0+8! Injured again, yet again! This is the primary core of the Chinese men's basketball team.

After almost a month off, he was injured again in his comeback game...

In the closing moments, Zhao Rui was pushed down while double-teaming Lille, resulting not only in a blocking foul call but also a back injury that left him down for a long time.

Hopefully, this injury isn’t severe; we rely on the Chinese men's basketball captain to participate as planned on February 26 against Japan and on March 1 against Chinese Taipei in the second World Cup qualifying window.

Throughout the game, Zhao Rui came off the bench for about 19 minutes, struggled with his shot missing all six attempts without scoring, but contributed a team-high 8 assists along with 3 rebounds and 2 steals, finishing with a plus-minus of +15, tied for the best on the court.

On the Beijing Royal Fighters side, several key players performed strongly, especially Zou Yuchen, who dominated the paint without Zhou Qi, grabbing a big double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds, leading the team to an 88-82 victory in the city derby.

Zhou Qi has been sidelined due to recurring eye problems, missing four consecutive games, with no return date set yet.

This season, Beijing’s team has suffered a severe injury crisis, with core players sidelined one after another, resulting in just a 12-7 record so far, ranking fourth in the league with a winning percentage of only 63.2%.

In this game, Zeng Fanbo also made his return, efficiently scoring 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, though he played through injury with a swollen waist and finger injury, still adjusting his shooting form.

Without proper injury management, no matter how star-studded a roster is, winning a championship is hard to talk about, only filling the hospitals' pockets.

Last season’s finals saw Beijing lose 2-4 to Guangsha, finishing as runners-up; during last offseason, Beijing made a big move to acquire Zhao Rui from Xinjiang, adding to their existing top-tier lineup including Chen Yingjun, Zeng Fanbo, and Zhou Qi.

Unfortunately, competitive sports face challenges beyond just opponents; maintaining stable team functioning is also a crucial factor for success.

So far, the teams ahead of Beijing in the standings are the defending champions Guangsha (16-2), Guangdong (15-4), and Shanghai (15-3).