Firstly, the key to Spain beating us in the warm-up matches was their proven system, whereas we still seem to rely too much on individual stars.
Whether it's men's or women's soccer or men's or women's basketball, Spain's excellence in both fields has captured the world's attention.
Their model of success has consistently been based on a youth training system as the cornerstone, and women's soccer and basketball have successfully borrowed from men's soccer and basketball.
However, yesterday the Spanish men's basketball team suffered a defeat against Australia. Despite the changes in the team's lineup since the Gasol brothers retired, their tight defense and fast counterattacks are still not to be underestimated.
The Spanish women's basketball team, whose style is similar to that of the men's basketball team, won the warm-up game against China. Even without their main center and four core players, they made it difficult for the Chinese team to adapt with their full-court high pressure and quick transitions.
In short, while the success of Spanish soccer and basketball stems from the strength of the system, China's two major balls still seem to rely on individual heroes.
Furthermore, despite the absolute dominance inside, the Chinese women's basketball team committed 14 turnovers in the half, which is really puzzling.
Today's starting lineup for China includes Li Meng, Li Yueru, Sun Mengran, Yang Liwei and Wang Siyu, and the first impression of this lineup is speed.
Yang Liwei's return is of particular interest, as her form will have a direct impact on the performance of China's backline and the outcome of the match.
Just seven minutes into the game, the offense and defense were out of control inside, leading to a forced timeout for Spain.
After the first quarter, China was leading 22:13. Li Yueru ruled the inside with her 8 points and 3 rebounds, and more importantly, she also activated the outside of the Chinese team.
In the second quarter, Spain accelerated its offensive tempo, China's errors increased, and after a wave of 6:0 offense, Coach Zheng Wei called a halt to the game.
China led 37:33 at halftime, but a whopping 14 turnovers put the lead in jeopardy. Wang Siyu's five turnovers were a reminder of the No. 5 in women's basketball two years ago.
Fourth, the key to China's loss was the inadequacy of the backline.
In the second half, China's inside dominance remained evident, with Han Xu taking over from Li Yueru and performing equally well under the basket. Despite the strength of the Spanish coaching team, the absence of the main center did make the best women's basketball coach in Europe face a challenge.
However, in the fourth quarter, China insisted on strong inside offense and gambling three-pointers, leading to Spain's success in equalizing the score.
In the last five minutes, Spain started to tighten up and both sides entered a tug-of-war. Yang Liwei's three fouls almost put China in a desperate situation.
Spain continued to keep the pressure on in overtime, with China's only means of scoring left on free throws.
The Spanish team continued their offensive momentum from the fourth quarter, firmly taking the initiative. Gustafsson was getting better and better, showing a true center level on both offense and defense.
The reason for the Chinese women's basketball team's loss once again exposed the problems of the backline, from turnovers to defensive blocking, the performance was completely substandard.
Li Yueru contributed 31 points and 15 rebounds on her own. Han Xu had a great second half, contributing 8 points. Huang Sijing, on the other hand, contributed 9 points and made 3 out of 5 three-pointers to become a cold killer.
Li Meng contributed 13 points and 11 assists to personify the point guard. China's women's basketball team's chances of advancing to the last eight are virtually nil after the crucial loss, meaning they could meet top teams like the United States, France and Australia in the first round of the knockout stage.
China's women's basketball team's dream of the top four is basically dashed, the reconstruction work has become inevitable, and can even be said to be imminent.
Firstly, the key to Spain beating us in the warm-up matches was their proven system, whereas we still seem to rely too much on individual stars.
Whether it's men's or women's soccer or men's or women's basketball, Spain's excellence in both fields has captured the world's attention.
Their model of success has consistently been based on a youth training system as the cornerstone, and women's soccer and basketball have successfully borrowed from men's soccer and basketball.
However, yesterday the Spanish men's basketball team suffered a defeat against Australia. Despite the changes in the team's lineup since the Gasol brothers retired, their tight defense and fast counterattacks are still not to be underestimated.
The Spanish women's basketball team, whose style is similar to that of the men's basketball team, won the warm-up game against China. Even without their main center and four core players, they made it difficult for the Chinese team to adapt with their full-court high pressure and quick transitions.
In short, while the success of Spanish soccer and basketball stems from the strength of the system, China's two major balls still seem to rely on individual heroes.
Furthermore, despite the absolute dominance inside, the Chinese women's basketball team committed 14 turnovers in the half, which is really puzzling.
Today's starting lineup for China includes Li Meng, Li Yueru, Sun Mengran, Yang Liwei and Wang Siyu, and the first impression of this lineup is speed.
Yang Liwei's return is of particular interest, as her form will have a direct impact on the performance of China's backline and the outcome of the match.
Just seven minutes into the game, the offense and defense were out of control inside, leading to a forced timeout for Spain.
After the first quarter, China was leading 22:13. Li Yueru ruled the inside with her 8 points and 3 rebounds, and more importantly, she also activated the outside of the Chinese team.
In the second quarter, Spain accelerated its offensive tempo, China's errors increased, and after a wave of 6:0 offense, Coach Zheng Wei called a halt to the game.
China led 37:33 at halftime, but a whopping 14 turnovers put the lead in jeopardy. Wang Siyu's five turnovers were a reminder of the No. 5 in women's basketball two years ago.
Fourth, the key to China's loss was the inadequacy of the backline.
In the second half, China's inside dominance remained evident, with Han Xu taking over from Li Yueru and performing equally well under the basket. Despite the strength of the Spanish coaching team, the absence of the main center did make the best women's basketball coach in Europe face a challenge.
However, in the fourth quarter, China insisted on strong inside offense and gambling three-pointers, leading to Spain's success in equalizing the score.
In the last five minutes, Spain started to tighten up and both sides entered a tug-of-war. Yang Liwei's three fouls almost put China in a desperate situation.
Spain continued to keep the pressure on in overtime, with China's only means of scoring left on free throws.
The Spanish team continued their offensive momentum from the fourth quarter, firmly taking the initiative. Gustafsson was getting better and better, showing a true center level on both offense and defense.
The reason for the Chinese women's basketball team's loss once again exposed the problems of the backline, from turnovers to defensive blocking, the performance was completely substandard.
Li Yueru contributed 31 points and 15 rebounds on her own. Han Xu had a great second half, contributing 8 points. Huang Sijing, on the other hand, contributed 9 points and made 3 out of 5 three-pointers to become a cold killer.
Li Meng contributed 13 points and 11 assists to personify the point guard. China's women's basketball team's chances of advancing to the last eight are virtually nil after the crucial loss, meaning they could meet top teams like the United States, France and Australia in the first round of the knockout stage.
China's women's basketball team's dream of the top four is basically dashed, the reconstruction work has become inevitable, and can even be said to be imminent.
