26th World Cup preview: Chinese men's basketball team challenges Serbia Can Zhou Qi usher in a rebound?
On August 26, Beijing time, the Men's Basketball World Cup ushered in the second matchday, and eight wonderful group games will be played in Groups B, C, F and G. The Chinese men's basketball team will challenge Serbia, the strongest opponent in the group, can Zhou Qi, who is not in good condition in the warm-up game, usher in a rebound? The U.S. men's basketball team plays New Zealand, Doncic takes on Venezuela, and the previous champion Spain will play Ivory Coast.
On the first day of the World Cup, Australia beat Finland 98-72, Italy beat Angola 81-67, Montenegro beat Mexico 91-71, Latvia beat Lebanon 109-70, Dominica beat the Philippines 87-81, Germany beat Japan 81-63, Lithuania beat Egypt 93-67 and Canada beat France 95-65.
16:00 South Sudan vs Puerto Rico
South Sudan and Puerto Rico, which are in the same group as the Chinese men's basketball team, will play each other, and the strength of the two teams is relatively close. "Old six" Alvarado misses the World Cup due to injury, and Puerto Rico's backcourt will mainly rely on Waters. In the warm-up stage, Puerto Rico beat Dominica in its opening match, followed by five consecutive defeats, losing to the United States, Italy, Serbia, Lithuania and Latvia.
South Sudan's naturalized defender Kalik Jones, who was named G League MVP, has strong offensive firepower. The team also includes Gabriel, who played for the Lakers last season. South Sudan won 3-2 in warm-up matches, losing to Brazil and Australia, beating Venezuela, Iran and Jordan.
16:00 Cape Verde vs Georgia
Cape Verde in Group F will face Georgia, with both teams playing in the World Cup for the first time. Cape Verde is second to last in the World Cup power list, just above Côte d'Ivoire, and they will struggle to beat Georgia. At 2.21 meters, Tavares is the heart of Cape Verde's offense and defense, having played 13 games in the NBA, averaging 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Cape Verde played the Chinese men's basketball team in a warm-up game, in which Cape Verde lost by 20 points.
Georgia has two active NBA players, Mamukelashvili and Bitadze. Last season, Mamukerashvili averaged 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds and Bitadze averaged 4.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Georgia won 2-3 in warm-up matches, defeating Jordan and Montenegro and losing to Lithuania, Latvia and Australia.
16:45 Jordan vs Greece
Jordan, the weakest in Group C, will challenge Greece. Jordan is a team with good passing ability, and veteran Abbas is still with the team. In the first two World Cup trips, Jordan only achieved a record of 1 win and 9 losses. Jordan won 2-6 in the warm-up match, beating Côte d'Ivoire and Venezuela and losing to Lithuania, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Iran and South Sudan.
Brother Alphabet was unable to play in the World Cup for Greece due to injury, which greatly affected the strength of the team. But against Jordan, they still have the odds at hand. This Greek team has only one active NBA player, and he is Alphabet's older brother, Sanassis Antetokounmpo. Greece won 2-4 in the warm-up matches, and after beating Slovenia twice, they suffered four consecutive defeats, losing to Serbia, Italy, the United States and Germany in succession.
17:45: Iran vs Brazil
Iran in Group G will play Brazil. Their leader is 38-year-old Haddadi. Iran's problems are a lack of sufficient depth, as well as inconsistent outside shooting. Against the mighty Brazilian men's basketball team, Iran has little chance of winning. Iran won 2-5 in warm-up matches, losing to Lebanon (twice), Russia (twice) and Montenegro, beating Jordan and Venezuela.
Although the Brazilian men's basketball team has no active NBA players, Raul Neto, Caboclo, Félicio and Huertas have all played in the NBA, and they can create threats to opponents on the inside and outside. Despite missing the Tokyo Olympics, Brazil quickly returned to the world basketball stage after changing coaches. Brazil won 3-2 in warm-up matches, winning South Sudan, Australia and Venezuela and losing to Italy and Serbia. Brazil played Iran at the 2014 World Cup, where Brazil won 79-50.
19:30: Slovenia vs Venezuela
Slovenia, the strongest side in Group F, will face Venezuela. Doncic's performance has become the focus of attention, and last season, Doncic averaged 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8 assists per game. Slovenia failed to qualify for the 2019 World Cup, but they performed well at the Tokyo Olympics and eventually lost to Australia in the bronze medal match. Slovenia won 3-4 in the warm-up game, and Doncic was injured, but fortunately it was not serious.
Venezuela won 8 in the warm-up matches, but they were the best team in tackles in the Americas qualifiers and won two of their group stage games at the last World Cup. In theory, Venezuela is not Slovenia's opponent, can they create some trouble for Doncic?
20:00: China vs Serbia
The Chinese men's basketball team will challenge Serbia, the strongest opponent in Group B. In the previous warm-up match, China lost to Serbia by 23 points, and Zhou Qi was in a slump and only scored 1 point. Now that the World Cup is meeting again, what will change for the Chinese men's basketball team in less than a week? Naturalized player Li Kyle is mainly responsible for the strategy in the warm-up game, the first game of the World Cup, will he increase the proportion of individual attack? Can Zhou Qi usher in a rebound? These are the highlights of the men's basketball team's first game. The Chinese men's basketball team won 3-6 in the warm-up game, winning Cabo Verde, Egypt and New Zealand and losing to Croatia (twice), Slovenia, Italy, Germany and Serbia.
Finals MVP Jokic did not play with the team in this World Cup, which undoubtedly weakened Serbia's overall strength. Even so, they are still the strongest team in Group B, and the Serbian men's basketball team has three active NBA players, including Bogdan Bogdanovic, Jovic and Petrushev, of which Bogdan was the scoring leader in the last World Cup. Serbia won 4-1 in warm-up matches, beating Greece, Puerto Rico, China and Brazil and losing by only one point to Italy.
20:40: USA vs New Zealand
The top seed in Group C, the U.S. men's basketball team, played New Zealand first. The U.S. men's basketball team has won five World Cup titles in its history, tied for first place with the former Yugoslavia. Although the U.S. men's basketball team lacked superstars, it still won all 5 games in the warm-up game, and Timberwolves rising star Edwards was the team's scoring leader, averaging 18.8 points per game. At the last World Cup, the U.S. men's basketball team finished seventh, which is also the worst performance in the team's history, and this year's World Cup, their goal is to become the first team to win the World Cup six times.
New Zealand itself is far inferior to the United States, and center Adams is unable to play in this World Cup due to injury, further weakening their strength. New Zealand won 1-4 in warm-up matches, including 1-1 against Japan and also lost to Canada, China and Italy. The U.S. men's basketball team played New Zealand at the 2014 World Cup, where the U.S. team defeated their opponents 98-71. In this meeting, the US men's basketball team is expected to beat New Zealand lightly.
21:30: Spain vs Ivory Coast
As the champion of the last World Cup, the Spanish men's basketball team opened its game against Côte d'Ivoire, which is at the bottom of the power table. There should be no suspense in the outcome of this game. There is only one active NBA player on the Spanish men's basketball team, and he is Grizzlies forward Aldama. The Gasol brothers have retired, and the Spanish interior now relies on the Hernangomez brothers. Spain won 3-2 in warm-up matches, beating Venezuela, Slovenia and Dominica, losing to the United States and Canada.
Ivory Coast have no chance against Spain and Brazil in this group, and the only team that can challenge is Iran. Ivory Coast beat the Czech Republic and Lebanon in warm-up matches and lost to Jordan and the Philippines.