Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, February 25 (Reporter Yue Chenxing, Yang Guang) The second round of the group stage of Group C of the 2025 Men's Basketball Asian Cup Qualifiers was held at Ariake Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on the 25th, and the Chinese team lost to the Japanese team 73:76 away, temporarily ranking second in the group with one win and one loss.
The Chinese men's basketball team is dominated by young players, and head coach Djordjevic said before the game that the team's goal is to win, and at the same time, he also hopes to let the young players grow through this tournament. In terms of the Japanese team, compared with the previous game against the ** team, in addition to retaining the main players such as Yuki Tomiyatsu, Yuki Kawamura, and Shin Ejima, Yudai Baba and naturalized player Hawkinson re-entered the 12-man squad.
China's Hu Jinqiu (left) shoots during a game on Feb. 25. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Guang.
In the opening game, the Chinese team implemented the strategy of focusing on the inside, and Hu Jinqiu scored continuously on the inside, helping the team take a 14:3 lead. Then the Japanese team hit consecutive three-pointers, and a wave of 11:0 small climax chased the score to 14 draws. After that, the Chinese team stabilized its position and ended the first quarter with 20:19.
In the second quarter, the two teams continued to fight, the Chinese team continued the hot hand, Hu Mingxuan and Cheng Shuaipeng scored three consecutive three-pointers, but fell into foul trouble in less than 4 minutes, and the Japanese team burst into the outside to overtake the score, and the two sides fought to a 38:38 draw at halftime.
Hu Mingxuan (right), a player of the Chinese team, dribbles the ball during a match on February 25. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Guang.
In the rematch, both teams have a reduced shooting rate in the rapid transition between offense and defense, and they both choose to impact the opponent's interior when the outside line is slow to open the situation. Japan played another scoring spurt to extend their lead to nine points. On the other hand, the Chinese team felt cold in the third quarter, making 8 three-point shots in a single quarter and failing to hit a single goal. At the critical moment, Hu Mingxuan stood up and scored "2+1" to help the Chinese team end the third quarter at 51:55. In the final quarter of the game, every time the Chinese team pressed the score closer, the Japanese team could always use three points and steals to maintain the difference. With Zhu Junlong's last three-point shot missed, the score was finally fixed at 73:76.
In this game, Hu Jinqiu scored 23 points and 12 rebounds with a "double-double", and Hu Mingxuan contributed 20 points. Japan's Yudai Baba scored a game-high 24 points.
On February 25, Hu Jinqiu (second from right), a player of the Chinese team, fought during the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Guang.
Although the Chinese men's basketball team is ahead of the Japanese team in many statistics such as rebounding and two-point shooting percentage, the young players failed to grasp the opportunity to equalize or even overtake at critical moments. Djordjevic said after the game: "It was a close game, we started well but we still had a lot to do in terms of reducing mistakes and improving concentration. This competition will be a valuable experience for young people in the future. ”
The next round of the men's basketball Asian Cup qualifiers will be played on November 21, and the Chinese team will face the ** team at home.
*:Xinhua.