China Women's basketball team, the Asian Games champs, set their target to reach the final eight at the upcoming FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018, head coach Xu Limin said on Tuesday.
After their triumphant journey in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Chinese women's basketball team has embarked on their World Cup trip, playing two pre-tournament matches in Tenerife, Spain, where the tournament will run from September 22 until 30.
Following a 30-point loss to powerhouse Australia, the Chinese team took revenge on their archrivals Japan, a team they had seldom beat since the 2013 Asian Championships.
China overwhelmed Japan twice en route to their Asian Games title, but the latter dispatched their second-string squad to Jakarta.
China's women's basketball players celebrate winning gold of the 2018 Asian Games. /VCG Photo
"Our players can make a strong comeback from the loss against Australia to beat Japan under huge pressure, which was not easy. This is something to celebrate, and what the team wants to see during the process.
"We have not beaten Japan over the past six years. Players don't know how to beat Japan, and may even doubt if they can make that happen. Now the victory proved itself," said Xu.
Xu said that players showed both mental and physical tiredness after the Asian Games, which led to ill-preparedness and injuries.
"We need to move on. We cannot lower the standards for our players," admitted Xu.
China finished sixth at the FIBA World Championship for Women four years ago, tying their best result in two decades.
Thailand's Suphavadee Kunchuan (C) maneuvers past China's Huang Sijing (R) in their women's basketball preliminary Group B match between China and Thailand during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta on August 15, 2018. /VCG Photo
For Xu, the target in Tenerife is to strive for a quarterfinal berth for his talented and young players, and he attaches greater importance to the team's mentality against strong opponents at the Worlds.
"This is a brand new challenge for the team as most players didn't play the World Championships or World Cup before. Despite our Asian Games title, victory over Japan and progress, there are still some uncertainties ahead, so we should fully display what we trained for," he said.
"The result will come out alright if we play to our level. I'm a bit concerned about the stability of this young team. We need to restrain that as well as we can," added Xu.
China's first match at the World Cup will be against Latvia on Saturday.
"We need to keep our confidence and determination and exhibit the team's mentality and fighting spirit. Through our concerted effort, we want to position ourselves in world basketball, prepare for next year's Olympics qualifications and lay a solid foundation for the team's future development," said Xu.