Xinhua News Agency: The national team does not have absolute dominance in the interior, and the performance of the outside shooter is very important

Hupu, August 5th, According to Xinhua News Agency, the 2025 FIBA Men's Basketball Team Asian Cup will kick off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Chinese men's basketball team will debut with a new lineup, opening an important battle in a new cycle. The Chinese men's basketball team won 16 championships in the Asian Cup and its predecessor Asian Championships, with brilliant results. However, since winning the home championship in 2015, the team has not been able to reach the semi-finals again in the past decade.

The Chinese men's basketball team faces many challenges in this battle, and the biggest problem is the inconsolidation of the lineup. Due to their own different reasons, star players such as Zhou Qi, Zhang Zhenlin, Zeng Fanbo, Zhao Jiwei, and Yang Hansen have not appeared in the currently announced roster, which has also brought considerable difficulties to head coach Guo Shiqiang's deployment.

The inside line has always been the most important reliance of the Chinese men's basketball team. In this Asian Cup men's basketball lineup, the role of the inside line is also critical. As the core player of the China Men's Basketball Professional League (CBA) championship last season, Hu Jinqiu plays a mainstay in the current men's basketball lineup. In four warm-up matches, he ranked first in the team with an average of 11.5 points per game, and his performance will play a crucial role in the Chinese men's basketball record. Yu Jiahao, a young center who is 2.21 meters tall, is the "first height" of the Chinese men's basketball team. He leads the team with an average of 6.3 rebounds per game in the warm-up match. On the

front line, Wang Junjie, who played in the American University League, performed well in many warm-up matches, and the performance of players such as Zhu Junlong and Raymond is also remarkable. On the back line, Hu Mingxuan, Zhao Rui, Liao Sanning, Cheng Shuipeng and other players have their own characteristics. Overall, the current lineup of the Chinese team is slightly insufficient, but there are players with distinct characteristics on both the inside and outside. Judging from the performance of the warm-up match, rebounding protection and outside shooting percentage will become key factors in the Chinese team's Asian Cup journey.

In terms of rebounding, the Chinese team often has an advantage in Asia with its tall lineup, but from the perspective of warm-up matches, the Chinese team's rebounding protection still has shortcomings. Faced with the Venezuelan team, whose height conditions are not outstanding, the Chinese men's basketball team did not gain any advantage in rebounding. In the second game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Chinese men's basketball team was snatched up to 16 frontcourt rebounds by their opponents. Coupled with errors and other factors, Bosnia and Herzegovina ultimately made 31 more shots in the game than the Chinese team.

When the inside line does not have absolute dominance, the performance of the Chinese men's basketball outside shooters is more critical. Judging from the warm-up match, the Chinese team made good three-point shooting percentage in their first game against Venezuela and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the results of the game also ended with a big victory in the Chinese team. In games with poor three-point performance, the Chinese team often falls into hard battles and find it difficult to open up the situation.

A total of 16 teams participated in this men's basketball Asian Cup. The Chinese men's basketball team was assigned to Group C, and the opponents in the same group included Saudi Arabia, India and Jordan. According to the latest Asian Cup strength list released by FIBA, the Chinese team ranks fourth and is the highest-ranked team in Group C.

Among the three group match opponents, Jordan has the strongest strength. The Jordan men's basketball team has excellent physical confrontation ability and has naturalized players with strong personal abilities. Jordanian defender Tucker is good at playing ball and scored 32 points against the Chinese team in the World Cup. Abdul Rahman and Abdullah, the two sons of the legendary center Olajuwon of the US professional basketball team, were also selected for the Jordanian men's basketball team. The two have excellent physical fitness and will put a lot of pressure on the Chinese team's defensive end. In addition, although the Saudi team's historical record in the Asian Cup is not outstanding, it cannot be underestimated by its advantages in home games.

Since the results of this event are not linked to the qualifications for the World Cup and Olympics, most strong teams have not sent the strongest lineup to play. The Webster brothers, who once performed well in the international arena, were not selected for the New Zealand team lineup, but this team still maintains their physical strength in confrontation and simple and efficient offense. For the Japanese team, Hachimura Shiramiya and Kawamura Yuki, who play for the NBA, will miss this Asian Cup, and the naturalized inside line of Hawkinson will be the main reliance of the Japanese team. The Australian team ranks first in the Asian Cup strength list. This defending champion team has absolute strength in the Asian arena, with fast offense and defense conversion speed and accurate three-point shooting. Magney and McVeigh, who have competed in the Olympics in the team, will give full play to their competition experience in the Asian arena.

In other strong teams, Lebanon is shorter on average, but naturalized as CBA foreign aid Lawson, and his inside strength has been enhanced. On the back line, Lebanon has Alaki, who has the highest average score per game in the last Asian Cup, but Alaki just completed shoulder surgery not long ago, and it is temporarily doubtful that he can play a lot of his strength in the Asian Cup. The Iranian team was once a glorious in Asia, but now it is in a period of disastrous success. After losing the team's inside core Haddadi, the strength of the Iranian team was greatly weakened, and the new generation of players represented by Amini gradually took the lead, and the team's playing style also shifted more to rapid conversion and counterattack.

Overall, the main opponent of the Chinese team is also not the "all-main" lineup. Against this background, factors such as the overall depth of the team and the head coach's on-the-spot command will have an impact on the results of the game. Which players can stand up and shoulder the heavy responsibility, and which young players can stand out with the help of the Asian Cup stage are all important highlights of this event.