Hong Kong, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese men's basketball team opened the journey of the sixth window of the 2023 Men's Basketball World Cup Asian Zone Qualifiers on the 23rd. In his debut in coach Jordjevic, the Chinese men's basketball team, sitting at the Tsuen Wan Stadium in Hong Kong, withstood Kazakhstan's second-half comeback and won 71-59.
On February 23, Chinese men's basketball head coach Alexander Djordjevic (third from left) laid out tactics to players. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Binghui
After the first five World Preliminary Tournament windows, the Chinese men's basketball team has advanced to the Men's Basketball World Cup, which will start in August this year. In the fourth window, the Chinese men's basketball team defeated Kazakhstan 68:56. This time, the Chinese team sent a starting lineup composed of Zhao Jiwei, Zhang Zhenlin, Zhou Qi, Zhou Peng and 19-year-old Cui Yongxi.
After the start of the match, the opponent made more mistakes, and the Chinese team scored consecutive points by Zhou Qi and Zhao Jiwei. With 3:40 left in the first quarter, Zhang scored two points to help China build a 10-point lead. At the end of the first quarter, China led 21:12. In the second quarter, neither side had a high percentage of shots in the opening period. After Zhou Qi returned to the court, the Chinese team offense opened, and Zhao Rui and Hu Mingxuan each made three-pointers. With Zhu Xuhang hitting the whistle, China froze the halftime score at 43:22.
Chinese team players take a group photo before the game on February 23. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Binghui
In the second half, the performance of the Chinese team at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends declined, and the Kazakhstan team took the opportunity to continuously narrow the point difference. With 1:15 left in the game, Kazakhstan had brought the score close to 59:67, but China's Hu Mingxuan then hit a three-pointer to end their hopes of a comeback.
In this game, Zhou Qi played a "double-double" and scored a game-high 16 points and 12 rebounds. Zhao Jiwei has 11 points.
Chinese player Allen Guo (right) attacks with the ball during a game on February 23. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Binghui
The Chinese men's basketball team will continue to play against Iran, the last opponent of this qualifier, at the Tsuen Wan Stadium on the 26th.