China’s big four back for another shot at reaching Women’s Basketball World Cup
Han Xu, Li Yueru, Zhang Ziyu and Liu Yutong give coach Gong Luming plenty of height for six-team tournament in Wuhan
China get another chance to qualify for the Fiba Women’s Basketball World Cup this week, and will have home fans roaring them on.
Gong Luming’s side will play five matches in seven days in a six-team tournament in Wuhan and need to finish in the top three to reach September’s tournament in Berlin.
An opener Mali on Wednesday will be followed by ties against the already qualified Belgium, South Sudan, the Czech Republic and Brazil at the Wuhan Sports Centre Gymnasium.
Centre Han Xu, a key member of the team, is available after completing her season with Perth Lynx in Australia, while Li Yueru, who plays for WNBA side Dallas Wings, is also back.
The return of Han and Li, coupled with Women’s Chinese Basketball Association pair Zhang Ziyu and Liu Yutong, means coach Gong has four towering players at his disposal. Liu, at 6ft 5in (1.96 metres), is the shortest of the quartet, with Zhang standing at 7ft 3in.
After a final warm-up win over the Czech Republic on Sunday, which followed two victories over Brazil, Gong said his team possessed a “world-class” front court but acknowledged his players, especially the backcourt, needed to perform better.