The women's basketball team lost to Japan; they couldn't reach them, and we couldn't defend against them.

The pain of the Chinese women's basketball team losing to Japan is still too intense. From last night until now, many people have been immersed in the negative emotions stemming from this defeat. It hurts; it really hurts.

In hindsight, I never thought the Japanese women's basketball team was easy to handle. Our pre-game discussions, including head coach Gong Luming's comments, expressed a kind of arrogance that underestimated Japan as an opponent, and ultimately, we were punished for such disdain.

Before the game, Gong Luming said, “We hope they (Japan) can bring the same energy as they did in the first half against Australia and not be as ineffective as they were in the second half.” Clearly, we had just ended Japan's dominance in Asia two years ago; where did our arrogance come from, top to bottom?

Last night, as the game began, a topic emerged on Weibo: #The Japanese team can't reach Zhang Ziyu at all#. Zhang Ziyu grabbed consecutive offensive rebounds and eventually scored. When I watched this live, the experience was quite unpleasant; she failed to score on two easy shots in that position.

In the fourth quarter, there was another moment when Zhang Ziyu had already secured the ball under the basket but failed to score despite several attempts. When Zhang Ziyu encounters fatigue, such problems are likely to arise. Under the physical pressure from the Japanese team, her movements became awkward.

Among the Japanese players, only one stands at 1.93 meters, while the others range from 1.6 to 1.9 meters tall. Our Zhang Ziyu and Han Xu naturally have a height advantage, but basketball isn't just about who is taller or has longer wingspan. The opponents indeed couldn't reach us, but we also couldn't defend against them.

In the first quarter, the score was tied at 27, and we lost the opportunity to seize the initiative at home. The 19-year-old prodigy Tan Zhongxin hit five three-pointers in the first quarter, scoring 21 points, almost single-handedly countering our offense.

In any level of competition, allowing the opponent to explode like this in a single quarter, making every three-pointer, is unacceptable. Even if the opponent scores highly due to their shooting ability, it's still acceptable. But Tan Zhongxin made 8 out of 9 shots in that quarter; where was our defensive intensity?

Watching the game, every three-pointer Tan Zhongxin made reminded me of Clarkson, who once exploded in a single quarter against the men's team. The issues in men's and women's basketball are so similar; the opponent is on fire, while we still provide comfortable space on the court without timely physical pressure.

The opponent's three-point shooting remained at a high level throughout the game, while we spent a lot of time in zone defense to protect Zhang Ziyu on the defensive end. Between ball movements, Japan's three-point opportunities kept arising, and in the third quarter, they outscored us by 10 points; this reflects a problem with our coaching staff.

Entering the fourth quarter with an 8-point deficit, we managed to launch some counterattacks but were quickly pulled apart by Japan's three-pointers. Our mindset began to become anxious, and unreasonable shots dashed our hopes of closing the gap.

At such moments, I often think back to if Li Meng were still here, we would at least have a stable starting point and backbone on the perimeter, and the ball could be entrusted to Li Meng. Keeping Li Yueru in the WNBA is a good thing, but is it worth giving up on Li Meng?

Throughout the game, despite having a significant height advantage, we only won the rebounding battle by 5. The opponent's three-point shooting was 16 out of 34 (47.1%), while our three-point shooting was only 6 out of 23 (26%). In fact, although we dominated in the group stage, we have never truly shot well from the three-point line.

Is Zhang Ziyu strong? Yes, she can change the entire game by herself. However, she is still too young; before the Asian Cup, she had never played in an adult competition, and her experience in physical confrontations is too limited. Being tricked by opponents can lead to offensive fouls. These experiences need to be accumulated through games; they cannot simply be taught by coaches.

The Japanese women's basketball team not only displayed precise outside shooting but also showcased excellent defensive flexibility. They did their best to disrupt Zhang Ziyu and applied pressure on others, demonstrating strong tactical execution. They are indeed the better team, and we lost with no complaints.

In today's basketball, without outside shooting accuracy, everything is just talk, even if your inside game has an absolute advantage like Zhang Ziyu. Allowing Zhang Ziyu to play in adult competitions early may not be a mistake, but our long-standing lack of three-point shooting is the root cause of our failure. In this Asian Cup, our worst single-game three-point shooting percentage was only 19%, which should serve as a wake-up call, but unfortunately, we are always slow to react.

After experiencing a rise in 2022 and 2023, the Chinese women's basketball team has rapidly fallen in 2024 and 2025. We are undergoing a transition between generations; we have talents like Zhang Ziyu, but at the same time, our internal issues are becoming increasingly serious.

At the post-game press conference, Han Xu's tears were heartbreaking. Her 2 out of 4 three-point shooting was already the most accurate on the team. We need to put aside last night's defeat, perform well in today's home third-place match, and then conduct a summary and reflection.

We have gone through darker times, and we have also experienced the process of rising from the low. Now, it's just a matter of starting over.