Team China rebounds to net qualifying berth

Three days after a frustrating home loss to Japan, Team China's emphatic rout of Chinese Taipei in a critical Asian qualifier has netted the beleaguered squad a much-needed morale boost in its stuttering qualifying campaign for the FIBA World Cup.

With its back against the wall, and a young roster feeling the heat following Friday's 73-92 defeat to Japan, Team China has vented its pent-up frustration by handing down a 92-74 thrashing to Chinese Taipei in a high-stakes match on Monday, securing a berth in the second phase of Asian qualifiers for next year's FIBA showpiece in Qatar.

With the squad entering the game as the bottom-ranked side in Japan-led Group B, tied with Chinese Taipei and South Korea on the same win-loss record, yet trailing both due to its minus-30 points difference, a second straight loss on Monday would've eliminated Team China from the qualifying tournament completely.

Led by revived veteran guard Zhao Jiwei, Team China stepped it up a gear from the get-go, and on both ends of the court, intensifying its defensive effort, while pushing up the tempo in offense, setting the tone for a dominant performance in Goyang, South Korea, which was acting as the neutral host for the clash.

Bolstered by Portland Trail Blazers' center Yang Hansen and CBA All-Star Hu Jinqiu, Team China out-rebounded Chinese Taipei 46-37 and outscored its opponent 44-26 in the paint, capitalizing on its advantage in size, while still keeping pace with Chinese Taipei's run-and-gun style of play.

Captain and playmaker Zhao led Team China with 17 points and six assists, hitting five three-pointers on 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc, proving that he remains the squad's go-to man when the going gets tough, despite scoring a mere four points in Friday's blowout defeat in Shenyang, Liaoning province.

"This was a great confidence rebuild for us, just three days after a tough loss, which made me feel really proud of this whole team," Zhao said in his post-game interview on Monday.

"We get it done by playing defense first. The effective defensive effort helped our offense, as we played to our familiar routines, and did so at the intensity that we are supposed to."

Yang, who spent most of his rookie year in the NBA with the Trail Blazers' G-League outfit and just turned 21 last month, scored 10 points and contributed four rebounds in a much improved performance from three days ago.

"For us, we will have to fight with 100 percent effort against every opponent in the second phase, stay confident in ourselves, but never underestimate anyone," said the towering 2.16-meter center.

Another standout on Monday, forward Li Hongquan, matched Zhao with a team-high 17 points and added four assists without turnovers in 28 minutes on court, shooting 6-of-13 from the field.

In the next phase of qualifiers, Team China, alongside its phase one group rivals Japan and South Korea, will be joined by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon in a new Group F, where each team carries over its first phase record and plays home-and-away only against the three teams didn't already face.

Team China will tip off against its trio of West Asian opponents in August, aiming for a top-three finish in the newly formed six-team group. That should be enough to punch its ticket to the Qatar showpiece, where each continent's direct qualification quotas for the LA28 Olympics will be decided.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn