At 16 o'clock Beijing time on August 31, the Chinese men's basketball team will face the Angolan men's basketball team from Africa in the 17th-32nd place qualifying match of this World Cup. For the Chinese men's basketball team, which is 0-3 in the group stage, there is no way back in this battle, and if it wants to go straight to the Paris Olympics, it must go all out to win.
The group stage lost all three games with a net loss of 80 points, which was another humiliating moment for the Chinese team. There is no time to grieve, because the battle will continue, so the men's basketball players must collect their mood and continue to fight. With a break of less than 24 hours, China will face its first qualifying opponent, Angola. Angola's record in the group stage is 1-2, and it is also an old rival of the Chinese men's basketball team.
Let's start with the World Cup qualifying rules. The last 2 places in each group went to qualifying, which was divided into 4 groups, and the Chinese team was in Group B and Group A to form a new Group M. A single round-robin match is played within the group, and opponents in the same group who have previously played in the group stage are automatically evaded. After the two qualifying matches, the group ranking is determined according to factors such as points, win-loss relationship, mutual gains and losses, and total scores. According to the rules, the four groups M, N, O, and P produce 17th-20th places, 2nd produces 21-24 places, 3rd produces 25-28 places, and 4th produces 29-32 places. It is worth mentioning that the group stage results carry into the qualifying round.
Of the six teams competing in Asia, only Japan has won one, while Asia only has a direct ticket to the Paris Olympics, so the situation is very favorable for the Japanese team. In addition to taking on Angola, China will also face host Philippine men's basketball team on September 2. Considering that the Chinese team's current winning goal difference is too low, the situation in qualifying is very serious. But as manager Jordjevic said: "The most important thing now is the match against Angola. ”
Giordević's line-up during the group stage was questioned, mainly focusing on why Wang Zhelin was reused, but did not give Hu Jinqiu more opportunities. Will the "King" be affected after his poor performance in the final round of the group? In fact, the performance of the Chinese team's inside line during the group stage did not meet expectations. On the contrary, Zhao Rui in the backcourt is impressive, and he is also the only one in the Chinese team with the ability to break through the lethality with the ball. Facing the Angolan team, can anyone around Zhao Rui stand up?
Zhou Peng's sprained ankle had some impact on the Chinese team. With less than a day of recovery, it's a bit tough for the veterans. If Zhou Peng can't play, who will take his starting position? There is also Zhang Zhenlin, who needs to get out of the current downturn as soon as possible.
Angola is definitely not easy to deal with, and their performance in the group stage is not bad. The 67-81 defeat to Italy in the first game showed the resilience and competitiveness of this African team. In the second round of the group against the Philippines, the referee's whistle was not favorable for Angola, but Angola won 80-70. Against the Dominican Republic, Angola lost 67-75. Angola has good physical talent, and when they fight back, it is difficult for the Chinese team to prevent it. The only good news for China is that Angola is not very good at shooting threes; Or that in the group stage, their outside line is not accurate.
During the group stage, four Angolans averaged double-doubles per game. The Chinese team needs to adjust its mentality and do its best to play the first qualifying match.