Shandong media: Chinese men s basketball team must not be underestimated when facing the South Korean team, they must be fully prepared

Hupu, August 13th According to the Jinan Times, in the early morning of August 13th, with the Lebanese team defeating the Japanese team 97-73, all the quarterfinals of the 2025 Men's Basketball Team Asian Cup were produced. For Chinese fans, the most concerned thing is of course the Sino-South Korea war on August 14. Although the seven main players were absent, the Chinese men's basketball team showed momentum and content in the group stage. As long as they performed normally in the quarter-finals, there is a great chance of eliminating the South Korean team and breaking into the semi-finals. But the South Korean team is a very powerful team and will not easily admit defeat. The Chinese men's basketball team must not underestimate their opponents this time, and must be fully prepared.

The Chinese men's basketball team aims at the semi-finals (small)

Although Zhou Qi, Yang Hansen, Zeng Fanbo and other major players are absent, the Chinese men's basketball team, which is participating in this Asian Cup, is actually holding back their energy to fight a turnaround, because the Chinese men's basketball team has lost too much in international competitions over the years and needs to win too much to reshape their image. Before going to the battle, head coach Guo Shiqiang said, "We must have a goal. Whether Chinese basketball can be good or not, we want to prove ourselves with this determination. No matter how difficult it is, our determination will not be shaken." Captain Zhao Rui even made it clear in an interview with the media, "There is no other goal. My goal, including the whole team's goal, is to stand on the Asian Cup podium, which is what our Chinese men's basketball team needs most at present."

After coming to Saudi Arabia, the Chinese men's basketball team won three games in the group stage, which was eye-catching. After the group stage, Guo Shiqiang obviously had higher expectations for the team's prospects. "Our goal is to play one game and one game. I hope our Chinese men's basketball team can go further in this Asian Cup." Originally, the opponent in the quarter-finals of the Chinese men's basketball team was prepared according to the Lebanese team, but unexpectedly, the South Korean team beat Lebanon in the last game of the group stage and eventually became the opponent of the Chinese team. The Chinese men's basketball team has also made full preparations for the old opponent of the South Korean team, and the whole team watched the South Korean team's game against the Lebanese team. During the training these days, the Chinese men's basketball coaching team consciously arranged the players to perform quick rewind exercises, hoping to give full play to their height advantages, expand the defense range in the game, put pressure on key players, and block the South Korean team's three-point advantage.

When playing against the South Korean team, the Chinese men's basketball team should focus on how to break the joint defense when offense, how to defend against three-pointers when defense, and how to play to its inside advantage. In terms of the lineup, whether the Chinese men's basketball team should consider choosing Cheng Shuipeng, the top scorer in the group stage, into the starting lineup, is also something Guo Shiqiang needs to seriously consider.

The Korean men's basketball team cannot be underestimated (small)

In the history of the Asian Cup (including the Asian Championship), the two teams in China and South Korea have a total of 20 matches, and the Chinese men's basketball team has a clear advantage of 16 wins and 4 losses. However, in the last 10 confrontations of various competitions, the Chinese men's basketball team has only 6 wins and 4 losses. In the 2022 Asian Cup, the Chinese men's basketball team lost to the South Korean team 81:93 in the group stage. These data show that although the Chinese men's basketball team has the advantage in overall strength and historical confrontation records, they must not be underestimated by the South Korean team.

In this men's basketball Asian Cup, the South Korean team started low and ended high: they lost 61-97 to Australia in the first game of the group stage, defeated Qatar 97-83 in the second game, and defeated Lebanon 97-86 in the last game, while two main players, Lu Junxi and Lee Jun-hyun, were absent due to injury. In the quarter-final qualifiers, the South Korean team easily defeated Guam. The main player of the forward who had a knee injury came back from the front line. He played for 10 minutes and scored 9 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. Previously, in response to the injuries of the two core members, Lü Junxi and Lee Jun-hyun, South Korean team head coach An Jun-ho said he was ready to play with the remaining 10 people: "As the head coach, I can't say I am not worried. But the health of the players is more important than the outcome, they are core assets." At present, Lee Jun-hyun has returned to China to recuperate, and Lü Jun-hyun is likely to play against the Chinese men's basketball team. In an interview with South Korean media, An Junhao expressed his determination to defeat the Chinese team. He also mentioned three keys of victory that he believes the South Korean team can defeat the Chinese team: oppressive defense, controlling the ball, and using speed to play multiple offensive and defensive conversions. Obviously, the South Korean team will fight against the Chinese team in the quarter-finals and have strong confidence before the game. For the Chinese men's basketball team, we should still focus on me, play our own advantages, and strive to reach the semi-finals of the Asian Cup after 10 years, because we need this victory even more.