China's men's basketball team poses for group photo at the jersey unveiling ceremony in Beijing on August 8. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)
China eyes to improve on its gloomy international record in the past decade on home soil at the FIBA World Cup, which is to unveil in two days.
BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- With integrated squads, a relatively straightforward group and home advantage, China has a good chance of ending ten years of hurt at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
China's men's basketball team reached their peak in the middle of the last decade, when they reached the quarterfinals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, but the team then faded badly, especially after superstar Yao Ming's retirement in 2011.
China only notched one victory at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, and failed to qualify for the most recent FIBA World Cup in 2014. Things went equally badly on the Olympic stage, as China lost all five matches they played at both the 2012 and 2016 Games. What's more, their failure to reach the semifinals of the 2013 Asian Championship was seen as a historical low point for Chinese basketball. Many Chinese media outlets described the team's performance during that period as having "fallen into the ravine".
Yi Jianlian of China (C) lifts the trophy after China beat the Phillipines 78-67 to win the Asian Championship in Changsha, central China's Hunan province, on October 3, 2015. (Xinhua/Li Ga)
However, green shoots of recovery were seen in 2015, when China won the 2015 Asian Championships, with Yi Jianlian swiftly emerging as a core player.
31-year-old Yi has played in the NBA for the Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks, and has represented China at the Olympic Games in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016, as well as at the 2006 and 2010 FIBA World Championships.
Yi is the only player to have experienced China's peaks and troughs after Zhou Peng left the team with injury. Widely seen as the team's most influential player, it is generally accepted that when Yi plays well, so does China.
Besides Yi, 23-year-old Zhou Qi, who stands 2.16 meters tall and played in the NBA for the Houston Rockets from 2017 to 2018, is also expected to play an important role in the squad, along with Wang Zhelin and Guo Ailun.
Zhou Qi (R) of China shoots during men's basketball final between China and Iran at the 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 1, 2018. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)
As the host nation, China are a seeded team, and have a chance of progressing against Poland, Venezuela and Cote d'Ivoire.
Without former NBA man Marcin Gortat and China-based Maciej Lampe, Poland appear to lack firepower, and with Gregory Echenique and Johnny Cox also absent, Venezuela do not seem as powerful as they were three years ago, when they beat China at the Olympics.
However, with Venezuela and Poland still both ranked higher than China by FIBA, the host nation must be prepared for a tough battle.
Should they make it out of the group, China faces the possibility of a match with Argentina or Russia in the second phase, where a partisan atmosphere from the home crowd will be vital to will their players.
Another incentive to do well on home soil is the fact that the top-ranked Asian team at the 2019 World Cup will qualify directly for the 2020 Olympic Games, which will give China further encouragement to fight and show they can compete with the world's best teams.