China's national men's basketball team announced a 27-player squad on Friday for a training camp ahead of the upcoming Olympic Games and 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
The training camp will begin on May 23, with the team set to play for the first time since a disappointing FIBA World Cup campaign on home soil in 2019.
Yi Jianlian
The Guangdong Southern Tigers and the Liaoning Flying Leopards, finalists of the recently concluded 2020/21 CBA season, have a total of 10 players in the squad, including Guangdong center Yi Jianlian, who missed the entire season with injury.
Guangdong head coach Du Feng is also in charge of the national team. Yi's clubmates Zhou Peng, Ren Junfei, CBA finals MVP Hu Mingxuan, Xu Jie and Du Runwang are also present in the squad.
On the Liaoning side, Han Dejun, Guo Ailun, Zhao Jiwei and Zhang Zhenlin were named this time.
The Zhejiang Golden Bulls and the Xinjiang Flying Tigers each have three players in the roster. Wu Qian, Lu Wenbo and Yu Jiahao are Zhejiang's representatives, while Xinjiang have Zhou Qi, Qi Lin and Yu Dehao.
The other players to be called up are Wang Zhelin (Fujian Sturgeons), Sun Minghui and Zhao Yanhao (Zhejiang Lions), Shen Zijie and He Xining (Shenzhen Aviators), CBA Most Improved Player Gao Shiyan (Shandong Heroes), Liu Chuanxing (Qingdao Eagles), Zeng Fanbo (Beijing Ducks), Wang Shaojie (Beijing Royal Fighters), Zhu Mingzhen (Guangzhou Loong Lions) and Wang Quanze, who played at the U19 World Cup.
In the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, China is placed in Group B with Malaysia, Japan and Chinese Taipei. According to the latest schedule, China will play against Japan on June 16 and Chinese Taipei on June 17. The Chinese team has another matchup with Japan slated for June 19 and Chinese Taipei on June 20.
After that, China will compete in the Olympic qualifying tournaments in Victoria, Canada, taking on Canada on June 30 and Greece on July 1. Uruguay, the Czech Republic and Turkey are placed in the other group of the competition zone. Only the top-placed side will advance to the Tokyo Olympic Games through this competition.