On the evening of the 12th, Beijing time, the score of the whole game was fixed at 81:93, and the Chinese men's basketball team passed the first victory of the 2022 Men's Basketball Asian Cup.
At the end of the game, it was close to 23:00 Beijing time, but many fans still stayed in front of the screen to accompany the Chinese team and cheered for the team.
Image source: Screenshot of the official website of the Asian Cup of the Men's Basketball Team
From the third window of the World Cup qualifiers to the Asian Cup, the Chinese men's basketball fans who have traveled all the way know the difficulties the team has encountered and that the players have done their best.
Meet the Korean team again
Before the game, a video was swiped on social media.
It was a match between China and South Korea in 2015.
At that time, the Asian Cup was also called the Asian Championships. The Chinese team staged a super reverse victory over the South Korean team in the final quarter with a maximum of 20 points behind.
Even now, it still makes people excited.
The picture shows the debut of the Chinese men's basketball team.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
Focusing on the game, the South Korean team played almost all of the main force, which is also the biggest challenge of the Chinese men's basketball group stage.
At the beginning of the game, Zhao Rui felt hot and scored 10 of the first 12 points of the Chinese team. After that, the team made more mistakes, and at the end of the first quarter, the two sides were tied at 19.
In the second quarter of the game, the Korean team's counterattack gradually worked.
"Don't worry, it's all opportunities." Du Feng, the head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team, changed his sternness in the past and continued to encourage his players.
The players returned the trust of the coach with an attack wave of 11:3.
After halftime, the Chinese team led 45:43.
Image source: Screenshot of netizen comments
After changing sides and fighting again, the South Korean team took the lead in the main attack, and the Chinese men's basketball team made a fuss in the middle and long distances to bite the score.
At the end of the third quarter, the Chinese team trailed 59:65.
The game is coming to an end, and the Chinese team is still 6 points behind.
Du Feng on the sidelines kept applauding and motivating the players. Until the last moment, the Chinese men's basketball team did not give up.
However, the Korean team had no choice but to play stably, and in the end the Chinese team unfortunately lost.
Image source: Screenshot of netizen comments
"I believe that the team can overcome difficulties"
Before the game with the South Korean team, Du Feng said that he believed the team could overcome the difficulties.
This sentence describes the current situation of the Chinese men's basketball team very well. Although it is in a difficult situation, it is still strong.
Some time ago, in the third window of the World Preliminaries, you can see the outstanding spirit of the Chinese men's basketball players.
Zhou Qi's responsibility, Guo Ailun's tireless running, Xu Jie's rapid growth...
Just when the outside world was looking forward to the performance of the Chinese team in the Asian Cup, the episode came.
On the evening of July 6th, Beijing time, less than a week before the first match of the Asian Cup, the Chinese Basketball Association said that during the third window of the World Preliminaries, many people in the team tested positive for nucleic acid.
The picture shows the Chinese team in the game.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
As soon as the news came out, as anxious as the team, there were also many fans thousands of miles away, who hoped that the men's basketball players could return safely.
In the face of emergencies, the national team urgently recruited five players to fly to Jakarta to prepare for the game.
In the face of difficulties, the "big family" of the national team has no hesitation to fight for the country.
Before the China-Korea match, Zhao Jiwei, who regretted not being able to participate in the Asian Cup, said, "No one can say anything to such a team. Let's cheer for them together!" And this may also be the voice of many people.
Even if the whole team has almost no chance to practice together before the game, even if it takes the risk of the epidemic, what the Chinese men's basketball team shows in the game is the fighting spirit and the desire to win.
Image source: Screenshot of Zhao Jiwei Weibo
The Asian Cup to the Chinese Men's Basketball Team
Today's Asian Cup has been "decoupled" from the Olympic qualification.
Many people may ask, when the epidemic situation abroad is serious, why does the Chinese men's basketball team pay so much for it?
In fact, looking back on the development of the Chinese men's basketball team in recent years, there is already an answer. The team needs to go through international competitions to hone and improve itself.
Image source: China Basketball Team Weibo
As of the third window of the World Preliminaries that ended some time ago, the number of international matches played by the Chinese men's basketball team in the past three years may be counted on two hands.
For the new Chinese men's basketball team, gaining experience with high-level teams is the only way to improve the team.
"This is a good test and verification for the new men's basketball team." Du Feng said.
The defeat in the first game is not the end of the world, and the current Chinese men's basketball team is not the strongest. What they need is to grow and learn to grow in the face of adversity.
At 21:00 on July 14th, Beijing time, the Chinese men's basketball team will usher in the second opponent in the group stage, Bahrain.
As the Chinese basketball team said, all the way to the journey.
Please continue to support the Chinese men's basketball team, and please believe that they really tried their best.
Author: Liu Xingchen