Pengpai News reporter Ma Zuoyu
China Hong Kong Bay Area Winglong hired Gore as head coach.
Bryan Gore, is a very familiar name for Chinese basketball.
This 69-year-old coach started his CBA journey for more than 10 years after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and has overtaken many CBA teams. After leaving China in 2020, he took over the coaching seal of the Australian men's basketball team and led the team to the Olympic podium for the first time in Tokyo.
Now, the champion coach is once again closely linked to Chinese basketball.
A week ago, according to Xinhua News Agency , the Hong Kong Bay Area Winglong Basketball Club of China officially announced that it would hire Gore as the team's first head coach, and the two sides signed a two-year contract. Gore will lead the team to participate in an intercontinental event called the East Asian Basketball Super League.
"I'm very happy to be the first coach of this team. I hope to invite some potential Chinese players." On May 20, in an interview with Pengpai News reporter, Coach Gore talked about the advantages and disadvantages of Chinese players in the international arena.
"Chinese players have physical advantages in Asia, but they still need to strengthen their efforts in controlling the rhythm, reducing mistakes and making decisions."
Gore (right) was once the assistant coach of Du Feng .
Chinese players' reading game ability must be improved
Coach Gore has left too many marks in the development of Chinese basketball.
"I came to China since 2008 Beijing Olympics . I have been in China for more than 10 years of basketball experience. This is a very unforgettable journey." When talking about his experience with the reporter of The Paper, coach Gore, who is nearly 70 years old, was also quite moved.
In 2009, coach Gore became the consultant for Chinese men's basketball team and began to assist Guo Shiqiang . Since then, Gore has coached in the CBA for a long time and has served as the coach of Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangdong, Xinjiang and other teams.
In the five years of Dongguan , coach Gore led the team to the playoffs five times, and as an assistant coach of Guangdong Hongyuan in the 2015-2016 season, assisted Du Feng to win the regular season championship.
According to statistics from domestic media, Gore has coached in the CBA for more than ten years, and his winning rate is close to 70%. It is precisely this journey that gives him enough voice to the current situation of Chinese basketball.
Gor has also joined the coaching staff of the Chinese men's basketball team.
"In terms of Asian scope, Chinese players have obvious advantages over teams from other countries and regions." Gore's view, the confrontation between Chinese players is at least an advantage in Asia. "When playing against other Asian clubs or national teams, China can be the number one bigger than its opponent in every position, which is an advantage."
But the advantage in figure sometimes cannot cover up the players' shortcomings in "reading games".
"With the popularity of small ball play, especially Asian players, the speed is getting faster and faster. I used to take Chinese players to compete with Japanese or Philippines teams, and I found that they need some time to adapt to the opponent's speed."
" That is to say, under fast pace and high pressure, Chinese players need to better read the game, control the rhythm of the game, and improve their ability to make correct decisions on the court."
As Coach Gore said, the understanding and control of the game on the court is the quality that Chinese players lack in international competitions.
From the Men's Basketball World Cup more than two years ago to the Olympic lapse , the gap between Chinese players and high-level players in the world is not only about skills, but also about understanding the game and adjustment of mentality.
"If you want to make the right decision under high pressure, the first thing you need to do is to learn how to minimize mistakes at fast pace or high intensity."
Gore coaches the Australian national team.
share concepts and broaden horizons
For now becoming the head coach of the Winglong Basketball Club in Hong Kong Bay Area, Gore hopes to discover more outstanding young Chinese players, bring them to the stage of the Intercontinental Championships, and further experience.
"I will find some players who are interested in joining the team and have competed in the CBA, and then find some young and talented players. In addition, we will also recruit several players from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan."
This is a new team formed "from 0 to 1", and the upcoming league that this team is also a league with a lot of topics in the Asian basketball circle - that is the East Asian Super League.
This league, which will be launched in October this year, has 8 teams from professional leagues in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and other places participating. One highlight that cannot be ignored is that the championship prize reaches 1 million US dollars.
Gor once coached the Shanghai Men's Basketball Team.
In fact, the predecessor of this Intercontinental League was the "Super 8 Macau Basketball Invitational" that was once held in Macau, China. Since then, the event was renamed the Asian League in 2018, hosting the "Super 8" and "Extraordinary 12" events, and eventually evolved into the current East Asian Super League.
It is worth mentioning that during this year's CBA offseason, many teams have undergone head coach changes, and Gore's name has appeared in rumors many times - however, Gore's final choice to become the head coach of this East Asian Super League is somewhat because of his long-standing basketball philosophy.
"Intercontinental leagues like this can provide teams from various countries with opportunities to confront each other. After communication, their understanding of competition and training will be different, which will also broaden their horizons."
Coach Gore told the Paper reporter that unlike the United States, one of the important reasons why European teams can continue to improve overall is that their European basketball championship league, and now the East Asian Super League is playing such a role.
"After frequent exchanges with teams from other countries, they can put different ideas into local leagues and help their national teams, so that they can promote and improve."
Gore hopes that Asian basketball can make greater progress.
helps the Asian men's basketball team to stand on the Olympic podium
Before becoming the coach of this new team, Gore went to the Ilawara Hawks in the Australian local league last season and led the Australian men's basketball team to win the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Gore takes Australian basketball as an example. "It is precisely because of the closer connection with NBA that Australian players have brought back more advanced technology and knowledge."
Gore coach also mentioned a small episode. Just after he decided to join the Intercontinental League, he met Australia's "basketball godfather" Lynch Gates in a game. The legendary basketball star who once served as an adviser to the Tianjin Men's Basketball Team hugged him during the break and told Gore that he had already proposed to increase intercontinental basketball exchanges 20 years ago.
Now, Gore is practicing the common ideas of his predecessor and himself.
"The Olympic podium is a blank space for Asian men's basketball. When European basketball once hoped to make a breakthrough in the Olympics, they made a breakthrough through exchanges between clubs from various countries."
As the first coach to help the Australian men's basketball team stand on the Olympic podium, Gore is also looking forward to the breakthrough of Asian basketball. "This requires a process, but such a competition system will definitely help Asian basketball."
Editor in charge: Tengfei
Proofreading: Zhang Yan
