Work together, there is no battle that cannot be won

The Women's Basketball Team's Asian Cup group stage ended, and the Chinese team won the first place in the group with a complete victory and successfully entered the semi-finals. From now on, the real Asian Cup competition began.

Similar to most women's basketball Asian Cups in the past, this year's Asian Cup will also stage a "Three Kingdoms Kill", but it has changed from a showdown between China, Japan and South Korea to a confrontation between China, Japan and Australia. Japan, which ended the five consecutive championships by the Chinese team, is about to take revenge. Australia, which has won third place in the Asian Cup for three consecutive years, wants to make a breakthrough. They have long quietly set their targets at the defending champion. A newly formed team encountered unprecedented pressure. The old coach Gong Luming faced the challenge. He believed that strength was the first priority.

Reporter Liu Ruiping reported in Shenzhen that he tested his strength in three games on July 13, the Asian Cup of Women's Basketball Team started in Shenzhen. This is also the first time the newly formed Chinese women's basketball team has made its international stadium. The opponent is an Indonesian team with far inferior strength to its own.

The current Chinese women's basketball team retains 8 Chinese players at the Paris Olympics. Pan Zhenqi has also been selected for the Chinese team many times before. The only ones who can be called new players are Jia Saiqi, Zhai Ruoyun and 18-year-old Zhang Ziyu.

It looks neat, but because of the lack of Li Yueru and Li Meng, the overall strength of the Chinese team is greatly reduced compared to that of the Paris Olympics. It is reasonable to think of the warm-up matches before the Paris Olympics and the performance of the Chinese team during the Olympics, and it is reasonable for people to worry about this team.

Therefore, after Gong Luming took over, he needed to rebuild this team, constantly try in actual combat, and find the playing style and personnel configuration that suits the team. In the three group matches, although the opponent is average, the Chinese team still tested the training results over the past three months in actual combat and found the rhythm that suits them the most.

In the first match between Indonesian team, the Chinese team tried multiple lineups and won easily, and the real test came from the second match against the South Korean team.

Although the main player Jiang Yiser failed to play due to injury, the South Korean team was mature in tactics, and steals and fast breaks caused great trouble to the Chinese team. The Chinese team made timely adjustments. Zhang Ziyu's appearance changed the situation. The Chinese team only led 16:13 in the first quarter, which shows the stalemate.

At the critical moment, the Chinese team's "big killer weapon" appeared. The "two towers" formed by Han Xu and Zhang Ziyu showed their power, causing a huge blow to the South Korean team on the offensive end. Han Xu and Zhang Ziyu scored 18 points respectively, and Zhang Ziyu also played for nearly 15 minutes rarely, and his shooting percentage of 8 shots was amazing. After the

game, the "Two Towers" became a hot topic that night. Although the Chinese team had tried the two towers before, it only appeared in a short period of time. This was the first time it took for a long time to play against the Korean team.

Such a tall double tower combination is not only unheard of in women's basketball games, but it seems that it has never appeared even in men's basketball games. Even Robinson and Duncan of the Spurs were not as tall as Han Xu and Zhang Ziyu.

"This is indeed one of our 'big killing weapons'. How to use them well still needs to be adjusted in," said Gong Luming.

Several problems need to be solved

The combination of double towers is a "nuclear weapon" and cannot be used frequently. When the Chinese team encounters difficulties in offense, using the double towers is indeed immediate, but the weaknesses in defense are also obvious. During that time, the Chinese team played hard on the inside, and the South Korean team made three-pointers from outside. The South Korean team made 10 three-pointers in the whole game. The Chinese team's defensive strength is the key.

In the last group match against New Zealand, the Chinese team changed their strategy again and did not use the double towers throughout the game. This is the first time in this Asian Cup. Especially in the fourth quarter, the Chinese team did not send Han Xu and Zhang Ziyu to the court, and they have been playing in the five small lineups. In addition, they have also played in the five small lineups in the first three quarters. The Chinese team has been practicing the five small lineups for more than 1/3 of the time.

On the one hand, it is to give Zhang Ziyu and Han Xu a break, and on the other hand, it is also for the purpose of tactical protection. Because the physical conditions and tactical styles of New Zealand and Australia are somewhat similar, the Chinese team must reserve when the victory is decided.

And the Australian team has always been regarded as the strongest opponent of the Chinese team in this Asian Cup.

From the 2022 World Cup to the 2023 Asian Cup, the Chinese team at its peak narrowly defeated the Australian team. If you want to continue to maintain your advantage in this Asian Cup, there is a lot of work to be done.

First of all, we must maintain the inside advantage. One Han Xu is obviously not enough, and Zhang Ziyu's mystery is very important.

Before the Asian Cup, the Chinese team played two warm-up matches with the Australian team, and Zhang Ziyu did not play, which was due to physical reasons and tactical needs on the other hand.

In the three group matches of the Asian Cup, Zhang Ziyu faced a defensive intensity, and his opponents have been studying Zhang Ziyu. Australia, which is determined to win the championship, is naturally the first to bear the brunt.

In the match against New Zealand, Zhang Ziyu was targeted. The opponent had many moves and even slapped him in the face. Zhang Ziyu's emotions were affected to a certain extent. As the eldest sister of the team, Han Xu also warned Zhang Ziyu to maintain a good attitude, because as the game progresses, such situations will only increase.

How to ensure health while not being disturbed by the other party is a problem that young Zhang Ziyu needs to face.

But to deal with a team like Australia that is balanced internally and externally, it is obviously not enough to rely on the inside.

Despite implementing a 10,000 shooting plan on Kunming Plateau, the Chinese team's three-point shooting percentage is still not high, especially against the South Korean team in the second game, with only 12 shots in the first three quarters, and 4 of 21 shots in the whole game.

Luo Xinqi, who was highly expected before the game, performed amazingly in the first game, never found the feel of the next two games. If the Chinese team hoped for Yang Shuyu and Huang Sijing, the fight would be very passive.

Like the lineups practiced during the warm-up match, the starting lineup of the Chinese team is basically fixed to Li Yuan, Yang Shuyu, Han Xu, Zhang Ru and Luo Xinqi. This lineup is obviously strong in defense and weak in offense, and a large number of personnel are required to rotate to ensure the oppressiveness of the game..

The advantageous side is that the Chinese team can have multiple sets of lineups to choose from, but the disadvantage is that each set of lineup needs to be polished. As Gong Luming said after the game, the team has only been established for more than three months since it was established, and it takes a long time to cultivate the team in collective projects to form a tacit understanding. This Chinese team has its prototype, but its details are a little worse; the lineup structure is also a little uncoherent, and sometimes it performs well, and sometimes it lacks some.

"We will summarize the experience of the group stage, continuously improve in future training competitions, cultivate tacit understanding and proficient in playing styles, and hope to play more creatively." Gong Luming said.

One opponent must cross

Australia is waiting for revenge, but the Chinese team must first cross the other opponent, that is, the Japanese team.

In the history of the Asian Cup, only one team has won five consecutive championships, that is, the Japanese team, and some of the players still appear in this Asian Cup.

In 2013, the Japanese team defeated the South Korean team and won the championship again 43 years later. One person scored 20 points and 18 rebounds alone and won the MVP. This person is Tokashiki Rai Meng. The Japanese women's basketball team started a new chapter from then on and won the runner-up in the Tokyo Olympics.

Born in 1991, Rai Meng from Dokashiki is a veteran opponent of the Chinese team. She is the first female athlete in Japan to dunk. She was selected into the national team at the age of 16. With her outstanding performance, the Japanese team defeated the Chinese team in the group stage in the 2013 Asian Cup, and won two defeats in the group stage and finals in the 2015 Asian Cup. In this Asian Cup, in the match against the Australian team, she scored 6 points in the first half. The reason why the Japanese team led by 9 points was crucial because her performance was crucial.

Raim Tokashiki, who is already 34 years old, is not the oldest. The only post-80s generation in the Japanese team is Takada Maki.

In 2009, the 20-year-old Maki Takada participated in the Asian Cup and won third place. From 2015 to 2019, Maki Takada achieved three consecutive championships with the Japanese team.

In the second group stage of this Asian Cup, the Japanese team defeated the Philippines, and Maki Takada scored 20 points, and the sword never got old.

Because there were three consecutive games, the Japanese team reserved in the first two games, and competed with Australia for the first group in the third game, leading by 9 points in the first half, but in the second half, they only scored 8 points in both quarters and were reversed by Australia. The second in the group means that you may encounter the Chinese team in the semi-finals. The head coach of the Japanese team said after the game that if he played the performance in the first half with the Australian team, the Japanese team would have a chance to defeat the Chinese team.

In the 2023 Asian Cup and Asian Games, the Chinese team defeated the Japanese team twice in the finals, and they only won two points. The Japanese team was inevitably dissatisfied, but in the eyes of many people, the head coach of the Japanese team is more likely to be cheering for the players, because physical fitness is indeed their weakness, just as the experience of veterans is their magic weapon.

Chinese coach Gong Luming has seen through everything: "There are all kinds of tactics in the World Championship, and it is common to bluff or encourage yourself. I think the final decision on the victory or defeat of the game is still strength. I hope the Japanese team can play Australia in the next game to the first half."

On July 19, the Chinese team will usher in the semi-finals. The Japanese team is a hurdle they must overcome.