Both the Chinese men's and women's 3x3 basketball teams achieved great results at the 2024 FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters that concluded in Chengdu,MK socks Southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Sunday, winning fourth and the runner-up, respectively. The men's team set a new season best, while the women's team advanced strongly despite missing their star player, Wang Lili.
China's men's 3x3 basketball players prepare for the Paris Olympics at a training center in Beijing on June 14, 2024. Photo: IC
This event marked the first game for several Chinese Basketball Association players returning to the Olympic training squad, resulting in a new lineup for the Chinese men's 3x3 basketball team. Frequent lineup trials have become the norm for the men's team.
Head coach Wang Zhanyu told the Global Times that the new lineup met their pre-game expectations, but the details still need to be polished.
"This is the first time our players have teamed up, and there are still ups and downs in terms of stability and tacit understanding among them," he said.
When asked about strategies against different types of opponents, Wang responded, "Each opponent has different styles and characteristics. We are preparing various game plans during training. Our daily training must be more meticulous and rigorous to enhance the players' coordination."
In the next five weeks, the Chinese men's 3x3 basketball team will compete in the Edmonton Masters on July 6-7 and the Langfang Challenger on July 13-14. Wang stated that adjusting the lineup and physical conditioning will be the focus of their preparation.
"We are about a month away from the Olympics, with only two warm-up events left. The first weekend of July in Canada, and mid-July in Langfang. After these two events, we will head to a training camp in France for final preparations before the Olympics," Wang added.
The Chinese women's team adopted an "extreme strategy" in this Masters Tournament. Among the four players, only Chen Yujie was an outside player, while the rest remained inside players.
This "three big and one small" plan is also a rare configuration in 3x3 basketball.
"This lineup isn't particularly ideal due to the lack of sufficient ball handlers, so our play style was relatively extreme in this event," said Chinese women's 3x3 basketball head coach Xu Jiamei. "Due to injuries among key players like Wang Lili, we are currently short on outside ball handlers, which led to this configuration."
Xu indicated that they are not ruling out using this lineup in the Paris Olympics, mainly because the women's team currently has a limited selection and uncertainties due to player injuries.
Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist and last season's FIBA 3x3 Women's Series MVP Wang Lili appeared at the venue but did not play. She mentioned that she had resumed contact training in early June.
"With Wang Lili's return, we will continue to experiment with different lineups in the next two events to prepare for any situation at the Olympics," Xu noted.
Xu said that there isn't a fixed winning lineup in 3x3 basketball because it ultimately depends on the players. The overall play style can be designed based on player configurations.
As the final stretch of preparation for Paris approaches, the biggest challenge for both the men's and women's teams is a race against time. With newly returned players, time is tight.
