China celebrates silver lining

It might have been a near-miss, but an inspiring run at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup has delivered a silver lining for the future of Chinese basketball, with the national program committed to revamping its talent development system.

For a second straight summer, Chinese men's basketball has fallen just short of continental glory, but its youth squad's runner-up finish at the Asian showpiece, after being overpowered by Australia 89-79 in Sunday's final, was anything but a disappointment.

The squad's gutsy final run, which marked the country's best result at the biennial U18 tournament in 12 years, has served up as encouraging a boost for the national program's rebuild as the senior squad's narrow one-point defeat to the mighty Aussies at the Asia Cup a year ago.

The last time China's U18 team won the continental title was in 2014, when Australia and New Zealand were not yet included in FIBA's Asian zone.

Despite coming up short against the Emus in the final in Ahmedabad, India, the Chinese team successfully avenged its 15-point loss to New Zealand in the 2024 semifinal, taming the Junior Tall Blacks 79-66 at the same stage on Saturday to reach its first title decider in over a decade — while securing a spot to next year's U19 World Cup in the Czech Republic.

Head coach Wang Jianjun, who guided his young squad to tournament bests in assists per game (27) and three-point shooting (43 percent), took pride from the teenagers' fighting spirit and future potential.

"From start to finish, everyone fought for every possession in every minute and every second of the game. I'm grateful for all the hard work these players have put in and I am really proud of them," Wang said in his post-final news conference.

"We have regrets about missing out on the title, but youth is our biggest advantage.

"This silver medal proves the huge potential of this young team. This precious international tournament experience will lay a solid foundation for their future growth.

"I hope they can show the world what they've got at next year's World Cup."

Talented, but lacking some physical and mental maturity, the Chinese team was dominated in the paint, out-rebounded 57-35 by the Emus with a stark 26-6 disparity in offensive rebounds, which allowed the Aussies 36 second-chance points.

However, the fact that Team China was the youngest among all quarterfinal contenders, with an average age of 17.2 years old and with four key members born after 2010, signifies a bright future for the squad.

Sixteen-year-old starting forward Zhang Yizhaojie, a versatile 6-foot-7 (2.03 meters) scorer, led China with a game-high 20 points in the final, before being selected into the All-Star Five as the youngest player in the tournament's best lineup.

He didn't get carried away by the recognition, though. "Playing against such a physical, high-intensity team like Australia has made me realize just how much we have to improve," said Zhang, who also led the team's scoring across the whole tournament, averaging 14.3 points per game.

"We need to further improve our ability to keep up with the physical nature and high intensity of international play."

Young center Li Junxian, a raw, 18-year-old talent that stands at 2.12 meters, notched a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds in the final, while sharp-shooting guard Zhang Yuchen, another 16-year-old prospect, added 13 points and seven assists on Sunday.

Zhang Yuchen also led the entire tournament field in three-point accuracy, shooting 56.2 percent from 16 attempts beyond the arc.

His rise from China's high-school league to the international spotlight, after leading Tsinghua University High School to the national championship in May, underlines China's evolving youth development system.

Once relying heavily on State-run sports schools and professional league clubs' youth reserves, the drafting scope of Chinese basketball is now expanding to school leagues, overseas academies and commercial training institutes.

Four of the 12 players on the current U18 squad were selected from outside the traditional pipelines, with Zhang Yuchen emerging as the brightest prospect and turning heads of North American scouts.

According to Li Qun, a former Chinese national team guard and a youth training promoter, Zhang Yuchen has attracted serious interest from Arizona-based Bella Vista College Prep School and the Royal Crown School in Canada, suggesting a potential move this fall with an eye on earning a future NCAA scholarship.

"A young guard like Yuchen, who attacks aggressively to make plays for teammates, fits into the modern style of basketball, and we should make it possible for him to tap into his full potential," said Li.

Zhang Bin, a former youth training director with the Chinese Basketball Association, stressed it's critical to give developing talent more international exposure and more competitive opportunities as early as possible.

"We have more games at home for junior players than ever, but the intensity and quality are still not enough," he said. "We should encourage more young talent to explore pathways to develop and study overseas."