Gutsy final delivers silver lining

First edging out New Zealand in the semis and then pushing the world No 7 Boomers to the verge of a huge upset, this young Chinese squad, currently ranked 30th in the world, has reminded fans, at least in glimpses, of the gritty courage of the 2008 golden generation, led by hoops legend Yao Ming, that reached the quarterfinals at its home Olympics in Beijing.

And the young guns did it without their most potent weapons, with new NBA prospects Yang Hansen (Portland Trail Blazers'16th draft pick) and Zeng Fanbo (Brooklyn Nets' training camp selectee) skipping the Saudi trip to focus on preseason preparations with their respective NBA outfits, and former Nets' forward Cui Yongxi focused on his rehab after tearing his left ACL last season.

The room for improvement is huge, but now, so is the hope for an Olympic return at LA2028.

"It was a shot in the arm for our young team going forward in the buildup to the next Olympics," Team China head coach Guo Shiqiang said of his charges' podium finish on Sunday.

"The entire journey at this Asia Cup has helped our guys improve significantly in a mental aspect, highlighted by their focus, composure and execution, which carried them all the way to the final."

With veterans, such as former NBA center Zhou Qi and seasoned point guard Zhao Jiwei, still nursing their respective injuries, Guo called up only three players with continental experience at the senior level to his 12-man roster, approaching the Asia Cup as a testing ground for his youth experiment.