May 25, 2012
World Championship team profile: China
Jianlian Yi (Photo: fiba.com)Slowly but surely, China has established itself not only as the dominant force in Asian basketball, but a true world power to be reckoned with. And even though its iconic figure, Yao Ming, will miss the FIBA World Championships through injury, Team China will be out to continue its march to the top. A regular at the World Championships, China has qualified all but one time in the past three decades. Four years ago the team advanced from the group stage only to be stopped in the eighthfinals by eventual finalist Greece. Two years ago China hosted the Olympic Games and reached as far as the quarterfinals before bowing out against Lithuania. Now recently-hired head coach Bob Donewald Jr.hopes to match those results in Turkey.


#
 Name
Pos.
H.
4
 Jinhui Ding
C
204
5
 Wei Liu
G
190
6
 Shulong Yu
F
201
7
 Shipeng Wang
F
198
8
 Lipeng Jin
G
190
9
 Yue Sun
G
206
11
 Jianlian Yi
C
213
12
 Ailun Guo
G
192
13
 Wei Su
C
211
14
 Zhizhi Wang
C
213
15
 Peng Zhou
F
207
-
 Zhaoxu Zhang
C
221
Head Coach: Bob Donewald
Even with Ming sidelined, China is best known for its inside players, starting with forward Yi Jianlian, who led his team in scoring, rebounding and blocks at last summer’s Asian Championships as China celebrated a silver medal. Veteran center Wang Zhizhi, whose time on Team China dates back to the ’96 Olympics, remains an important figure inside, though stars from the young generation like Su Wei and Li Xiaoxu are in the mix for minutes too. Point guard Liu Wei, swingman Wang Shipeng and sharpshooter Sun Yue are also important players for Chinese success. Because all but one player on the Chinese roster play their club basketball in China, coach Shiqiang has an advantage in preparation. China has had a busy summer as it traveled near and far to help the team reach Turkey in its best form, ready physically and mentally to win games and advance as far as possible.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Euroleague.net
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