Chinese men's basketball team in practice at the gym of the University of Victoria in Victoria, Canada, June 26, 2021. /Sina Weibo account of Chinese men's basketball team
The Chinese men's national basketball team had their first training session in the gym of the University of Victoria at noon on Saturday, revealed the team on the social media platform, Sina Weibo.
That was from 3:00 am to 4:30 am in Beijing time due to the time difference between the two countries, not to mention that it took the team some 28 hours to reach Victoria from Manila. First, they flew from Manila to Vancouver – with a stopover in China's Guangzhou City – and then arrived at Victoria by ferry on Friday.
Chinese men's basketball team in practice at the gym of the University of Victoria, June 26, 2021. /Sina Weibo account of Chinese men's basketball team
After that, they took the COVID-19 test, and every member of the team tested negative. Considering that China will meet their first opponent, Canada, in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on June 30, the team did not have much time left. Therefore, they had to overcome time zone difference to prepare for the tough competitions on the way.
China sent the same squad from the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers to the Olympic qualifying tournament. Veterans like Yi Jianlian, Wang Zhelin and Guo Ailun did not go because of injuries. Zhou Qi, Zhao Jiwei and Zhou Peng will need to shoulder leadership with their rich experience playing for the national team.
R.J. Barrett of the New York Knicks looks in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., May 30, 2021. /CFP
As China's first opponent in the tournament, Canada named a 19-player roster for the tournament. Eight of the players are from NBA teams:
R.J. Barrett (New York Knicks), Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (New Orleans Pelicans), Lugentz Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder), Cory Joseph (Detroit Pistons), Trey Lyles (San Antonio Spurs), Mychal Mulder (Golden State Warriors) and Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks).
The head coach of Canada is Nick Nurse, who helped the Toronto Raptors win the NBA Championship in 2019.
Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors looks on in the game against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, U.S., February 8, 2021. /CFP
Though Canada never lacked NBA players, the country's national basketball team had been disappointing on many occasions. For example, they missed the Summer Olympics from 2004 in Athens, Greece, to 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The last time Canada participated in the Olympic men's basketball tournament was in Sydney in 2000. They ranked No. 7.
China, Canada and Greece are in Group A of the Olympic qualifying tournament in Victoria, while Group B includes the Czech Republic, Turkey and Uruguay. The top two teams of each group can make the next stage and compete for the tournament's only berth in this region for the Tokyo Olympics.