57+18! A total domination! China’s strongest twin towers are now active.

The fresh lineup for the men’s basketball semifinals at the National Games is:

Sichuan versus Zhejiang; Guangdong versus Liaoning.

In the quarterfinal clash, Sichuan cruised to an 89-76 victory over Beijing without breaking a sweat.

During this match, Zhou Qi displayed tremendous control, going 13-for-21 from the field in 28 minutes, exploding for 33 points and 14 boards; Hu Jinqiu was very efficient, making 10 of 14 shots to add 24 points and 4 rebounds.

Together, the twin towers combined for 57 points and 18 rebounds, utterly unstoppable, effortlessly breaking through the opponent’s interior defense.

Beijing’s stats were as follows:

By the way, Sun Minghui also played a crucial role, easily securing a near double-double with 17 points and 8 assists. Even with such strong twin towers, without good feeding, it’s hard to maximize their potential.

Unless something unexpected happens, Zhejiang won’t be able to stop Sichuan from confidently advancing to the finals, as the latter seems to have multiple “bugs” in their game.

Hopefully, Zhou Qi can carry his National Games form into the upcoming World Cup qualifiers (November 28 to December 1). Most importantly, he must stay healthy; China needs him to face the challenge from South Korea. Zhou Qi’s last time wearing the national team jersey was in February during the Asian qualifiers, where in 19 minutes as a starter, he scored 11 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots, leading China to a 100-58 win over Japan.

Speaking of this year’s Asia Cup, if Zhou Qi hadn’t withdrawn due to a recurring injury, China might have won gold instead of silver. At the very least, he wasn’t just the first backup center Yu Jiahao (averaging 7.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 45.5% shooting), but remains the strongest domestic interior player in terms of overall offense and defense.

At the CBA level, in the 24-25 season Zhou Qi played for Beijing, helping the team finish as runner-up. During the finals, he averaged 16.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game. In the last game, he shot 80% to explode for 31 points and 10 rebounds — one of his rare games in recent years where he gave his all, as he usually holds back due to physical reasons.

In the new season, Zhou Qi will continue to play for Beijing, now joined by new teammates including China’s national team captain Zhao Rui, plus Chen Yingjun and possibly Zeng Fanbo (still undecided). They have a strong chance to compete for his second career championship.