Full coverage: 2016 Rio Olympics
Well losing twice during their three-game warm-up series against Australia is not what China's coaches had in mind when they started mapping out the team's road to this summer's Olympics. The two squads will also meet in Rio, as they have both been drawn into Group A, and the PRC will now go back to the drawing board and step up their preparations, as they seek to diagram the best strategies for beating the Aussies, as well as the other opponents in their pool. Damion Jones has the details.
In what might eventually be remembered as a passing of the torch in men's basketball, China's national team would wrap up its first warm-up series ahead of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics with domestic legends like Wang Zhizhi cheering on the current squad against Australia at Beijing's Wukesong Arena. Hosting the visitors from the Land Down Under without key veterans like Yi Jianlian on the roster would give the PRC's young guns long awaited opportunities to impress the coaching staff as they consider the roster for Brazil, but the biggest takeaway is this crew has a long road to trod, in the upcoming quest for a podium position.
"We have only competed together for a short amount of time. Some of us are playing on the national team for the first time, so we felt a bit nervous on the court. We need to keep improving," said Dingyan Yuhang China forward.
In addition to a lack of chemistry, China found it difficult to score from outside, a skill expected to be a potent weapon against some of the world's stronger teams this summer. When Gong Luming coached the PRC to last year's FIBA Asia Championship, problems like Tuesday night's 28 turnovers were nowhere to be seen. The lack of ballhandling poise would render Dingyan Yuhang's 18 points fruitless, as the hosts lost their second straight game after beating Australia in the opener.
"First of all, basketball games are about physical competition. It's not about just one player. It's about five players in all. The physical competition level is much higher than what it is in Asia, and it shows the real skills and abilities of our players. You can do everything without facing any defense, but when it comes to this level of competition, we failed to play like we know we can play. That is the gap," said Gong Luming China coach.
China will open its Olympic campaign with a game against the USA in less than three months, and Gong hopes the return of several experienced leaders can help spark a strong run in Rio. In the meantime, the PRC will continue to warm up with a contest against Macedonia next month, before meeting other European squads like France in July, and closing out their preparations in America and Brazil.
