Xu Jie and Zhang Ning were unexpectedly left out at the last moment! The Asian Cup, the group stage of the Chinese men's basketball team, is a do-or-die match!

The Chinese men's basketball team officially announced the 12-man roster for the Asian Cup: Gao Shiyan, Hu Mingxuan, Liao Sanning, Cheng Shuaipeng, Zhao Rui, Wang Junjie, Yu Jiahao, Zhao Jiayi, Hu Jinqiu, Zhu Junlong, Li Xiangbo, and Raymond.

Xu Jie and Zhang Ning ultimately missed the opportunity to compete.

Regardless of who the coach is or which national team it is, there will always be discussions about "missing gems" once the list is released, and everyone loves to comment: "XXX should have been selected, XXX should not have been selected."

It is quite normal for fans and media to express their opinions.

My personal view is:

1. The exclusion of Zhang Ning and Xu Jie was expected; they didn’t get many opportunities in the warm-up matches.

However, bringing them to Saudi Arabia and then announcing their exclusion is a significant psychological blow for the players. Did these two just go for a photo shoot and play a couple of games of 2K?

2. Our complaints are, theoretically speaking, just hot air.

Because no matter who is brought along, the one ultimately responsible for the results is Guo Shiqiang.

We can suggest whatever we want, but we don't have to take responsibility for the outcomes.

3. From a roster perspective, as someone who doesn't understand basketball well, I still believe Xu Jie should have been included.

You had 27 turnovers in warm-up matches, yet you still dare not bring a pure point guard? A player who can handle the ball better and organize plays?

A local league first-team player and the second runner-up in the MVP voting, in his prime, unable to make the 12-man roster composed of local players for the national team—this is unprecedented.

One can only say he couldn't compete with Gao Shiyan.

4. Regardless of the outcome of this tournament, I do not wish to hear voices about "training a young team" afterward.

This group of players, overall, is not young at all.

5. If the goal is to prepare for the next World Cup, many players should not have been included.

If we can't even give more opportunities to newcomers for the Asian Cup, it's hard to understand; even the national football team has boldly used young players...

6. Tournament goals.

Reaching the top four would meet my expectations.

Let's talk about this Asian Cup.

I'll post the schedule, and everyone can pay more attention.

Group stage (Beijing time): August 5 at 23:00 vs. Saudi Arabia (host); August 7 at 16:00 vs. India; August 9 at 19:00 vs. Jordan.

The group situation is as follows:

Group A: Qatar, Australia, South Korea, Lebanon

Group B: Guam, Japan, Syria, Iran

Group C: China, Jordan, India, Saudi Arabia (host)

Group D: Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, Iraq, Philippines

The top team from each group advances directly to the quarterfinals, while the second and third place teams will advance through cross-elimination matches.

If the Chinese men's basketball team can secure first place in the group, the first match in the knockout stage will be against the winner of A2 and B3.

From the group draw, it will either be South Korea or Lebanon.

If the Chinese team loses in the group stage and advances as the second place (C2), then unfortunately, even if they win against D3 in the cross-elimination round, they will likely face Australia, the A1 seed, early on.

On the pre-tournament strength rankings, the Chinese men's basketball team is ranked fourth. Australia is first, and Japan and New Zealand are second and third, respectively.

If they want to achieve the goal of standing on the podium, as Zhao Rui stated, the group stage is crucial for the Chinese men's basketball team.

To put it more directly, the match against Jordan is a do-or-die situation for both sides.

Regarding the Jordanian men's basketball team.

This time, they do not have the big center Al-Dawari.

The naturalized player they are using is 37-year-old guard Dar Tucker, rather than the more familiar "Jordanian Kobe," Hollis-Jefferson.

In the roster, there are two sons of Olajuwon, Abdullah Olajuwon and Abdulrahman Olajuwon, but both of them are of average ability.

Thinking of Jordan reminds me of 2011, the Wuhan Asian Championship.

That Jordanian men's basketball team,Sam Douglas, Saeed Abas, and Rasheem Wright pushed the Chinese men's basketball team to the brink.

In my mind, there’s Yi Li’s axe dunk.

In my mind, there’s the voice of Yu Jia:

“They won! The Chinese team won! The Chinese team has narrowly passed, and we can go to London!”

The team led by Deng Huade is one to be nostalgic about.

Looking back, that wasn't the best Chinese men's basketball team, yet it was so exhilarating and thrilling.