China walk over Guam in 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifier

China beat Guam 101-53 in a 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifying tournament game in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, on Thursday, securing their second win after three games in Group C.

The contest was head coach Guo Shiqiang's first game since he took over the Chinese national team in July. All 12 players of the team sent to the court scored points and six of them did it in double figures.

Yang Hansen got a team-high 16 points for China and Zeng Fanbo contributed 14 points plus eight rebounds. The game lost its suspense early in the second half as the home side extended their lead to over 40 points.

"It's the first international game of the new Chinese national team," Guo told reporters after the victory. "It means a lot to us. Our players performed well and showed great spirit while fighting with resilience and positive mindsets. They implemented the tactics well on both offense and defense."

Guo revealed that China will focus on both achieving a good result at the Asia Cup as their short-term goal and securing qualification for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Qatar and the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

"We were all fighting with good spirits in this game," China's captain Hu Mingxuan said. "We paid special attention to every defensive detail, including working hard for every rebound and making the right plays for every defensive possession. We have displayed out character in this game. This game is just a start. We will try to improve every detail by watching the video of this game and make our team better."

China are currently second in the group behind Japan who beat Mongolia 93-75 on the night for their third win.