Defending champion China will send a second-string national team
to compete in the Asian Basketball Championships (ABC) in Japan
next week.
The first team will compete in the Stankovic Continental
Champions Cup in Guangdong, almost the same period as the ABC,
which starts on July 28.
Without a national player, the Chinese team does not expect to
reign in the championship.
"The strongest opponents come from West Asia, like Lebanon and
Qatar," head coach Adijiang said on Wednesday. "The Philippines has
become a challenge too since it introduced some former American
professional players."
The Chinese squad has no advantage inside the key as pivots like
Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian and Wang Zhizhi are in the first team.
"Actually we have no center in this squad and our guards are
smaller than the West Asians. It'll be a tough journey," Adijiang
said.
All-Star point guard Zhang Qingpeng was cut from the squad a
couple of days ago because of the lack of inside players.
"This could be one of the toughest Asian championships for
China," Adijiang added.
Squad:
Head coach: Adijiang
Assistant coach: Wu Qinglong, Zhang Xiaochun
Players: Wang Bo, Li Ke, Chen Lei, Bian Qiang, Yang Ming, Yi Li,
Chen Chen, Han Shuo, Wang Yong, Gu Liye, Zhang Kai, Wu Qian.
(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2007)