The debut was thrilling yet safe, but Guo Shiqiang dampened Wang Junjie's spirits.

In last night's first game of the Men's Basketball Asian Cup, there was quite a lot to observe. First, it was unexpected that Saudi Arabia was not only strong but also very competitive, taking the initiative early on with a strong start, including a late surge and fierce battles for offensive rebounds, which created significant trouble for the Chinese men's basketball team.

The Saudi team shot well from three-point range at the beginning, with contributions coming from everyone, not solely relying on their naturalized player, Rahman. On our side, the first to step up was team captain Zhao Rui, who scored 5 points to stabilize the situation. After being hit in the abdomen by an opponent's foul, Zhao Rui returned to the game and still managed to hit a three-pointer.

During the unexpected period when Zhao Rui was out, Cheng Shuai Peng, who replaced him, scored 5 points to help stabilize the Chinese team. The opponent shot well from three-point range, but we needed to shoot even better. After weathering the opponent's initial onslaught, our height advantage became evident during the rotation phase.

After Liao Sanning, Wang Junjie, and Yu Jiahao came off the bench, we continuously grabbed offensive rebounds to complete second-chance opportunities. The opponent's offense gradually turned into Rahman's personal showcase, and he ultimately scored 32 points, proving to be a valuable naturalized player.

Midway through the second quarter, we managed to shoot 11 out of 6 from three-point range, continuing the excellent shooting touch from the warm-up matches. By halftime, we had only committed 2 turnovers, which was a stark contrast to the low performance displayed in the warm-up games.

At the end of the game, we had made 8 out of 22 three-pointers, with a mediocre performance from beyond the arc in the second half. We only had 9 turnovers, most of which occurred in the final quarter when our stamina waned; this period's rebounding and turnovers should be taken seriously.

Although we won against Saudi Arabia, the overall process was thrilling yet safe. The advantage established in the first half was quickly narrowed to just a 3-point lead by the opponent in the third quarter, but Zhao Rui stepped up at critical moments, scoring 5 points to stabilize the situation.

This included his bank shot in the final quarter that sealed the victory. In his first game, Zhao Rui perfectly fulfilled the responsibilities of the national team captain, finishing with 19 points, 6 assists, and 1 steal on 8 of 15 shooting, including 3 of 6 from three-point range.

Our Da Qiu remains a stabilizing force. In the first half, he shot 7 of 8 for 15 points, making him the most reliable player on the team, hitting every mid-range shot he took. The opponent dared to give him space, and Da Qiu was ready to punish them. His efficiency remained high in the second half, but he struggled with free throws.

It's hard to imagine that a player as steady as Da Qiu could only make 2 out of 9 free throws in this game. Overall, he finished with "only" 20 points and 5 rebounds, but his presence on the court felt more like a 30+ performance; he simply missed too many free throws.

After the game, Da Qiu took responsibility: "I need to reflect on this; the opponent put a lot of pressure on us. If my free throws hadn't been so poor, the game wouldn't have been so close." This is the truth; Da Qiu's missed free throws gave the opponent hope for a comeback.

The Chinese men's basketball team's offense was decent in this game, but the defense still leaves much to be desired. After all, while we scored 93 points, we also allowed the opponent to score 88, which is definitely not the score Guo Shiqiang, who emphasizes defense, wants to see.

The perimeter defense was too focused on applying pressure; once the opponent broke through to the paint, our rim protection was unable to keep up, giving them too many easy layup opportunities. Both interior players Hu Jinqiu and Yu Jiahao had their issues; Da Qiu couldn't match up against the opponent's big center, and Yu Jiahao struggled with switches, but this was the best configuration we could put together.

We certainly have a lot of room for improvement. Hu Mingxuan's performance in the first game was quite poor, going 0 for 4 and only scoring 2 points from free throws. Liao Sanning also didn't score, Zhao Jiayi couldn't showcase his strengths, and Wang Junjie was benched in the second half by Guo Shiqiang.

In the first half, Wang Junjie delivered an almost perfect performance, making his presence felt strongly on the court. Offensively, he could drive past defenders, actively called for teammates to break the zone defense from the free-throw line, moved very smartly, shot confidently from three-point range, and made his shots.

On defense, Wang Junjie played with great effort during his backtracking, giving off a very passionate and youthful vibe; his enthusiasm was commendable. However, sometimes being overly aggressive isn't ideal; just before the end of the first half, he committed a wrist foul while Rahman was shooting a three-pointer.

During the timeout, Guo Shiqiang raised his voice at Wang Junjie: "Can he make the shot? (And then you commit a foul?)" Wang Junjie nodded in self-reproach, but when he returned to the court, he used his active movement to gain an opportunity for a dunk.

What surprised me was that Wang Junjie didn't play a single minute in the second half, and his stats were frozen at 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist, with a +9 plus-minus rating. I can understand that Coach Guo wanted to cool Wang Junjie down a bit, to remind the young player to be less impulsive and to stay calm on the court.

However, during the final quarter when the three guards were giving up rebounds, Wang Junjie could have been brought in to help secure the boards, especially since he had performed well in rebounding during the first half. Of course, the final result of the game was positive, and after this DNP, Wang Junjie will likely be more cautious on defense.

This marks the Chinese men's basketball team's first victory in the group stage of the Asian Cup since 2015. Tomorrow afternoon at 4 PM, we will face the Indian men's basketball team, who pushed Jordan to overtime in their first game, so they should not be underestimated. We need to take every game seriously and look forward to a good outcome.