the game between the two sides is likely to determine the first place in the group.
The Chinese team and the Korean team met 24 times in official competitions and won 19 of them. The most recent confrontation between the two sides was at the 2019 Men's Basketball World Cup, and the Chinese team only narrowly defeated its opponent 77-73.
Although the Korean team does not have rising stars Lu Junxi and Lee Hyun-joong in the 12-man roster this time, the Korean team has a complete lineup, and naturalized player Luo Jianer is on the inside.
Looking at the history of the China-South Korea matchup, the South Korean men's basketball team has a lot of experience in restricting the Chinese team's inside line, but the defense on the front line can easily become a breakthrough.
Korean men’s basketball team watched the video of Chinese players before the game.
In the 2017 China-South Korea World Cup preliminaries, Ding Yanyuhang scored 30 points in the away game, helping the Chinese men's basketball team win the victory.
However, for the Chinese men's basketball team with weak forward capabilities, how to break the game becomes the key.
With the Chinese men's basketball team changing players on the spot and not fully adjusting, the South Korean team also smelled a glimmer of hope of victory. Before the game, South Korean media wrote: "With Guo Ailun's absence, his combat effectiveness will inevitably weaken. Zhou Qi is also unable to participate in the game. This is good news for South Korea. If the team wants to ensure that they qualify from the group, they must defeat China."
The Korean Jumpball website also published internal photos of the team's preparations. In addition to watching the CBA Finals, it also studied previous East Asian Super League game videos.
But the only players who have participated in this event are Sun Minghui, He Xining, and Fan Ziming.
Coach Du Feng.
lost the basket and accelerated the outside
What is unexpected is that in addition to core players such as Zhou Qi and Guo Ailun, Wang Zhelin, the team's strong inside player in this game, is also sitting off the court.
The starting inside line of the Chinese men's basketball team is Zhai Xiaochuan paired with Fu Hao, and the back line is composed of Sun Minghui, Zhao Rui and Hu Mingxuan. Du Feng's strategic intention is quite obvious, hoping to catch the Korean team's counterattack by speeding up.
So the first two attacks of the Chinese men's basketball team were all succeeded by Zhao Rui. In the first 5 minutes of the game, Zhao Rui scored 10 points.
But this lineup also allowed the Korean team to see opportunities in the paint. After Luo Jian'er made a three-pointer, he once again succeeded in beating Fu Hao in the paint. This also allowed Du Feng to replace the tall inside player Fan Ziming.
Even if Fan Ziming is replaced, Du Feng still emphasizes that the team speeds up and ensures the conversion speed on the field through continuous substitutions. This also caused the two sides to play in and out of the game - the Chinese team made 8 turnovers when attacking the basket in the first quarter, while the South Korean team even had 4 walking violations in the first quarter.
What is different from the previous impressions of China and South Korea is that since Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin were unable to play in this game, the Chinese team's previous inside advantage has disappeared.
Not only is there a certain gap between Fu Hao and Luo Jianer in terms of strength, but even in terms of height of outside players, the Chinese team does not have an advantage. When the Korean team breaks through the defense from the outside, it is difficult for the Chinese men's basketball team, which lacks the height to protect the basket, to interfere with the opponent's layup.
This also allowed the Korean team to launch a wave of offensive climax in the second quarter. However, when the Chinese team fell behind by 6 points, Du Feng was not as furious as before. Instead, he calmly emphasized to the players: "It's all opportunities. As long as the shot is made, Just as Du Feng said, after returning from the timeout, Sun Minghui first hit a three-pointer, and then Gu Quan hit two consecutive three-pointers to regain the lead, leading the Korean men's basketball team 45-43 in the first half.
In the third quarter, the decline in physical fitness of the Chinese men's basketball team made all 6 layups unsuccessful at the last moment. The Chinese team, which lacked interior basket protection, once allowed the Korean team to make consecutive breakthrough points, and the Korean team also used this to score points. The gap is wide open.
Du Feng then replaced Jiang Weize. Although he achieved good results for a time, he still failed to overtake the score.
In the fourth quarter, Sun Minghui hit a three-pointer at the beginning, and the Chinese team chased all the way to a 2-point gap, but then the South Korean team shrank to protect the basket. The Chinese men's basketball team's offensive efficiency was still not high, and the Korean team was overwhelmed both inside and outside, and finally lost the game...
Fu Hao (left) struggled a bit in this game.
It is not difficult to qualify, but the schedule is not easy
Before this game, Chinese Taipei and Bahrain in the same group had already played against each other, and Chinese Taipei easily won 102-84.
The difference from the World Cup preliminaries is that the Chinese Taipei Asian Cup lineup is undergoing a major change. Three players who played for CBA Chen Yingjun, Lin Tingqian and Liu Zheng will all play. In addition, Chinese Taipei also naturalized white center Atino.
However, compared to the outcome of the game, time is the biggest opponent of the Chinese men's basketball team. The
Asian Cup is divided into 4 groups. The first place in each group directly advances to the quarterfinals. The second and third place teams in each group, a total of 8 teams, will compete against each other in the knockout round to determine the other 4 quarterfinals.
Judging from the comparison of strength and historical results, the Chinese team can enter the knockout rounds as long as they win one game. Therefore, it is not difficult for the Chinese men's basketball team to qualify. Even if they qualify as second in Group B and defeat the third in Group A, the Chinese men's basketball team can avoid being in the same half zone as Australia.
However, according to the schedule, the Chinese men's basketball team, which is short of major generals, will face Bahrain in two days, and then will face Chinese Taipei the next day.
Faced with a two-day, one-game schedule, whether the Chinese men's basketball team can get rid of the impact of the new crown epidemic as soon as possible is the key factor that determines how far the team can go in this Asian Cup.
Editor in charge: Teng Fei
Proofreader: Ding Xiao
