China News Service, Beijing, February 25 (Reporter Liu Xingchen) On the 25th, Beijing time, the first window period of the 2025 Men’s Basketball Asian Cup Qualifiers continued.
The Chinese men's basketball team lost to the Japanese men's basketball team 73:76 in an away game and missed its second consecutive victory.
In the Asian arena, the two teams have a deep connection.
According to FIBA statistics, the Chinese team and the Japanese team have participated in 52 Asian Cup competitions, and the two teams have been on the podium in this event a total of 33 times.
The last time the Chinese and Japanese teams met was in the 2023 World Cup Asian Qualifiers. The Chinese men's basketball team defeated their opponents twice.
Image source: FIBA social media
In world rankings, the Japanese men's basketball team ranks 26th (3rd in Asia), and the Chinese men's basketball team ranks 29th (6th in Asia).
After leading the Japanese women's basketball team to win the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Tom Horvath became the head coach of the Japanese men's basketball team.
Under his training, the Japanese team has developed a distinctive label of focusing on quick counterattacks and accurate three-point shooting.
The last time the two teams met, the Chinese men's basketball team won the two games by a total of 49 points.
Horvath said those two losses were a wake-up call for everyone involved with Japanese basketball.
Since then, the Japanese men's basketball team has begun to rise with new players emerging.
In last year's World Cup, they won the only direct ticket to the Paris Olympics in Asia with a record of 3 wins and 2 losses.
In this Asian Cup qualifier, the Japanese men's basketball team continued the main lineup from last year's World Cup, with Yuki Kawamura, Yudai Baba, Shin Hiejima, Josh Hawkinson and other players on the list.
The starting lineup of the Chinese men's basketball team.
Image source: FIBA Weibo
At the beginning of the game, the Chinese men's basketball team won consecutive offensive rebounds.
Du Runwang and Hu Jinqiu hit two three-pointers, and the Chinese team once led by 11 points.
After that, the Chinese team's substitute lineup did not perform well, and the Japanese team found its touch on the outside.
At the end of the first quarter, the Chinese team led 20:19.
In the second quarter, Hu Mingxuan and Cheng Shuipeng hit consecutive three-pointers, and the Japanese team also made achievements outside the three-point line.
After that, Tibus Hai of the Japanese team continued to cause damage, helping the team to overtake the score.
Hu Mingxuan reached the inside many times to stabilize the situation for the Chinese team.
After halftime, the two teams were tied at 38.
The game changed again, Baba Yuda scored 5 points in a row, and Togashi Yuki hit a three-pointer to stop the Chinese team.
Yang Hansen made a free throw to help the team break the scoring drought, and Hu Mingxuan scored 2+1 at the last moment.
At the end of the third quarter, the Chinese team fell behind by 4 points.
In the final decisive battle, the Japanese team continued to kill the inside and score points.
The Chinese team tried to narrow the gap with three-pointers, but failed to achieve an offensive climax.
In the end, the Japanese men's basketball team won.
World Ranking.
Image source: Screenshot of FIBA website
In this game, the Japanese men's basketball team's outside shooting put great pressure on the Chinese men's basketball team's defense.
The last time the Chinese team lost to the Japanese team was more than nine years ago. In the men's basketball rematch of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the Chinese men's basketball team lost 72:79 to its opponent.
According to FIBA statistics, since the 1936 Olympics, the Chinese men's basketball team has never lost to the Japanese men's basketball team in the Asian Cup and higher-level competitions organized by FIBA.
Before the game, Yudai Baba of the Japanese team said that the team has not won a match against the Chinese team in 88 years (excluding the Asian Games) and he is full of expectations for the game.
88 years later, this record of the Chinese team was ended.
Behind this, the Chinese men's basketball team has to face the pain of the replacement of old and new players.
The match between the Chinese and Japanese teams.
Image source: Screenshot of FIBA website
But fortunately, the team has realized this and is seizing every opportunity in international competitions to fine-tune the lineup and focus on the future.
Compared with last year's competition lineup, the age structure of the team is further younger.
As Djordjevic, the head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team, said, players need to accumulate experience in international competitions to grow themselves.
This time, a total of 14 Chinese men's basketball players participated in the competition. The average age of the team is 24.1 years old, and Yang Hansen became the youngest player.
The 19-year-old has also become the biggest gain of the Chinese men's basketball team.
The picture shows Yang Hansen in the game.
Image source: China Basketball Team Weibo
From the analysis of the progress of the two games, Yang Hansen showed a sense of maturity and relaxation that is not consistent with his age.
Dare to handle the ball, this is what Yang Hansen has done on the court.
Against the Mongolian national team, Yang Hansen made a very satisfying pass, which made Djordjevic nod with satisfaction on the sidelines.
Facing the Japanese team, although he was a little impatient after coming on the stage, he was "taken care of" by his opponents and proved that he has enough talent.
Djordjevic spoke highly of this young player.
In his opinion, if this young man who made his debut for the adult national team works hard on the ground, he will definitely be one of the pillars of the Chinese men's basketball team in the future.
Image source: China Basketball Team Weibo
According to media reports, during the previous training camp, Chinese Basketball Association Chairman Yao Ming stated that the team’s goal is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The process of climbing up from the bottom is destined to be difficult.
In these two games, the young Chinese men's basketball team exposed problems such as slow start and unresolute execution.
Zhao Jiwei said that it is relatively difficult for the team to adapt to the European system. "The European system and requirements are very cautious, while the CBA league is relatively loose. Qiao Shuai hopes that we will return to the league to continue to strengthen our awareness."
Image source: Chinese Basketball Association technical and tactical service platform K8 data analysis team Weibo
In the match against the Mongolian national team, the opponent's shooting percentage at the basket was as high as 85%, which exposed the Chinese team's lack of ability to protect the basket.
In addition, the Chinese men's basketball team had a high turnover rate in the two games...
The 2025 Men's Basketball Asian Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia, with 16 teams participating.
24 teams, including Australia and New Zealand, are divided into 6 groups. They will compete in the Asian Cup qualifiers in three windows through home and away round-robin matches. The top two teams in each group will advance to the main draw, and the third place in each group will advance to the play-offs. , to determine the last 4 teams to participate in the main competition.
After the match against the Japanese team, the first window period of the Chinese Men’s Basketball Asian Cup Qualifiers came to an end.
The team will go out in the second window in November this year to face the Guam team and the Mongolian team.
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