Brisbane Bullets vs. Shanghai Preview: Wang Zhelin Faces Challenge as Shanghai Seeks First Win in Overseas Training

On August 23 at 16:30, the Australian Basketball preseason continues with a match between the Brisbane Bullets and the Shanghai Sharks.

The Brisbane Bullets are not particularly outstanding in the NBL, failing to make it to the playoffs last season, though their lineup is still quite strong. Before the official start of the games, both teams also played a friendly match beforehand, similar to when the Illawarra Hawks faced Shanghai previously. The Brisbane Bullets won this friendly match, but they did not have an easy victory, with many main players staying on the court for a long time, while young players did not get much training opportunity. Fortunately, they managed a 25-point win, which gives them a psychological advantage.

The Brisbane Bullets’ frontcourt is quite solid, with Harrison as New Zealand’s main center and Josh Banino, who played in the Summer League for the Clippers, as the power forward. In the initial friendly match, they caused significant trouble for Shanghai’s frontcourt, with Wang Zhelin fouling out. This is also a challenge for Wang Zhelin, who was also ejected from the game against the Illawarra Hawks. This time, he needs to ensure he stays on the court to provide more help to the team.

The Shanghai Sharks were also invited to participate, providing them with a good training opportunity. In their first game against the Illawarra Hawks, the team performed well, keeping up with the score until the final quarter, where they couldn’t maintain the pace and lost by a wider margin, ultimately falling 88-101. Although they lost by 25 points in the friendly match against the Brisbane Bullets, they saw some opportunities, and there is still a chance to strive for victory in this encounter.

In Shanghai’s lineup, the two small foreign players acquired this summer, Bradney and Waters, are not with the team. The trial foreign player Dai Si had a good performance against the Illawarra Hawks, hitting 6 out of 9 three-pointers for 22 points. Additionally, Shanghai’s domestic players are worth watching as well. Captain Wang Zhelin needs to step up, along with Liu Zheng, Li Tianrong, and Li Hongquan, all of whom can contribute. If the players can gain confidence, they have a chance to cause trouble for their opponents.

This time, the Shanghai Sharks are playing away from home, and the competition is intense. Wang Zhelin was ejected in the first game and also in the pre-game friendly match. We hope he can bounce back. Whether or not Shanghai can secure a win overseas remains to be seen.

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