Another disappointing year for Chinese basketball, hope still alive

The Chinese men's basketball team recorded their worst Asian Games result as they finished fifth in Incheon, South Korea.

Pundits, however, argued that the result was not as bad as the same fifth place in the 2013 Asian Championship, also the worst ever for the team in the event's history.

While the Asian Championships witnessed a bunch of star veterans including former NBA player Wang Zhzhi usurped as the continental champions, the Asian Games saw new and young faces struggle and sometimes sparkle.

The waterloo defeat in the Asian Championship caused a heated debate on the Chinese team's decision to rely on veterans at the expense of young players.

Wang Zhizhi, Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng, all in their 30s, were on the flight to the Asian Championships, only to see promising players, Li Muhao as an example, sit out on a major tournament. Later, the team gave up a wild card chance for the inaugural World Cup.

Gong Luming, who took the helm of the team in February, decided to give more chances to the young and packed his 12-member team with 10 players born in the 1990s.

The Chinese side ended their three-game losing streak in face of Chinese Taipei by winning 59-58 in the Asian Games.

Former NBA star Yao Ming said he believed Gong, the coach who led China to the top eight in the 1996 Olympic Games, would bring the team out of an all-time low.

"The Asian Games is just a coaching warm-up for Gong," said Yao. "He will instill something new in the team and give us hopes for the 2015 Asian Championships."

Unlike Gong's side, the Chinese women's team fared well in the year, finishing sixth in the World Championships in Turkey. In the Asian Games, a second-string Chinese team finished runners-up.

Earlier in the year, former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury led Beijing to their second CBA title while Shanxi, spearheaded by former WNBA All-Star Maya Moore, beat Beijing to win the WCBA crown.

The 2014-2015 league tipped off on November 1, with the women's edition opened four days earlier.