Bolstered by Team China’s appearance in the knockout stage at the world basketball championships despite managing only one win, coach Bob Donewald now has his eyes on the upcoming Asian Games.
China lost to Lithuania 78-67 in the round of 16 on Tuesday, finishing the tournament in Istanbul with a 1-5 record, but the American Donewald — a former assistant with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers — remained upbeat.
“I thought my guys played their hearts out, stuck to the game plan, but we just wore out,” Donewald said after the game against Lithuania.
“The physicality of a very good basketball team wore us out,” he said.
Without injured NBA superstar Yao Ming, China’s young squad were constantly pushed around at the championships by larger, more experienced teams from Greece, Turkey, Russia and Puerto Rico.
China’s sole win came against Ivory Coast in the round robin stage — an 83-73 victory — but close matches against the others won them widespread praise from both their opponents and the national media.
The tournament “was great for our basketball team — I am very proud of my group,” Donewald said, according to press reports.
“We have the Asian Games that are very important to this group and this gives us belief that maybe we can compete and maybe we can win this thing,” Donewald added.
China will host the Asian Games on Nov. 12 through Nov. 27 in the southern city of Guangzhou, with the national side looking to avenge a second place finish to Iran in the Asian Basketball Championships last year.
Donewald has repeatedly stated that his focus is on fielding a competitive team for the 2012 London Olympics.
Although Yao reportedly is thinking of retiring from national play, state media is holding out hopes that the Houston Rocket center will be in London to anchor the team’s frontline with Washington Wizard power forward Yi Jianlian.
Going up against some of the world’s top big men, Yi finished the World Championships with impressive numbers, averaging 20.2 points and 10.2 rebounds — a surprise to many who have watched him languish in the NBA.
“He’s playing with a lot of confidence. He’s taking this responsibility and putting it on his shoulders,” Donewald said earlier this week.
“I just think right now he’s playing as good as anybody in the tournament,” he said.
Unfortunately for Donewald and China, neither Yao nor Yi will be in uniform for the Asian Games as both players will be suited up for their NBA teams.
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