Ismael Romero (#28) of Puerto Rico dunks in the group game against China at the FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, the Philippines, August 30, 2023. /CFP
China lost to Puerto Rico 107-89 in their final group game at the FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, the Philippines, on Wednesday. Having suffered three straight losses during the group phase, they will go to the Classification round to decide their rankings in the tournament.
This was the first time China scored over 70 points in a game at this World Cup . Coach Aleksandar Djordjevic replaced Li Kaier (formerly known as Kyle Anderson) with Hu Mingxuan in the starting lineup. On one hand, he wanted the team to speed up on both offense and defense; meanwhile, China needed someone who could score consistently off the dribble in their bench unit – Li scored 22 points in their last game against South Sudan.
Hu Mingxuan (#3) of China dribbles to penetrate in the group game against Puerto Rico at the FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, the Philippines, August 30, 2023. /CFP
The change of rotation didn't work as Djordjevic expected, but it wasn't a total failure either. China only forced two turnovers by Puerto Rico in Wednesday's game and, thus, didn't have many opportunities to drive fast break. Li, who counted more on rhythm instead of pure physical advantage to attack, couldn't trick his defender to make mistakes on most occasions. He went 4-for-5 from the field to get nine points. It was good efficiency, but not productive enough.
China's biggest highlights came from Hu, Zhao Jiwei, Zhao Rui and Fu Hao, who started from the third quarter. Hu, Zhao Jiwei and Zhao Rui were the only three Chinese players to score double-digit points. The excellent energy of Hu and Fu was why the team could keep the game alive until the fourth quarter.
However, their good performances were not enough to make up for the mistakes of the team. For example, China chose the wrong defensive policy of guarding screen plays in most possessions. They kept going under the screens set for Tremont Waters and others, allowing Puerto Rico to go 16-for-34 behind the arc.
Zhao Jiwei (#4) of China shoots in the group game against Puerto Rico at the FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, the Philippines, August 30, 2023. /CFP
Despite the height advantage in most of the five positions, China still trailed 12-7 in offensive rebounds. Their backup center Wang Zhelin was the biggest disappointment on the court. Not only did he miss multiple open buckets, he was also too slow to follow anyone on the defensive end.
China won't have much time to take a break because they will play Angola in a Classification round game on Thursday. All six Asian teams, Japan, China, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and the Philippines will compete in the Classification round for the best record and thus, the automatic qualification for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.
Other games on Wednesday:
South Sudan 83-115 Serbia
Georgia 70-59 Venezuela
USA 110-62 Jordan
Cote d'Ivoire 77-89 Brazil
Slovenia 92-77 Code Verde
Greece 83-74 New Zealand
Iran 65-85 Spain