The Chinese men s basketball team defeated the host Saudi team, and the Chinese men s basketball team got a good start in the Asian Cup, and the captain Zhao Rui set off the sea magic needle!

In the 2025 Men's Basketball Asian Cup, the Chinese team ushered in its first opponent in the group stage: the Saudi Men's Basketball Team, the host of this event! In the first half, the Chinese team shot 50% of three-point shooting percentage, had more rebounds than the opponent, and had fewer mistakes than the opponent. The whole team played very positively and took a 10-point lead. In the second half, the Saudi team narrowed the gap to 3 points in the third quarter. Zhao Rui stood up to stabilize the morale of the army. The Saudi men's basketball team caught the gap of 5 points in the last stage of the fourth quarter. It was Zhao Rui's layup that helped the Chinese team get the key two points! In the end, the Chinese men's basketball team defeated the host Saudi team 93-88 and achieved a good start in the Asian Cup. Captain Zhao Rui played the role of the decisive needle! Before the Asian Cup, the Chinese men's basketball team held four warm-up matches, fighting against Venezuelan men's basketball team and Bosnia and Herzegovina men's basketball team in two rounds. Although they won in four games, the Chinese team still exposed many problems. This Chinese men's basketball team is not the most ideal lineup for coach Guo Shiqiang. The absence of the seven main players Zhou Qi, Yang Hansen, Zeng Fanbo, Zhao Jiwei, Zhang Zhenlin, Cui Yongxi and Sun Minghui cast a shadow on the prospects of the Chinese men's basketball team's Asian Cup.

The Chinese men's basketball team is in Group C with Saudi men's basketball, Jordan men's basketball, and Indian men's basketball team. Saudi Arabia is the host. Jordan team made it to the semi-finals of the last Asian Cup. Although the Indian team was the 16th bottom team in the last session, in the first round of the group that had ended earlier, the Indian team almost broke into a cold defeat. Jordan team scored 4 points in a row in the last moment of regular time to draw, and narrowly defeated India by fighting hard to overtime. The progress of the Indian men's basketball team is also very obvious. It can be seen that during the group stage, the Chinese men's basketball team's opponents did not have a single soft persimmon. And according to the rules, only the top spot in the group can directly qualify for the top 8. Both the second and third in the group need to participate in the playoffs to compete for the top 8 seats.

Although the lineup is not complete and the opponents in the group are not weak, and only won the 8th place in the last Asian Cup, as the most successful 16-champion champion in the history of the Men's Basketball Asian Cup (including the predecessor Asian Championships), the Chinese team's goal in the Asian Cup held by this Saudi Arabia is still not low. Captain Zhao Rui expressed his opinion that he should strive for the top three. In this game, in the first game of the group, facing the host Saudi men's basketball team, the Chinese team sent Hu Mingxuan, Zhao Rui, Zhao Jiayi, Zhu Junlong and Hu Jinqiu to start five tigers. After the game started, Saudi Arabia took the lead with its home court. Alsouvelem caused Hu Jinqiu to foul and stood on the free throw line and scored a goal. Masna Almavani counterattacked one-stop and forced Zhao Jiayi to play 2+1. The Saudi men's basketball team scored a 4-0 fantasy start! Zhao Rui flew to the board and scored the first goal for the Chinese team. Subsequently, the Saudi team maintained the lead all the way 6-2, 9-5, and 14-7. Hu Jinqiu made a mid-range shot, Zhu Junlong grabbed the frontcourt rebound, causing the opponent to foul and both free throws, Cheng Shuipeng made a three-pointer in the arc, and after defeating the Saudi team's three-pronged approach, the Chinese men's basketball team gradually entered the state and kept catching up with the score. 20-year-old Wang Junjie performed well on the bench, Yu Jiahao took the rebound with his height advantage and easily put it in. Zhao Rui and Zhu Junlong made three-pointers in a row. The Chinese team overtook Saudi Arabia 30-22 to end the first quarter. In the second quarter, Hu Jinqiu scored consecutively in the inside, Wang Junjie's three-pointers from the outside were also quite confident, Cheng Shuipeng's three-pointer made another move, and the Chinese men's basketball team expanded its lead to double digits, leading Saudi Arabia 53-43 by 10 points at the end of the half. Hu Jinqiu scored 15 points and 3 rebounds in this game, Wang Junjie scored 10 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, Zhao Rui scored 8 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, Cheng Shuipeng scored 8 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, Zhu Junlong scored 5 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, and Yu Jiahao scored 4 points and 4 rebounds. Abdulahmann was the best player in the first half of the Saudi men's basketball team, scoring 18 points alone. In addition, Alsouvelem scored 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 hats, and Gaba scored 8 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Throughout the first half, the Chinese team's rebounds led 19-13, which showed our players' determination and enthusiasm for winning the game. The outside three-pointer shots even scored 50% of the shooting percentage of 6 of 12 shots!

After returning from the break, the Saudi men's basketball team had a strong momentum in chasing points in the third quarter, and once nearly reached 3 points, chasing 61-64! Captain Zhao Rui stepped forward and scored 5 points in a row. In addition, Yu Jiahao scored 2+1 in the inside, and the Chinese team stabilized the situation again. Cardi intercepted the ball and counterattacked and dunked, which became the last score of Saudi Arabia in the third quarter. The Chinese men's basketball team scored an 8-0 wave to finish the finish, but instead expanded the lead 80-65. Although in the third quarter, the Chinese team won 5 points 27-22 in a single quarter, we actually faced the greatest pressure after the opening. If the Saudi team's chasing momentum overtakes the score, the subsequent situation may be completely different. From this point of view, the Chinese men's basketball captain Zhao Rui's 5 points in a row is extremely critical and plays a role in stabilizing the morale of the army. In the final quarter, the Saudi team once again set off a climax in the chasing points, while the Chinese team was relatively inefficient in offense and began to lose rebounds on the defensive end. In the first 1 minute and 42 seconds of the final game, the Saudi men's basketball team chased 85-90! Hu Jinqiu's offense caused a foul of Saudi Arabia, standing on the free throw line, 1 of 2 made a 2-pointer, Zhao Rui made a layup against him, Abdulahman made a three-pointer, and the Chinese men's basketball team defeated Saudi Arabia 93-88! In the last quarter, the Chinese men's basketball team had problems with the offensive end and scored only 13 points, but they still withstood the pressure at the critical moment!