The men's basketball team missed their chance to take revenge on Lebanon, but performing well against Korea isn't bad either.

After the Asian Cup group draw, our main hypothetical rival became Lebanon. In the 2022 Asian Cup quarter-finals, we lost to Lebanon and stopped at the top eight. This loss is still fresh in our minds, and both the team and the fans are looking forward to revenge.

However, it turns out that Lebanon has not performed well themselves. In the last group match against Korea last night, Lebanon lost 86-97, ultimately finishing third in Group A, while Korea secured second place and will face Guam in the playoffs. The winner between Guam and Korea will be our opponent in the quarter-finals.

The match between Lebanon and Korea turned into a shooting practice for the Korean team. Throughout the game, Korea achieved an impressive three-point shooting rate of 22 out of 38. Lebanon's perimeter defense was virtually nonexistent, showing no intensity and simply watching Korea shoot, coinciding with Korea's best shooting day, where Lee Hyun-joong made 7 out of 13 three-pointers, and Yoo Joon-sik made 8 out of 12.

It's worth mentioning that our men's basketball players were also watching from the sidelines during this game. Korea's shooting performance may have been unexpected for our coaching staff. However, with Lebanon's experience as a cautionary tale, we will definitely have strategies in place for their perimeter next time we face Korea.

There are two pieces of good news for our men's basketball team: Korea's Lee Jung-hyun will be unable to participate in the remaining matches of this Asian Cup due to a meniscus cartilage injury in his knee. He averaged 16 points in the first two group matches. Another key player, Yoo Joon-sik, is also likely to miss the game against Guam due to injury.

To be honest, with these two key players missing, I can't help but wonder if Guam might have a chance to pull off an upset. Guam indeed has the potential for surprises. In this Asian Cup qualifiers, the Guam men's basketball team only lost to Japan by 5 points.

Of course, I would prefer, and most likely face, Korea as our opponent. The Chinese men's basketball team and the Korean men's basketball team have one of the most contentious rivalries in Asian Cup (Asian Championship) history. Historically, we have faced the Korean men's basketball team 20 times, winning 15 and losing 5, maintaining a significant advantage, but every loss to Korea has been quite frustrating.

In the 2022 Asian Cup group stage, our men's basketball team, which was missing key players, lost to Korea in the opening match. However, in the following year's Hangzhou Asian Games, we took our revenge on Korea, with Zhao Rui, Hu Mingxuan, Hu Jinqiu, and Zhu Junlong all participating in that match.

Undoubtedly, Korea's men's basketball team handed us our most painful defeat in the 2002 Busan Asian Games final, where the Chinese men's basketball team led by 7 points with 30 seconds left but suffered a reversal and lost the championship. Yao Ming's impressive stats of 23 points and 22 rebounds still couldn't save the day.

Facing this most familiar opponent, our men's basketball team is filled with absolute confidence this time. First, Korea's overall strength has noticeably declined after losing their naturalized players. I still vividly remember the scenes of their former naturalized player, Ricardo Ratliffe, dominating our inside game.

In Korea's current lineup, there are only two overseas players: Lee Hyun-joong, who plays in the NBL, and Yoo Joon-sik from Seattle University. After failing to make it to the NBA, Lee Hyun-joong has been bouncing between the NBL and the NBA Development League, continuously waiting for another opportunity from the NBA.

Yoo Joon-sik is not in good form this time either and has suffered an injury to the medial collateral ligament in his knee, reportedly requiring a two-week recovery. However, it could also be a smokescreen released by Korea. Regardless of whether he plays or not, we still hold a significant advantage against Korea.

Before the Asian Cup began, team captain Zhao Rui stated that the goal for this Asian Cup is to win a medal. Given the current grouping situation, we might really expect more. Of course, the first step is to make it to the top four before thinking about anything else.