Chinanews.com, Beijing, February 23rd (Reporter Wang Hao) On the evening of the 23rd, the Chinese men's basketball team at home won 71:59 in the first game of the sixth window of the 2023 Men's Basketball World Cup Asia Pacific qualifiers. The Kazakhstan men's basketball team and the head coach of the Chinese team Djordjevic made a good start in their debut.
Image source: FIBA Basketball World Cup official blog
The Chinese team has qualified for the World Cup in the previous fifth window period. For fans, the game in the sixth window period pays more attention to what Djordjevic brings to the men's basketball team.
new coach
In his first official game of coaching the Chinese men's basketball team, Djordjevic sent Zhao Jiwei, Zhou Peng, Zhou Qi, Cui Yongxi and Zhang Zhenlin as starters.
In the first quarter of the game, although the Chinese men's basketball team had a mediocre outside touch, they quickly took the lead and ended the first quarter with a 21:12 lead.
In the second quarter, the Chinese team outperformed their opponents on both offensive and defensive ends. At halftime, the Chinese team led 43:22.
In the third quarter of the game, Kazakhstan made defensive adjustments. The Chinese team showed ups and downs on the offensive end, but the height advantage at the basket was obvious. At the end of the third quarter, the Chinese team led 59:40.
In the last quarter of the game, Kazakhstan succeeded repeatedly on the offensive end and gradually narrowed the point difference. The Chinese team's offense was somewhat misfired, and they won 71:59 without any risk.
This is Djordjevic's first official game after taking charge of the Chinese men's basketball team, and he looks a little serious in the broadcast footage.
For the famous Serbian coach, the challenge has just begun.
Image source: Official blog of the Chinese Basketball Team.
In November last year, Djordjevic officially took office.
As a coach, he led the Serbian men's basketball team to the 2014 World Cup runner-up and the 2016 Olympic silver medal.
After coaching the Chinese men's basketball team, the main task before Djordjevic is to strive for good results in the 2023 World Cup and then qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Now, a victory can be regarded as a good start for his coaching journey.
new ideas
In the training list of this year's Chinese men's basketball team, there are many new faces of the national team.
Djordjevic said in an interview that there will be newcomers in future training camps.
In the first game, Cui Yongxi's appearance in the starting list was somewhat unexpected.
This is one of the changes brought about by the new coach. Judging from the list of the first training camp, he hopes to make the lineup of the Chinese men's basketball team taller.
However, in this game, the performance of some young players is still a little immature and needs more game experience.
The Chinese men's basketball team is training in the basketball gymnasium of Shanghai Chongming Sports Training Base.
Photo by Zhang Hengwei
During the training period, many players also gave Djordjevic the evaluation of "team" and "communication".
Zhao Jiwei said in an interview: "He asked me to communicate more with everyone on the court, knead the whole team together, and echo more on both ends of the offense and defense. It is true that after he came, we played a different basketball than before."
In addition, defense is also the focus of Djordjevic's coaching.
Some fans said that in the game against Kazakhstan, they could clearly feel the improvement of the Chinese men's basketball team in terms of defense.
Screenshot of fan comments.
Of course, some fans believe that there are still many shortcomings in the offensive end of the game, especially the shooting performance of the Chinese team.
Screenshot of fan comments.
Objectively speaking, the performance of the Chinese men's basketball team in the first and second halves of this game was a bit different, especially in the final quarter when it performed poorly on the offensive end.
Of course, it is difficult to see how much influence Djordjevic's coaching has on the Chinese men's basketball team from just one game. In the future, he and the team still have a long way to go.
new challenge
Under FIBA's current rules, Olympic qualification is tied to World Cup results, with the best Asian team at the World Cup earning an Olympic berth from that continent.
The new Chinese national men's basketball team has participated in all Olympic games since the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. Until the 2019 Men's Basketball World Cup, the Chinese men's basketball team missed the Tokyo Olympics because they failed to achieve the best results in Asia.
Chinese men's basketball team (white) in the 2019 World Cup.
The absence of the Olympic Games has put the Chinese men's basketball team under great pressure from public opinion. How to avoid repeating the mistakes made four years ago is the biggest problem Djordjevic has to face now.
In a previous interview, he said that it is his goal to lead the Chinese men's basketball team to qualify for the Paris Olympics in next year's World Cup.
But he also said that the Chinese men's basketball team has no upper limit in the World Cup.
Compared with the lineup four years ago, the current Chinese men's basketball team is not superior in terms of card strength. If they want to perform well in the World Cup, it is obvious that they need to use the strength of the team.
In any case, under the leadership of the new head coach, the Chinese men's basketball team will start again. I wish them good luck!
(over)