China’s Team Red must not lose their vigilance

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Joseller “Yeng” Guiao, head coach of the Filipino men’s basketball team for the 2018 Asian Games, said in an interview that China is the team most expected to win the tournament championship, reported Tencent Sports.

Coach Guiao said that though the team has Jordan Clarkson, a guard from NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, they will still be at a disadvantage against China. Adding Clarkson to the team will increase their chances of defeating China from one percent to 20 percent.

Ding Yanyuhang (L) and Zhou Qi (R) are the leading players of China's Team Red at the basketball tournament of the 2018 Asian Games. /VCG Photo

However, Guiao’s statement should remind China to increase their vigilance, considering that the team lost 87-96 to the Philippines in their first game at the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.

That was not the first time that China’s men’s basketball team lost unexpectedly. Back in 2013 at the FIBA Asia Championship, China, to everyone’s surprise, went through a bitter 78-96 loss to Chinese Taipei. At that time, China had Yi Jianlian, Zhu Fangyu, Wang Shipeng and other key players in the line-up.

Jordan Clarkson is still the most threatening player in the Philippines. /VCG Photo

Before the 2018 Asian Games, Zhou Qi and Ding Yanyuhang, two leading players of China’s Team Red, have already said that they want to bring home the championship title. Inspiring as it is, such a statement will put pressure on the team as well. Besides, as Ding is not 100 percent fit, China may have more hidden troubles than anticipated.

On the other hand, the Philippines had their own problems, too.

First, the team first announced that they had quit the 2018 Asian Games but then decided to participate, leaving them limited time to train and practice together.

Second, though Clarkson can be considered the best guard in this tournament with his outstanding isolation play, he did not have enough time to learn more about his teammates, vice versa.

(Top picture: Joseller “Yeng” Guiao, head coach of the Philippines /VCG Photo)