Hoopsters can still slam-dunk critics

To say basketball is popular in China is to state the obvious. Despite the popularity of basketball, however, the Chinese men's basketball team's chances of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have been all but dashed.

The fact that the Chinese men's basketball team has played in all the nine Olympics since 1984 was not enough to earn it a place in Tokyo next year. Playing in the classification round for teams outside the top 16 in the on-going Basketball World Cup in China, the Chinese men's team lost to Nigeria, Poland and Venezuela. And its wins against the Republic of Korea and the Cote d'Ivoire were not enough to take it to the Tokyo Olympics.

Although there is still a theoretical possibility of the Chinese men's team qualifying for the 2020 Games via the Olympic consolation matches in June next year, the chances are slim because 24 countries from across the world, including such strong teams as Lithuania, Germany, and Turkey, will compete for the last four places in Tokyo. Which means the Chinese men's basketball team is as good as out of the Tokyo Olympics.