China ended their run at the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup in Jakarta with a 72-69 loss to Lebanon in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, failing to advance to the semifinals for the second straight edition of the tournament.

China trailed by as much as 16 points on the court. They caught up point by point late in the fourth quarter and had the chance to drag the game into overtime, but Gu Quan's desperate 3-pointer from the right corner was denied in the end.

As the team's head coach, Du Feng defended his players and revealed at the post-game press conference that both Sun Minghui and Zhao Rui were in poor health. The Chinese national team committed as many as 22 turnovers, including six in the first quarter and four in the fourth. Moreover, they missed a key defensive rebound after Wael Arakji missed the shot that could have extended Lebanon's lead from two to four points.

Fans, media outlets and commentators have every reason to criticize the national franchise for their poor performance at the Asia Cup, but there are reasons behind the team's struggling situation. For example, the team traveled to Jakarta without their complete squad because some tested positive for COVID-19. Though the team recruited new members and some of those who stayed behind joined the franchise later, many of them were still in poor health. As a result, only a few of the players managed to train together regularly. Lack of chemistry could be fatal in international tournaments.

Moreover, three Chinese players, Zeng Fanbo, Zhang Zhenlin and Guo Haowen, were competing in the NBA Summer League while the national team was competing in the Asia Cup. At least both Zeng and Zhang should be able to help China better than others in the forward positions.

More importantly, there were signs at the Asia Cup for China to remain hopeful. For example, in Saturday's loss, Chinese basketball commentator Shu Hai pointed out that it's only Arakji of Lebanon whom Chinese defenders couldn't stop. The team had remarkable advantage in the paint. As a piece of proof, Zhou Qi had a big double-double of 22 points and 21 rebounds. If he were in better health and able to play longer, the game might have ended in a different way.

Zhou didn't play either in China's first loss to South Korea. Meanwhile, other traditional rivals of China, including Japan and Iran, couldn't match China in the big men positions either. Iran even had to rely on 37-year-old veteran Hamed Haddadi to carry most of the team's offensive duties. As for the Philippines, they lost to every opponent except India from the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers.

China have a younger, better and bigger reserve of talents than all of the above teams, at least for the coming next stage of the World Cup qualifiers in August. The team can still be a competitive contender for both World Cup and Olympic qualification with the complete squad and right choices of game-playing.

Nonetheless, China must look deeper into the future if the team targets more than reaching the World Cup and the Olympics. While the Asian basketball is generally making no headway, the rest of the world is moving forward quickly. For example, Nigeria already sent a squad filled with NBA players to both the World Cup and the Olympics. More African teams may be able to do the same. European teams like France already showed they could battle the USA, which had super stars including Kevin Durant, in a close game at both the World Cup and Olympics.

China must face and beat some of these opponents in the World Cup to secure qualification for the Olympics. If the team appears in Paris in 2024, the competitions will grow even more intense there. So far, Zhou is the only Chinese player able to make steady contributions in games against heavyweights. More of his teammates must refine themselves at bigger stages before they can stand along Zhou and play for the national team in a better way than they did at the Asia Cup.