FIBAWC Preview: Chinese Homeland heroes reaching beyond borders

Andrea Cassini

FIBAWC Preview: Chinese Homeland heroes reaching beyond borders image

What is the current status of Chinese basketball? After experiencing a boom in popularity around the year 2000, channelled by the legendary Yao Ming, the basketball scene seems to have come to a standstill – at least, from a global awareness point of view. In China however, people have high expectations for their national team, almost as high as their persistent passion for the game. China maintains a stranglehold on Asian basketball, a perennial contender for an Asia Cup gold medal. As hosts of the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup this is a prime opportunity for China to show the world exactly how far the national team has come. 

ROSTER

Although lacking a worldwide famous star player, like Yao Ming was throughout his career, China is probably the most reliable and best equipped at every position among the Asian teams. A huge pool of players to choose from, thanks of course to China's scale but also due to the ever-growing relevance of basketball in their sports culture. Similarly, the growth of the CBA into a highly competitive domestic league also provides the key to China cruising through tournaments even when they're roster is not fully available, or rising to the occasion when all of their stars stand at the ready. 

The duo of Yi Jianlian and Guo Ailun alone is likely enough to scare opponents off, a combination of versatile swingmen who are able to handle the ball and shoot from three point range as well. In the paint, Coach Li Nan will rely heavily on Zhou Qi, a 216 centimetres (just over seven feet, One inch) tall center, possessing a good touch around the basket. He signed a multi-year deal with the Houston Rockets, dividing time between the main roster and their G-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Vipers. 

Yi Jianlian FIBA China

While China is touring Europe and the United States to prepare for the World Cup, Li Nan is still working with a preliminary roster of 20 players; among those who will make the cut, we'll likely find the names of  Abudushalamu Abudurexiti, Ding Yanyuhang and Wang Zhelin, coming from strong showings in the Asian Qualifiers and looking for a spot in the starting five or a leading role off the bench. 

Ding, a 200 centimetres (just under six feet, seven inches) shooting guard, was his team’s third-best scorer thanks to his accuracy from the perimeter, while Abudurexiti, 23 years old and 203 centimetres (just under six foot, eight inches) tall, caught everyone off-guard with his poise and athleticism. Wang Zhelin could play second fiddle to Zhou Qi at the center spot. Last season he played in the CBA, in Fujian, to continue honing his skills, but his draft rights were acquired by the Memphis Grizzlies at the 2018 NBA Draft. Zhelin took the opportunity of his national team recently touring the US to compete in the Summer League, and offered three exciting performances. 

QUALIFYING

China approached hosting the next World Cup in a peculiar manner. Even though they were already granted a spot among the 32 teams, they still took part in the Asian Qualifiers. The Chinese federation, though, decided to try out a new strategy from which, according to coach Li Nan, his current team is greatly benefiting. They divided the pool of players into two separate teams: the Red Team and the Blue Team, who took turns in playing the qualifiers. Obviously, that's not a strategy meant for short-term results: this “divided China” performed a little less brilliantly than what we were accustomed to, ending the second group stage with 3 wins and 3 losses (one of those was particularly hard to digest, coming in an away game against Jordan). 

Fans are also a bit worried about New Zealand imposing itself over China with two wins; they're an up-and-coming team in the Asia-Oceania basketball scenario, merged in the same FIBA zone for the Asia Cup, thus putting in jeopardy, alongside Australia, the Chinese leadership on the continent.

That project, though, was looking to strengthen competitiveness among players and coaches, granting more people an opportunity to show what they're capable of – most of the times young prospects, like Abudurexiti, were the one to squeeze the most out of those chances – with the added goal of “making the cut”. After all, China was probably the nation best positioned to take such a gamble. They're an unmovable object in Asian basketball, winning 16 Asia Championship gold medals and qualifying over and over, in impressive fashion, to World Cups (although they missed out in 2014) and Olympic Games (finishing at the eight spot in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008).

GROUP

China has been assigned to Group A and will host its opponents in the capital city of Beijing, where 19,000 people will be watching inside the Wukesong Sport Center. The draw has been kind to the host country, drawing Venezuela, Poland and Ivory Coast (they will debut against the latter, on August 31st). The goal is to at least come out of Group A at first or second place, gaining access to the second group stage. 

The Quarter finals are a much thinner hope, but it's not entirely unrealistic; matchups will be key, and the chemistry coach Li Nan will be able to develop between his players will play a major role as well. Ivory Coast is one of the event's underdogs, gladly taking advantage of FIBA extending the pool to 32 teams – before now, they only qualified for the World Cup twice in the Eighties and then once in 2010, both occurrences being the case of an unusually gifted squad that went on to win African Championship's silver and gold medals in the same time frame. 

If China is pinpointing Ivory Coast as their number one target, they should also be aware of Poland reaching for the first place. The World Cup is a novelty for the Poles as well – they're in for the first time in 52 years – but focusing on the European scenario, the team coached by Mike Taylor has put together solid showings in recent tournaments, punching a ticket for every EuroBasket since 2007. With Venezuela it's more of the same. They too welcomed the new 32-teams format, a chance to enrich a résumé featuring just three appearances, but they're still a dangerous opponent, gritty and resourceful. After all, Venezuela is only four years removed from their glory days: in 2015 they won the Americas Championship, making history along the way by winning a spot in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics too.

MATCHUPS

Speaking of international experience, China is head and shoulders above its Group A opponents. It's almost a no-brainer to see them qualifying for World Cups and Olympic games: they took part in four of them in a row, including Beijing 2008 where they felt all kinds of pressure from fans and specialized press to perform at their best. 

The Chinese national team is accustomed to playing under heavy scrutiny, and the current roster still features some holdover from that 2008 squad – namely, star player Yi Jianlian. On paper, Group A is not one of the toughest and being supported by local fans is a plus; nonetheless, China should focus on its most immediate goal: overcoming the first group stage without running any unnecessary risks. 

Poland and Ivory Coast sit at the opposite side of the spectrum, being almost “absolute beginners” on the global basketball stage, but they will try and compensate for their lack of experience by stepping on to the court with unparalleled enthusiasm. In the Ivory Coast matchup, China should leverage their more organized play style (some of its talents have been on and off of NBA radars, Ding Yanyuhang and Zhou Qi recently among them), whereas Poland will probably prove to be a more staunch opponent, inspired by  Eastern-European basketball traditions. 

Mike Taylor is the head coach for Hamburg during the regular season, and some high-profile players like Mateusz Ponitka are competing for top European club teams, Lokomotiv Kuban in his case. Venezuela, instead, should not be able to contest China's physicality too much – aside from Nestor Colmenares, who's not nicknamed La Bestia, The Beast. 

Coach Li Nan should deploy his sets closer to the basket, taking advantage of Zhou Qi's and Wang Zhelin's height. Speaking of athleticism and pace of play, the Chinese national team have been preparing for the World Cup by touring the United States to face three Summer League teams, scoring an important win over the Charlotte Hornets. Coach Li Nan holds this experience in high regard: in a mere three games, he says, his players got an idea of how the game can be more high-paced and “muscular” than in the CBA.

STORIES

Let's try and come full circle from where we started: looking forward to the World Cup, what is the status of Chinese basketball? According to some experts, both in China and abroad, there should be something to be worried about the current state of things. Two years ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver famously complained saying he was feeling “frustrated” that so few Chinese prospects would try to play basketball in America. 

On the one hand, journalist Alex Wong argued for The Score, that the CBA's economic growth was starting to guarantee local players a safe enough career at home, rather than encouraging them to head to the United States. On the other hand, despite the national team performing steadily through World Cups and Olympics, China is missing a Yao Ming-like player in terms of “gravity”, thus taking a few steps backwards on their international popularity. 

If we try and switch our Western perspective, though, we start to realize the argument has an hidden side for us to explore. According to recent data, in China over 300 million people play basketball in some way or another. The infrastructure is first-class, basketball has a huge following on television and the CBA is growing in popularity as well (Guo Ailun, a star player in his home country, became the first Chinese player to sign an endorsement contract with Jordan brand) thanks partially to Yao Ming himself, now standing as the league's President and acting as a true ambassador for Chinese basketball – we'll likely see cameras following him in every arena, during the World Cup. 

Guo Ailun China FIBA

China is not hiding behind its national borders, not at all. Since 2011, the country started a program that involved both the NBA and Minister of Education, to build world-class academies all over China, giving young prospects a place to eat, sleep, practice and study. One of those academies was founded even in Xinjiang, a region far-off to the northwest: that's exactly where Abudushalamu Abudurexiti comes from, a player who could turn out to be one of the tournament's best stories. 

Born in Urumqi, the biggest city in Xinjiang, he showed up with the “Red” Chinese team during the Asian Qualifiers, winning himself over a roster spot thanks to unexpected performances. He's from an ethnic group called uiguri, like the phonetics of his name suggests, linked to the Turkish heritage and later converted to Islam. Xinjiang and uiguri receive little exposure outside of China, but basketball, as it frequently does, has a way of reaching beyond geographical and ethnic borders.

Abudushalamu Abudurexiti China FIBA

The other story linking China to international basketball is Yi Jianlian. His résumé is one for the ages: sixth pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, and many seasons starring for Milwaukee, New Jersey, Washington and Dallas as a valuable role player. Then Yi, who's now a 31 year old veteran and the cornerstone of his national team, decided to come back to China to play at home. But in his mind it was not a step backwards. Coming back to wear Guangdong Southern Tigers' jersey, he was able to capture 5 CBA titles as well as 4 MVP trophies, solidifying is status in China.

What is the status of basketball in China? Let’s see. 

Andrea Cassini