Men s Basketball Asian Cup | Don t steam buns to fight for breath! The Chinese team will play host to Saudi Arabia for the first time on the evening of the 5th

Qilu Evening News·Qilu One Point Feng Zihan

Hu Jinqiu will carry the banner of the inside of the Chinese men's basketball team. Xinhua News Agency reported that on August 5, the 2025 Men's Basketball Asian Cup will officially kick off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Chinese men's basketball team will debut with a new lineup, opening an important battle in a new cycle. Their first game will kick off at 23:00, and their opponent is the host Saudi team.

Head coach Guo Shiqiang did not give a clear answer to the goal of the game, "We should do our best to fight one game and strive for the best results."

The old coach's speech was somewhat helpless because many powerful players were unable to participate in the event. In addition to Yang Hansen, who focuses on the NBA pre-match training camp, Zeng Fanbo, Zhao Jiwei, Zhang Zhenlin, Cui Yongxi and Sun Minghui were all confirmed to be out of the way due to injuries. In addition, Zhou Qi, who went to the United States to recuperate, was almost certain that he missed the Asian Cup.

With the absence of seven main players, the Chinese men's basketball team can only try their best to tap the potential of old players while reusing young players. Previously, a total of 14 players went to Saudi Arabia and cut 2 more people before the game. On the 3rd, the FIBA officially updated the 12-man roster of the Chinese Men's Basketball Team in the Asian Cup, and Xu Jie and Zhang Ning are no longer on the list.

From this point of view, the final Asian Cup lineup of the Chinese men's basketball team is: Gao Shiyan, Hu Mingxuan, Liao Sanning, Cheng Shuipeng, Zhao Rui, Wang Junjie, Yu Jiahao, Zhao Jiayi, Hu Jinqiu, Zhu Junlong, Li Xiangbo and Lei Meng.

Overall, this Chinese men's basketball team lacks "star flavor". According to the latest Asian Cup strength list released by FIBA, the Chinese team ranks fourth and is the highest-ranked team in the group.

Even if the Asian Cup is no longer linked to the qualifications for the World Cup, Olympics and other competitions, the Chinese men's basketball team, which focuses on training and training young players, cannot be completely without the pressure of results.

In recent years, the Chinese men's basketball team has been in a trough, and this team in a critical period of reconstruction needs victory to increase confidence. As captain Zhao Rui said, "My goal, including the goal of the whole team, is to stand on the podium. This is what our Chinese men's basketball team needs most now."

Facing the host in the first game, the Chinese men's basketball team must start a good start. Historically, the Chinese men's basketball team has had few encounters with Saudi men's basketball team, and the last time the two sides met was 20 years ago. That was in the 2005 Men's Basketball Asian Championships, and the Chinese Men's Basketball Team defeated their opponents 98:10. However, because the time is too long, the reference value is not very valuable. Now that the Saudi team has absorbed naturalized players and has a home advantage, the Chinese men's basketball team should not underestimate the opponent.

A total of 16 teams participated in this men's basketball Asian Cup. In addition to Saudi Arabia, the Chinese men's basketball team has Indian and Jordanian opponents. If they can advance to the quarterfinals as the first in the group, there is hope of breaking through successfully in the next quarter-finals. Against the backdrop that most opponents did not send all the main players to play, the "remnant formation" attacked the Chinese men's basketball team and still had hope of hitting the podium. This depends on how the young men of the "Guo Family Army" performed.