Why is it so difficult for the Chinese men s basketball team to beat Saudi Arabia? Tomorrow, don t be careless about the Indian team

In the early morning of August 6, the Chinese men's basketball team defeated the host Saudi men's basketball team with a difficult 93:88, achieving a good start to the 2025 Men's Basketball Team Asian Cup. 20 years ago, the Chinese men's basketball team defeated Saudi Arabia 98:10 at the Asian Championships (the predecessor of the Asian Cup). Now the two teams are fighting again, why are the scores so stalemate? First of all, the strength of the two teams has increased and decreased compared with 20 years ago. The former Chinese men's basketball team was the absolute overlord of Asia, while the Saudi team was a weak Asian team. At present, this Chinese men's basketball team lacks seven main players including Zhou Qi and Yang Hansen, and their strength is greatly reduced. In contrast, the Saudi team's strength has improved after naturalizing American player Rahman. Playing as defender Rahman played for Bilbao last season, and averaged 11.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in the Europa League. In this game against the Chinese men's basketball team, Rahman played 35 minutes in the game, scoring 32 points and 3 rebounds, making 4 of 9 three-pointers and 12 of 13 free throws.

Secondly, the first game has always been difficult to play, especially against the hosts. In fact, this is the first time that the Chinese men's basketball team has achieved a good start since the Asian Championships were reorganized into the Asian Cup. In the first group match of the first Asian Cup in 2017, the Chinese men's basketball team lost to the Philippines 87:96, which also led to the Chinese team having to face the strong Australian team in advance in the quarter-finals, and finally ranked fifth with a loss of 71:97. In the first group match of the 2022 Asian Cup, the Chinese men's basketball team lost to South Korea 81:93. In the subsequent quarter-finals, the Chinese men's basketball team defeated Lebanon 69:72 and finally ranked eighth. In this Asian Cup, the Chinese men's basketball team played against the host Saudi team in the first match in the group stage. They were still 15 points ahead in the first three quarters, but the team only scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, and finally passed the thrilling level with a 5-point advantage.

Young player Wang Junjie performed well overall, scoring 10 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in 15 minutes and 30 seconds of playing time, but because of a mistake in an outside defense, he was refrigerated in the fourth quarter. After the game, the head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team, Guo Shiqiang said that the first game was difficult for both sides and even more difficult for the Chinese team. He played the host in the first game. "This time we are a relatively young team, and every game is not easy for us. We have the confidence to show our energy and play the characteristics of training, and we still play one game and fight one game, hoping that we can go further." Speaking of Wang Junjie's situation, Guo Shiqiang explained, "Wang Junjie is a player I like more. He also created history, a college student player, and finally entered the national team, which is not easy for him. He scored some points in the first half, but in terms of defense, execution and experience There are some gaps that have not met the requirements of the coaching staff. At the same time, the opponent has also made changes. In one, one, four, four, we need to make changes based on the opponent's characteristics and height, so use Zhu Junlong to play the fourth position more, and his flexibility can keep up with the opponent. "In this game, the Chinese men's basketball team scored the highest score was center Hu Jinqiu (20 points), but he made 2 of 9 free throws in the game. After the game, he said: "This game is worth summarizing, and the opponent has put a lot of pressure on us. This is just the beginning of this Asian Cup. I hope everything will go smoothly in the next game."

Judging from the first day's game, there seems to be no obvious bottom team in this Asian Cup. Before the Chinese men's basketball team's game against Saudi Arabia, the Indian team in the same group and Jordan team fought hard to solve, and the winner was not decided until overtime. The last Asian Cup semi-finals Jordan team finally won the game with experience 91:84. In this way, the Chinese men's basketball team should not be careless against the Indian team on August 7. Not only must they win this game, but they must also get as many net points as possible, so that they can take the initiative in the final game against Jordan. If you want to go further, the Chinese men's basketball team must strive to win all three games in the group stage.

Reporter: Li Fujie Editor: Hou Chao Proofreader: Yang Hefang