China News Service, Beijing, November 11 (Liu Xingchen) On the evening of the 11th, Beijing time, the fifth window of the 2023 Men's Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers was held. The Chinese men's basketball team defeated the Iranian men's basketball team 81:72 and continued to secure the second place in the group. 's ranking.
Before the game, the Chinese men's basketball team ranked second in Group F of the World Preliminaries with 6 wins and 2 losses, behind the Australian team.
According to FIBA rules, the top three teams in each group of the World Preliminaries will automatically qualify for the World Cup next year.
In this window period, the Chinese team needs to face Iran and Bahrain.
After defeating the old rival this time, the Chinese men's basketball team has taken the initiative in the competition for World Cup tickets.
Image source: Screenshot of the FIBA website
game progress
The last match between the Chinese men's basketball team and the Iranian men's basketball team dates back to the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
Four years have passed, and the 37-year-old Haddadi still maintains a good competitive state. Outside players such as Jamsidi and Jacques Charlie are efficient in attack.
It is worth mentioning that Besilovic, the former coach of the CBA Tongxi men's basketball team, has served as the technical director of the Iranian team.
In the first quarter of the game, the Iranian team Haddadi's main attack on the inside was effective, while the Chinese men's basketball team seized the opponent's mistakes, Zhao Rui and Wang Zhelin successively killed the basket.
Jacques Charlie made a mid-range shot, and Shen Zijie made a strong attack at the basket.
At the end of the first quarter, the Chinese team fell behind 20:21.
In the second quarter, Haddadi increased his offensive rebounds.
For the Chinese team, Jiang Weize and Zhou Peng made consecutive three-pointers to help the team overtake the score.
The Chinese team's offensive coordination in the second quarter was smoother.
After halftime, the Chinese men's basketball team led 42:34.
Image source: FIBA FIBA Chinese official Weibo
After changing sides and fighting again, Gu Quan scored 2 three-pointers in a row, and the Chinese men's basketball team made an 8:1 attack wave.
Subsequently, the Iranian team played a quick counterattack to narrow the difference.
After the two sides attacked each other, the Chinese men's basketball team led 60:51 into the fourth quarter.
In the final decisive battle, the Chinese men's basketball team increased its defensive intensity, and Shen Zijie counterattacked successfully and forced the opponent to request a timeout.
After that, the Iranian team found a touch beyond the three-point line, and the difference was narrowed to 4 points.
At the last moment, Wu Qian and Zhou Peng hit a key three-pointer.
In the end, the Chinese team won the game 81:72.
Set off after a week of training
Although the Chinese men's basketball team won the game against Iran, the victory was not as simple as the outside world saw it.
In order to prepare for the World Preliminaries, the Iranian domestic league pressed the pause button in early October, and the team has been training for 3 weeks.
On October 29, the Chinese men's basketball team announced the list of the latest national team training personnel.
From the end of the last game of the first stage of the CBA League to the battle against Iran today, it will only be about 10 days after the full game.
Image source: Official Weibo of the Chinese Basketball Team
The day after the league ended, the Chinese men's basketball team went to Guangzhou for a closed training camp.
During this period, the team held a teaching match with the Guangzhou men's basketball team, and invited the Shenzhen team's foreign aid Booker to participate in the team's technical and tactical drills.
It can be seen that in the short training time, the Chinese men's basketball team is eager to produce a chemical reaction.
Judging from the progress of the game on the evening of the 11th, the closed training camp had a significant effect.
On November 7, the Chinese men's basketball team embarked on a flight to Iran after about a week of intensive training.
Zhou Qi's responsibility
In the fourth window of the world preliminaries, Zhou Qi won the best player.
After being tempered by the Australian League, he is now the pillar of the new Chinese men's basketball team.
Before the fifth window period, Zhou Qi injured his calf muscle during training in the Australian League, and the team advised him to rest for 3 weeks.
Against Iran, Zhou Qi failed to appear.
However, because this game largely determines the ownership of World Cup tickets, Zhou Qi resolutely chose to stand with the team.
Image source: Screenshot of Zhou Qi Weibo
On November 7, he departed from Australia to join the national team.
In Zhou Qi's social media comment area, the most common four words are "do what you can." A fan wrote, "The men's basketball team needs you not only for these two games, but also for several years. Intend."
"Special thanks to Zhou Qi. He said that regardless of any injuries, he will try to join the team in Iran. I hope he recovers soon and can help the team more in the next window period." Talking about Zhou Qi, head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team Du Feng said.
For the disciple who provoked the big beam, he has given praise many times.
Zhou Qi's growth is in everyone's eyes, and he proves that he is worthy of everyone's trust with practical actions.
Image source: Screenshot of Weibo user comments
Tough injury
During the training camp, in order to better understand the state of the players, the Chinese men's basketball team carried out physiological and biochemical indicators testing for the players.
The data shows that many players' bodies have entered a period of fatigue.
This time, many players experienced a seamless transition from the league to the national team.
This situation, perhaps many players are used to it.
Under the tight schedule, "fatigue" and "injuries" are like obstacles. In the past 2-3 years, they have been accompanied by the new Chinese men's basketball team.
Before the expedition, Sun Minghui, Abdu Salamu and others left the national team.
The former suffered a serious shoulder injury during the league.
In fact, the 14 people who came to Iran, including Zhou Qi, Zhou Peng, Wang Zhelin, Shen Zijie and others, all had injuries of varying degrees.
Image source: Official Weibo of the Chinese Basketball Team
Thinking about it carefully, after the 2019 Men's Basketball World Cup, there are not many opportunities for the Chinese men's basketball team to compete in the international arena with a healthy "strongest body".
Injuries have honed this team, and they have no choice but to overcome difficulties.
According to the group situation, in the two games in this window period, the Chinese men's basketball team has a higher probability of qualifying after winning one game.
But Du Feng said bluntly that he must win both games and go all out to bring out the mental outlook of the men's basketball team.
At 12:00 on November 15th, Beijing time, the Chinese men's basketball team will continue to face the Bahrain men's basketball team.
(Finish)