The used-to-be Asian powerhouse China men's basketball team faces a bitter challenge here in the coming fortnight, that is to regain the Asian title and to get direct access to next year's Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
After losing the Asian title in 2009 and 2013, China failed to make into the 2010 World Championship and the 2014 World Cup. But unlike the FIBA Basketball World Cup, known as the FIBA World Championship between 1950 and 2010, China has never missed any Summer Olympic Games in men's basketball since 1984 in Los Angeles.
Though the silver and bronze medalists here still have chance to reach the Olympics, it seems like a "Mission Impossible" for China to beat European nemesis such like France and Serbia in the Olympic qualifying tournament
After finishing fifth in Manila, 2013 and also fifth in Incheon Asian Games, China needs the Asian Championship victory.
However, the facts of playing at home and parading one of the deepest rosters in the tournament can not be the assurance for victory as the host hardly had tough competition in preparation although they started very early.
Yi Jianlian, who will turn 28 later this year, is still China's star player. The former NBA player, who was slowed down by injury in 2013, needs to prove that he is still among the best big men in Asia.
Wang Zhelin, Li Muhao and 19-year-old Zhou Qi will join Yi to make up the new generation of the "Walking Great Wall".
Veterans Li Wei and Zhou Peng's return could not cover a fact that coach Gong Luming's most wards will be playing in Asian Championship for the first time, which means their relative inexperience may not produce efficiency and consistency.
China will play against Jordan, South Korea and Singapore in Group C. Jordan, who was edged out by China by one point in the 2011 final, boasts naturalized Alex Legion who will pair up with playmaker Sam Daghlas. But the absence of promising young center Ahamd Al-Dwairi means that veteran Zaid Addas will carry more responsibility.
The South Koreans started their training camp on July 20th, which was quite late because their national federation had to find a new coach after Yoo Jae-Hak stepped down.
Ha Seung-Jin, Yoon Ho-Young and star guard Kim Sun-Hyung were cut due to injury. But fans now are having high expectations on naturalized forward Moon Tae-Young, who was named 2015 All-Star Game MVP of KBL. As always, the South Korea team is made of speed, shooting and team defense and always a serious contender for the podium.
Defending champion Iran won three titles in the last four editions of the Asian Championships and still got chances to successfully defend the crown. Throughout their pre-tournament games and preparation, Iran has rarely shown any weakness. They have great size at every position and are well-coached. The triangle of Mahdi Kamrani, Ehadadi and Bahrami are still the best offense group in Asia.
The Philippines is another rival for the host. And their biggest count will be Andray Blatche who had a beast-like performance in last year's FIBA World Cup. He finished second among all players in scoring at 21.2 points per game and led in rebounds (13.8) and he just came off a great season in CBA league. The Filipinos have a good balance of size, speed, shooting, and also in depth. But as the oldest among 16 teams, they definitely will meet problems in matching up with bigger sides like Iran and China.
Chinese Taipei, who gave China several surprising blows in recent two years, still have the chance to stun the host. Center Quincy Davis plugs this team's traditional weakness in the middle. Star player Lin Chih-Chieh will surely carry much of the burden of leading the team once again. Their biggest problem will be size disadvantage. Chinese Taipei will play against Lebanon, Qatar and Kazakhstan in Group D, in which four teams are quite close.
The 2015 Asian Championship will be held in Changsha, Hunan province, China from September 23 to October 3. The champion will qualify for Rio Olympics while the second and third placed teams will go to play in qualifying tournament.
