CHINA PACKS ITS RIO OLYMPICS BASKETBALL TEAM WITH VETERANS
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 19 Jul 2016
Yi Jianlian.
China which beat Gilas Pilipinas to gain the sole slot to the Rio Olympic Games in the FIBA Asia Qualifying Tournament in Changsha-Hunan last October, will be bannered by a slew of veterans, according to a report by Fiba.com. It said China?s head coach Gong Luming will lean on the majority of players who won an Olympic berth with only two players that did not feature in the victory last October ? Sui Ran and Zou Yuchen.
Sui is a point guard who stands 6?3 ?? while Zou is a 6?10? center who had what was described as ?a meteoric rise to the senior team after playing for China at the FIBA Asia Under 18 Championships some two years ago.
One of China?s rising stars who is expected to generate a lot of interest is Zhou Qi, a 7?1? center who played particularly well last year and made the All Star Five. Zou could be following in the footsteps of Yao Ming after he was chosen as the 43rd pick by the Houston Rockets for whom Yao Ming played with distinction until injuries forced the giant center to quit. Another NBA draftee is Wang Zhelin who was chosen as the 57th overall pick by the Grizzlies.
Among the players considered crucial for China who will attempt to bounce back from five straight defeats in the 2012 London Olympic Games will be point guard Guo Ailun, veteran center/power forward Yi Jianlian, Li Gen, Zhou Peng and the emotional spark plug Zhai Xiaochuan. China will face the awesome United States squad at the Staples Center on July 24 and two days later at the Oracle Arena in Oakland prior to their clash in Rio on August. In a confidence-boosting tune-up tournament in Kunshan, Yi Jianlian was outstanding in wins over Montenegro, Germany and a France ?A? team to win the 2016 Sino-European Men?s Basketball Championships.
After beating Montenegro 65-49 with Yi Jianlian led the way with 15 points, scoring a close 71-67 victory over Germany with Yi scoring 17 points and then exploding for 31 points in China?s 78-73 win over France that helped China clinch the top spot after an unbeaten three-game winning streak.
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