China News Network news, Beijing time on the 31st, the World Cup group stage of the Chinese men's basketball team lost three games to start the journey of qualifying. In the first match, China defeated Angola 83:76, maintaining its hopes of qualifying directly for the Paris Olympics.
In this game, Chinese men's basketball coach Jordjevic once again made adjustments to the starting lineup, and Fu Hao was adjusted into the starting lineup, partnering with Zhao Rui, Li Kaier, Zhang Zhenlin and Zhou Qi.
Image source: FIBA Basketball World Cup official Weibo
At the beginning of the game, Fu Hao hit a three-pointer. Hu Jinqiu, who had few previous chances, also rotated early and followed up on the counterattack to score. Li Kyle is more involved in the attack as a ball carrier, and these adjustments have paid off. At the end of the first quarter, the Chinese men's basketball team trailed by three points at 24:27.
In the second quarter, the Chinese team frequently fell behind in the fight for rebounds. Angola used two consecutive attacks to create scoring chances, extending their lead to double digits at one point. The Chinese men's basketball team immediately made adjustments on the defensive end and maintained its offensive efficiency, closing the point gap. At half-time, the two sides drew 45:45.
Image source: FIBA Basketball World Cup official Weibo
Yibian fought again, and Zhao Rui, Hu Mingxuan, Li Kaier, Zhang Zhenlin, and Hu Jinqiu appeared together. On the offensive end, Hu Mingxuan hit two three-point shots; Defensively, the Chinese team relied on joint defense to contain the opponent and take the lead. After winning by 10 points at 24:14 in a single quarter, the Chinese men's basketball team mastered the rhythm of the game.
In the final quarter, the Chinese team became more and more courageous and maintained the advantage until the end. After defeating their opponents, the Chinese men's basketball team won its first victory of the tournament and maintained its hopes of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
Image source: FIBA Basketball World Cup website
On the 30th, the group stage of this World Cup ended, and all Asian teams failed to reach the round of 16. Therefore, the final result of the 17th-32 qualifying round will directly determine which Asian team can go straight to the Paris Olympics - only by becoming the highest-ranked Asian team in this tournament can the Chinese men's basketball team qualify directly.
According to the World Cup competition regulations, the qualifying round is divided into 4 groups M, N, O and P, and the third and fourth places in Group A and the third and fourth places in Group B form Group M. In this group, the Chinese team, which finished fourth in Group B, will face Angola, third place in Group A, and Philippines in fourth place.
At the end of the two rounds, the four teams in Group M will be ranked first to fourth in the group according to points, win-loss relationship between each other, net victory score, total score, etc. The same is true for the other three groups.
After all qualifying, the first place in the 4 groups will be 17th-20th, the second place will be 21-24th, and so on. Teams ranked in the same place in different groups are ranked by points, winning point difference, total points and other factors.
In terms of the situation after the group stage, the most important competitors of the Chinese men's basketball team are the Philippines team in Group M and the Japanese team entering the qualifying stage with one win.
With the exception of Japan, all other Asian teams entered qualifying with a record of 0 wins. As a result, the Japanese team has the advantage in the "best in Asia" competition. The Philippines will speak directly with China in qualifying.
After the Chinese men's basketball team won today, Japan and the Philippines will play on this match day, with Japan playing against Venezuela and the Philippines playing South Sudan.
If the Philippine team also wins today, then the direct dialogue between the Chinese men's basketball team and the Philippine team on September 2, Beijing time, will become a real "you die and I live" contest. The Chinese men's basketball team needs to continue to win.