Fiba Basketball World Cup: China coach Aleksandar Dordevic takes responsibility for nation’s worst finish, but CBA’s quality queried
96-75 defeat by Philippines means China finish bottom of classification round and 29th overall of 32 teams‘I feel that the intensity of our CBA league is not strong enough to support our performance,’ China guard Zhao Rui saysAsian Games 2023Mike ChanPublished: 3:41pm, 3 Sep, 2023Why you can trust SCMP
The inquest has begun after China’s men’s basketball team ended their miserable Fiba World Cup campaign with another loss, with coach Aleksandar Dordevic saying he took responsibility and one of his stars suggesting the country’s domestic competition was not good enough.
Dordevic has been left with the task of re-energising his squad for this month’s Asian Games in Hangzhou after a 96-75 defeat by hosts Philippines on Saturday at Quezon City’s Araneta Coliseum.
The loss meant that, having already failed to progress from the group stage, China finished bottom of the classification round for the minor placings, and 29th overall among the 32 teams.
With only one win from five matches, their results represented the worst-ever results at the tournament for China. They also missed out to Japan in the race to claim a place in the Paris Olympics next summer – their final chance to qualify.
China’s starting guard Zhao Rui said the hosts showed “more desire” and the Chinese Basketball Association league may not have adequately prepared the team for international level.