Zhou Qi (R) of China tries to shoot during a quarterfinal match against Lebanon at the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain)
Five players will not travel to Europe with China's men's basketball team for the next phase of preparation for the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.
BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- China's men's basketball team has made adjustments to their squad before heading to Europe in preparation for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers.
The Chinese team, who finished their FIBA Asia Cup campaign by losing the quarterfinals to Lebanon on July 20, stayed in Jakarta, Indonesia until July 24. The team is scheduled to depart for Europe on Monday for their next phase of training.
The team will train in Spain and France and play some warmup matches before heading to Kazakhstan in late August for their FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Bahrain.
The team announced that Zhai Xiaochuan, Fan Ziming, Gao Shiyan, Ren Junwei and Zhao Rui will not travel to Europe.
After finishing the first round of Asian qualifiers with a win-loss record of 4-2, China is scheduled to play twice against Kazakhstan, Iran and Bahrain respectively in the second round between August and next February. ■
