BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- China's national basketball team will employ the same roster in Thursday's encounter with Chinese Taipei as it did in the Japan game at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers on Wednesday.
As confirmed by the Chinese side at the pre-game official technical meeting: Zhou Peng, Ren Junfei, Hu Mingxuan, Xu Jie, Zhao Jiwei, Zhang Zhenlin, Wu Qian, Lu Wenbo, Zhao Yanhao, Shen Zijie, Liu Chuanxing and Wang Shaojie will represent team China in Thursday's game.
This means that Zhou Qi, still recovering after eye surgery, and prospective small forward Zhu Mingzhen have to wait for their debut in the tournament.
Placed in Group B, China kicked off its Asia Cup qualifiers campaign on a winning note by getting past Japan 66-57 in its first appearance in an international match for around two years.
"After undergoing the test from the first game, young Chinese players will have a stable mindset and embrace the next challenge with better concentration," said the Chinese team.
China squares off against Japan again on Saturday, and has another head-to-head with Chinese Taipei on Sunday.
The top two teams from each of the qualifiers' six groups will directly qualify for the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup, while the six third-placed sides will contend for the remaining four spots through another qualifying tournament to complete the 16-team field. Enditem
