As the final whistle sounded, the boys of the Chinese men's basketball team celebrated with a smile and high fives.

The Chinese men's basketball team in normal condition is back!

Image source: FIBA ​​official blog.

  On the evening of the 18th, Beijing time, the 2022 Men's Basketball Asian Cup quarter-final play-offs were unveiled.

The Chinese men's basketball team, ranked second in Group B, faced off against the Indonesian men's basketball team, the third-placed host in Group A.

In the end, the Chinese team defeated the Indonesian team 108:58 and advanced to the quarterfinals.

  Before this game, the Chinese men's basketball team and the Indonesian men's basketball team had played against each other four times in the official FIBA ​​tournament, and the Chinese team maintained a complete victory.

But today is different from the past. This Chinese men's basketball team has just been attacked by the "new crown".

  After the World Preliminaries ended in Australia, many of the Chinese team tested positive for nucleic acid. In the end, the main players Guo Ailun and Zhao Jiwei missed the Asian Cup.

After the team arrived in Indonesia, players continued to be infected.

Some players have obvious symptoms, which affect the state of training and competition.

Chinese men's basketball.

Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency

  Although 5 players were urgently recruited from the country to supplement the lineup, before the Asian Cup, the Chinese men's basketball team had always only had about 6 players who could insist on normal training.

  In the first match of the Asian Cup group stage, the missing Chinese team lost to the old rival South Korea.

In the second game against Bahrain, Zhou Qi, who had just arrived in Jakarta from Australia, has not yet played. The two main defenders, Zhao Rui and Sun Minghui, were sent off one after another.

  In the final game of the group stage, the Chinese team faced the Chinese Taipei team, and Zhou Qi ushered in his debut in this Asian Cup.

In the end, he led the Chinese men's basketball team to a great victory and advanced to the play-offs as the second place in the group.

The Chinese team is in the Asian Cup.

Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency

  According to the rules, the first place in the four groups of this Asian Cup will directly advance to the quarter-finals, and the second and third places in each group will be crossed for a play-off to determine the other four quarter-finals.

In the play-offs, the Chinese men's basketball team welcomed the host Indonesian men's basketball team.

  The 2023 Men's Basketball World Cup will be played in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines.

At present, the Japanese team and the Philippines team have qualified for the main game, but the Indonesian team still needs to be among the top eight of the Asian Cup to qualify for the World Cup.

This means that if they lose to the Chinese team, they will only be "spectators" in the World Cup held at their doorstep.

  After the start of the game, the fans at home in Indonesia cheered for the home team.

It is in such an atmosphere that the Chinese men's basketball team scores frequently on the outside, showing a better competitive state than the group stage.

At the end of the first quarter, the Chinese team led by 18 points with 29:11.

Image source: FIBA ​​official blog.

  In the second quarter, the tight defense of the Chinese team made it difficult for the Indonesian team to score, while the Chinese men's basketball team blossomed inside and out. At the end of the half-time, the Chinese team led 59:21.

  In the second half, the game had lost its suspense, and the Chinese team continued to exert force, and finally defeated the opponent 108:58 and advanced to the top 8.

  Zhou Qi said in an interview after the game that the next opponent should be the Lebanese team. The next game will be more and more difficult. The team has changed a lot of people, and the running-in time is not long. They will continue to work hard and strive for good results.

  After watching the game, the fans who were worried about the state of the Chinese men's basketball team a few days ago felt relieved and said: It's too smooth, they're all back!

Screenshots of fan comments.

  From the encounter with the new crown, the incomplete lineup, and the loss of the first battle, to now finally regaining the state, winning the host and advancing, the Chinese men's basketball team has gone through a lot of hard time behind it, one can imagine.

  A few days ago, Huang Jing, the former psychological coach of the Chinese women's basketball team, passed away due to illness, which made many fans heartache.

At the beginning of 2020, when the epidemic was raging in Wuhan, the Chinese women's basketball team in Serbia was about to face a strong enemy in the Olympic qualifying tournament.

In the locker room, Huang Jing once cheered for the women's basketball team like this:

  "When you need someone to stand up, it's called courage;

  When a team comes forward, it is called responsibility;

  When a nation in adversity calls for a spirit,

  That is the mission, that is the belief, that is going forward.

"

  It is the continuous struggle of generations of basketball players with this belief that enables Chinese basketball to continue to develop and get out of the troughs.

The Chinese men's basketball team, which has encountered difficulties now, is seeing the light of day. I hope they can fully recover as soon as possible and play the spirit of the Chinese men's basketball team!

  (Author Wang Hao)