An inch short, but a huge step forward — Team China's near-miss at the FIBA Asia Cup has served up a timely boost for its tough rebuild, heralding a new dawn at the end of a long period of darkness for Chinese basketball.
Ten years after winning the final of the continental showpiece in Changsha, the Chinese men's team did the country as proud on Sunday as it did in 2015, despite coming up agonizingly short of the title, falling to a 90-89 defeat to Australia in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
To be more precise, China was mere centimeters away from the title.
With the game on the line and 3.9 seconds to go, Team China's inbound pass found leading scorer Hu Mingxuan on the other side of the arc, yet, what would have been the go-ahead 3-point shot hit the rim at the buzzer, drawing a big sigh from the raucous, red-clad crowd at King Abdullah Sports City.
Although it was unable to claim its second title in a decade, and what would be its 17th overall, the players left the tournament with their heads held high, coming home to a winner's welcome from fans, media and pundits alike for putting up a brave fight that bodes well for the team's rebound from a long, barren period at international level.
First edging out New Zealand in the semis and then pushing the world No 7 Boomers to the verge of a huge upset, this young Chinese squad, currently ranked 30th in the world, has reminded fans, at least in glimpses, of the gritty courage of the 2008 golden generation, led by hoops legend Yao Ming, that reached the quarterfinals at its home Olympics in Beijing.
And the young guns did it without their most potent weapons, with new NBA prospects Yang Hansen (Portland Trail Blazers'16th draft pick) and Zeng Fanbo (Brooklyn Nets' training camp selectee) skipping the Saudi trip to focus on preseason preparations with their respective NBA outfits, and former Nets' forward Cui Yongxi focused on his rehab after tearing his left ACL last season.
The room for improvement is huge, but now, so is the hope for an Olympic return at LA2028.
"It was a shot in the arm for our young team going forward in the buildup to the next Olympics," Team China head coach Guo Shiqiang said of his charges' podium finish on Sunday.
"The entire journey at this Asia Cup has helped our guys improve significantly in a mental aspect, highlighted by their focus, composure and execution, which carried them all the way to the final."
With veterans, such as former NBA center Zhou Qi and seasoned point guard Zhao Jiwei, still nursing their respective injuries, Guo called up only three players with continental experience at the senior level to his 12-man roster, approaching the Asia Cup as a testing ground for his youth experiment.
One such success story is the rise of 20-year-old forward Wang Junjie in Jeddah. The junior with the San Francisco Dons in NCAA D1 has paid back Guo's trust in spades, serving up a critical tally of 13 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, as he rose to the challenge during the knockout phase, most notably hitting 21 points to eliminate South Korea in the quarterfinals.
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Team China had been locked out of the quarters at the two previous editions of the Cup tournament in 2017 and 2022 amid an ongoing performance slump that also saw it fail to qualify for consecutive Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.
Wang joined his fellow post star Hu Jinqiu, who contributed a productive average of 16.5 points and 9.2 rebounds in 24.5 minutes, a team-high, across six games, in being named on the tournament's All-Star Five.
With fearless youngsters like Wang and Yang, also 20, still yet to mature in the United States, it's time to expect a legitimate turnaround on the world stage for Team China.
"On top of everything, I think they've earned back some respect from fans and opponents from around the world," former Team China guard Guo Ailun said during live commentary of the final on Chinese online broadcaster Migu.
Still, Wang chose to remain pragmatic.
"We still have a long way to go to reach the glorious history created by our predecessors," he said. "It's too early to talk about pride right now; I just hope that, through my own efforts, I can continue to help the team make progress."
Captain Zhao Rui, who, alongside Hu, was one of just two players in Jeddah remaining from China's humiliating 2023 World Cup and Asian Games campaigns, cautioned against complacence.
"This loss actually motivates us," said the 29-year-old, who confessed he'd considered quitting the national squad following the two tournament disappointments in 2023.
"Some fans probably didn't expect a close game, but we delivered them a brave fight tonight. This one-point loss will remind us to work harder and get better, though. Today is just the start, not the end."
Australia joined FIBA's Asian zone from Oceania a decade ago, and Sunday's victory kept the Boomers unbeaten in 18 Asia Cup games going back to their debut in 2017.
Australia's star forward Xavier Cooks led the Boomers with a game-high 30 points on an efficient 13-of-17 shooting to go with nine rebounds, and constantly broke down China's defense with his drives. He was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
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Jaylin Galloway, playing in his first Asia Cup final, also rose to the occasion, drilling six 3s on his way to 23 points and five rebounds. He was later named the tournament MVP and nominated in the All-Star Five alongside teammate Jack McVeigh.
