Heat is on for Team China

Inside the training hall, a message board stands quietly in the corridor.

The handwriting is far from uniform. Some lines are bold, some uneven and others consist of only a few words. Yet, each message carries the emotions of the player who wrote it.

Captain Zhao Jiwei wrote: "Confidence. Determination. Trust the team, trust ourselves, trust each other, and fight together until the end."

Cui Yongxi wrote: "What cannot be defeated will rise again. What is reborn through the flames becomes a phoenix."

Returning overseas player Wang Junjie added: "Show fighting spirit. Give everything. Leave no regrets."

A few steps away, there is an almost continuous sound of basketballs hitting the floor.

Players jump, shoot and repeat the same movements. Behind these routine drills lies China's determination to prepare for a summer of critical challenges.

On Aug 7 in Beijing, China's men's basketball team opened a training session to the media. After the International Solidarity Cup, the team remained in camp for the fourth window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.

China will face Qatar away on Aug 27, before hosting Lebanon on Aug 31. For a team fighting to reach the World Cup, both games are crucial.

"After the previous games, our ranking is relatively low. Every match in the upcoming window is extremely important, and our margin for error is very small," head coach Guo Shiqiang said.

China finished the first phase with three wins and three losses. Because results against teams from the same group are carried forward, China enters the second qualifying phase in fifth place out of six teams in the newly formed Group F, carrying over its 3-3 record.

The pressure is clear, but Guo does not want it to become a burden.

"We need to bring what we have worked on every day in training into the games," he said.

"The players need to play freely without carrying too much pressure. Most importantly, we need to show our own characteristics and style."

China's previous qualifying window exposed several weaknesses.

On July 3, the team suffered a 73-92 home defeat to Japan in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province. China struggled to establish its rhythm and was passive at both ends of the court.

After reviewing the game, the team identified transition offense and pace as the key areas for improvement.

Guard Liao Sanning said China would continue to rely on the 1-5 pick-and-roll, a ball-screen action involving a guard and the center, while adding more variety to its offense.

"Guo's system places a strong emphasis on pick-and-roll plays, with guards often initiating attacks with the center," Liao said. "Recently, we have added more playmaking options, increased the pace and involved more players."

He acknowledged that transition offense remains a weakness, an area the team is addressing in daily training.

The fourth window will bring a different challenge. Compared with the East Asian teams China faced in the first phase, the West Asian opponents are expected to pose greater physical challenges, particularly in the backcourt. China is also preparing to face naturalized players with significant individual ability.

"Our guards have been preparing for stronger physical contact," Liao said.

Guard-forward He Xining noted that containing those players should be a collective task: "Defense is not the responsibility of one player. Everyone needs to contribute."

Before the qualifiers, China will play three warm-up games in Foshan, Guangdong province, from Aug 13-17 against Uruguay and New Zealand. Guo said they would test lineups and tactics, while giving young players much-needed experience against strong opposition.

A demanding schedule

China has adopted a flexible training model this year. Players have joined the camp in stages according to their respective competition schedules, their physical condition and injury status.

Wang Junjie has returned, while Yang Hansen is expected to link up with the group later because of NBA rules governing the release of international players.

"Because the schedule is very busy, the roster is adjusted dynamically according to the team's needs and the players' respective conditions," Guo said.

For experienced players such as He, the responsibility extends beyond personal performance.

"We need to help the young players improve and adapt to the national team environment," he said.

The rebuilding process is therefore also about defining roles and building trust.

The approach is designed to reduce fatigue, but the summer remains demanding, especially with China also set to compete at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

For the Games, China has been placed in Group C, alongside defending champion the Philippines, Bahrain and Kazakhstan. The Philippines immediately became the focus of public discussion.

At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, China lost 76-77 to the Philippines in the semifinal after surrendering a late lead.

The defeat denied the host a place in the final, while the Philippines went on to win gold.

Three years later, the teams will meet again.

The matchup has naturally been described as a chance for revenge, but for a rebuilding China, the challenge goes beyond one game.

The Philippines remains a major threat with its pace, shooting and big-game experience, while Bahrain and Kazakhstan also possess strengths that cannot be overlooked.

Winning the group will require consistency against every opponent. If China becomes too emotionally invested in facing the Philippines, or underestimates Bahrain and Kazakhstan, the contest for first place could quickly become complicated.

More importantly, China must turn past disappointment into immediate focus. The memory of the Hangzhou semifinal can provide motivation, but it cannot replace preparation and execution.

Guo rarely raises his voice, but his attention never leaves the court. At 51, he has experienced both the promise and setbacks of Chinese basketball. He returned to the national team in 2024, when China was searching for a new direction.

Under his leadership, the team finished runner-up at last year's FIBA Asia Cup, its best result since 2015. But Guo has emphasized that rebuilding is not only about results. It is also about restoring mentality, discipline and competitive spirit.

On the board, Guo wrote: "Carry forward the spirit of China's basketball teams at the Olympics, prepare solidly for the 2027 World Cup and strive toward qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Games."

The message is simple: acknowledge weaknesses, improve every detail and move forward together. There are no shortcuts for China; its challenge is to turn words into execution, and pressure into performance.

For now, though, it's about jumping, shooting and repeating.