The Chinese men's basketball team has achieved three consecutive victories! Avoiding Australia first is the biggest advantage!

In the Asian Cup, the Chinese men's basketball team won all three group matches.

The matches in Groups C and D have concluded. In Group C, the Chinese team finished first, directly advancing to the quarter-finals, with Saudi Arabia in second and Jordan in third, both of which will compete in the quarter-finals playoff.

In Group D, New Zealand achieved a significant victory over Chinese Taipei early this morning, finishing first in the group and directly advancing to the quarter-finals, with the provincial team in second and the Philippines in third.

Next, the provincial team will face Jordan, while the host nation Saudi Arabia will play against the Philippines to determine two spots in the quarter-finals.

The opponent for the Chinese men's basketball team in the quarter-finals has not yet been determined; it will be the winner between the second place in Group A and the third place in Group B. Currently, the second place in Group A is Lebanon, and the third place in Group B is Guam.

Since Lebanon and South Korea will face each other next, our opponent is still uncertain.

However, I have a blind guess about the upcoming trend:The Chinese men's basketball team is likely to compete with Lebanon for a spot in the top four, and then face New Zealand in the semi-finals.

Objectively speaking, we have drawn a favorable group this time, but in any case, winning all group matches is a short-term goal. If the Chinese team loses in the group stage and advances as the second place (C2), even if they win against D3 in the crossover knockout stage, they will likely face A1 Australia early on.

It's not that I underestimate us, but objectively speaking, although this Australian team is not at full strength and has an average age of under 24, their participation in the Asian Cup is somewhat beyond expectations; they should be competing in the European Cup instead...

From the perspective of striving for a better ranking, I still hope to meet them again in the finals...

The quarter-finals starting on August 14 will be the real test for the Chinese men's basketball team.

So, let's summarize these three matches briefly.

The first impression is: the men's basketball team's three-point shooting is almost unreal. In three group matches, the Chinese men's basketball team made a total of 35 out of 81 three-point attempts (43.2%).

EspeciallyCheng Shuai Peng, who is not a well-known player in the Chinese men's basketball team, has been shooting like Klay Thompson in these matches.

That kind of confidence and decisiveness in shooting is extremely needed by the team.

In modern basketball, if you are an outside player, a shooting guard with limited ball-handling skills, and you hesitate to shoot open three-pointers, then the national team might as well give up on your development.

In the three group matches, Cheng Shuai Peng averaged 15.3 points, hitting an average of 3.3 three-pointers per game, with a three-point shooting percentage as high as 50%.

He can not only shoot from a standstill but also make three-pointers off screens, which is a highlight.

While watching the game last night, I told my friend that if Cheng Shuai Peng (191 cm) were just 5 cm taller, it would be great. As we face higher-level opponents next, whether he can consistently make those shots is a question.

But for now, it's a pleasant surprise.

Another major surprise for the team is undoubtedly the 20-year-old player Wang Junjie, who started in the last two games.

Without going into too much detail, just consider the impressive shot he made against Jordan last night; how many forwards in China can do that?

This guy might not be rare in American basketball, butWang Junjie is undoubtedly a valuable asset for the Chinese men's basketball team's forward position.

Compared to Zhu Junlong, Zeng Fanbo, and Zhao Jiayi, none of these players possess Wang's ball-handling ability and overall skill set.

Let's continue to grow through the games.

Finally, let’s talk about some other observations.

1. Don’t let Hu Mingxuan play the point guard position.

This has been repeated a thousand times; Xiao Hu cannot play the one. If you use him, utilize his shooting and driving abilities.

Organizing the offense? He simply cannot direct it properly.

2. Currently, the player struggling the most is Liao Sanning.

As a guard without stable shooting ability or reliable playmaking skills, he struggles immensely during games, and the passes from the Guangxi players have been really poor.

3. What are the upcoming concerns? Besides the stability of the outside shooting, there’s also the inside game.

The position that suits Hu Jinqiu best is still power forward. Although he is steady in finishing offensive plays, he struggles at times on defense, even though he tries hard, it's limited by his physical abilities.

If Da Qiu gets into foul trouble, the team will be left with only a pure center, Yu Jiahao. Yu Jiahao is slow and his finishing is unstable... but our options for adjustment at this position are quite limited.

How did the provincial team, which performed well before, get beaten by New Zealand? The rebounding comparison was 17-57; losing 40 rebounds is just unacceptable.

From a personnel configuration standpoint, rebounding could become an issue for the Chinese men's basketball team in the next stage.

4. As a fan, what am I most dissatisfied with?

Many times, our offensive initiations are still stagnant. This isn’t a high demand; it’s just that our offensive organization is slow, especially when the ball is in Hu Mingxuan's and Liao Sanning's hands, it tends to stagnate.

I can only say, fortunately, the team has been shooting well, which has helped them avoid many pitfalls.