Preview of China Men’s Basketball vs. Joventut Badalona: New Captain Brings New Energy as Hu Mingxuan Named Captain; Chinese Team Aims to Secure a Home Victory

On September 18th, the men’s basketball warm-up match in Quzhou kicks off with China’s national team facing off against Joventut Badalona. This time around, the Chinese team has fielded most of its main players, except for Li Kael. Despite Cheng Shaipeng being included in the roster, the captaincy of the newly assembled training squad has been bestowed upon Hu Mingxuan, demonstrating the national team’s confidence in his ability to boost the team’s morale. Although there has been some controversy surrounding this decision, only time will tell how it pans out.

The recent form of the Chinese men’s basketball team has not been impressive. They participated in the NBA Summer League but performed poorly, failing to secure a win in their last five matches and only managing three victories in their last ten. However, the team’s core player, Zhou Qi, who missed previous games due to injury, is now back on the list, which significantly enhances the team’s overall strength.

The Chinese men’s basketball team is at a critical juncture. With Serbian coach Djordjevic stepping down, the team has entered a new era under a domestic coach. Despite Guo Shiqiang’s failure to achieve breakthrough results in the NBA Summer League, there are still high hopes. Yang Hansen’s inclusion in the current roster adds another layer of anticipation to this warm-up match, which serves as a test of the team’s current best form.

The Chinese team’s most recent game was against the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, which they lost 67-89. Even though the Spurs did not field their starters, the Chinese team failed to capitalize, despite having a significant advantage in free throw accuracy. However, they lagged behind in rebounds and overall shooting percentage compared to the Spurs. In this game, only three players from the Chinese team scored in double digits. Among the starters, only Liao Sannin managed to score 17 points (8 out of 17 shots) with 6 rebounds and 3 assists, while the other four starters failed to reach double-digit scores. Particularly noteworthy is Yang Hansen’s return to the Chinese team, where he went 0 out of 5 from the field, scoring only 6 points through free throws. Cheng Shaipeng missed all five of his three-point attempts, showing poor form. Among the substitutes, He Xining hit three three-pointers to score 11 points and 2 rebounds, while Jiao Boqiao scored 11 points and 5 rebounds with 5 out of 9 shots. The team’s performance was lacking, but compared to their previous games, there has been some improvement.

Joventut Badalona has won two out of their last five games and has a 40% win rate over their last ten. While slightly better than the Chinese team, they have suffered consecutive defeats in club friendlies against Manresa and Lleida. In their most recent game, they narrowly lost 80-83. Despite trailing by 11 points at halftime, they showed great resilience, making a strong comeback in the second half and even had a chance to overtake their opponents. The Chinese team should be wary of Joventut Badalona’s ability to play catch-up games.

There is no historical record of matches between the two teams. With the Chinese team fielding most of its top players, we believe that they can secure a victory in the first game of the Quzhou leg.

Here are the rosters for both teams: Chinese National Team Training Squad: Fu Hao, Zhou Qi, Xu Jie, Du Runwang, Hu Mingxuan, Xu Xin, Yu Jiahao, Cheng Shaipeng, Liu Lijia, Hu Jinqiu, Zhu Junlong, Jiao Boqiao, Liao Sannin, Yang Hansen, Wang Lan, Li Tianrong

Joventut Badalona Roster: No.1 Cragg, No.2 Dotson, No.3 Busquets, No.4 Ribas, No.6 Coye, No.12 Gates, No.13 Pustovoy, No.16 Vivas, No.21 Allen, No.23 Ruzic, No.30 Robertson, No.44 Tomic, No.88 Hanga