Published: 11:23, October 9, 2023 | Updated: 11:30, October 9, 2023
Yao assumes blame for men's hoops fiasco
By Xinhua

Players of China and the Philippines vie for the ball during the men's basketball semifinal at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct 4, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Yao Ming, the president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), says he takes full responsibility for the Chinese men's team's miserable campaign at the Hangzhou Asian Games last week.

After being ousted in the semifinals, Team China relinquished its Asian crown. The home-court flop came hot on the heels of a disappointing FIBA World Cup campaign that saw China fail to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Former NBA star Yao assumed the blame for the poor results, but hinted he would like to remain as CBA president and try to lead the team out of its current mire.

"There are two ways for me to take responsibility. First, to resign and go back home — Shanghai is not too far from (Hangzhou). Second, to accumulate these experiences, analyze them, and come up with an action plan for the next step. I would accept either," Yao told Xinhua on Friday.

We failed to live up to expectations. We were dealing with frustration after the World Cup failure, and it was quite hard to make a quick adjustment. That's the reality, and we must face it.

Yao Ming, the president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA)

China had a bleak record of one win and four losses at last month's World Cup in Manila, including a rout against the Philippines, to finish 29th of 32 teams and fail to secure a berth for Paris 2024.

A month after that failure, China was edged by the Philippines in the Asiad semifinal to lose its continental crown, much to the ire of the home fans.

"We failed to live up to expectations. We were dealing with frustration after the World Cup failure, and it was quite hard to make a quick adjustment. That's the reality, and we must face it," said Yao, who stood by the court in silence for several minutes after China capitulated in the dying moments and was ultimately ousted by Justin Brownlee's buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

After the game, Team China failed to show for the post-match news conference, before head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic and captain Zhao Jiwei eventually emerged to face media after a delay.

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Yao defended his initial decision to skip the media briefing.

"With 30 years of basketball experience behind me, I've seen all kinds of losses. As a member of China's team, losing a game is undoubtedly very frustrating, but as the leader, my priority is to send the players back to the locker room as soon as possible, because there are future matches awaiting them," Yao explained.

I'm not a coach and I can't evaluate what happened on the court, but it's clear that there was some slackness. One is a lax attitude, and the other is the wrong mindset of trying to crush the opponent in a short period instead of considering the game in the bigger picture.

Yao Ming, the president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA)

Leading by 18 points at halftime, China began to lose its grip on the match in the third quarter. Two days later, Yao attributed the loss to "two kinds of slackness".

"I'm not a coach and I can't evaluate what happened on the court, but it's clear that there was some slackness. One is a lax attitude, and the other is the wrong mindset of trying to crush the opponent in a short period instead of considering the game in the bigger picture," Yao said.

The 43-year-old also lamented Team China's lack of a prolific scorer.

"We need a guy to deliver the basketball to the rim continuously. This not only requires a high level of technical ability but also a strong mental fortitude. We currently lack such a player, and in Chinese culture this kind of player has to withstand the doubt of being individualistic."

After belatedly facing the media, Djordjevic said he took responsibility for the defeat, while captain Zhao insisted that the players should shoulder the blame.

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Yao refused to be drawn on the future of Djordjevic, a former Serbian national team coach. However, he said that some "big names "shouldn't be made scapegoats, and that every detail must be considered as having a cumulative effect on the team. The FIBA Hall of Famer said he cared more about "who can move the team forward and what they should do".

Djordjevic was installed as head coach last November, replacing Du Feng, who led the team through most of its World Cup qualifiers, but had club commitments to fulfill as coach of the Guangdong Southern Tigers.

Yao admitted that it was a "tough decision" to replace Du since a coach cannot work at both a club and the national team under domestic regulations.

From Yao's perspective, Djordjevic's international expertise helped Chinese hoops better connect with the basketball world, as the CBA president warned "there has been a huge gap between Chinese basketball and the world's elite hoops nations since 2019".

"We know that we are falling behind world-leading basketball. When we signed Djordjevic, I asked him to bring his own staff in addition to the domestic coaching crew we provided him. If I remember correctly, his contract expires at the end of this year," Yao confirmed.

"We will evaluate Djordjevic's work, and the choice to go with a more international approach remains unchanged," he added.

READ MORE: Hoopsters in a world of pain

Missing out on both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, Team China is now pinning its hopes on the Los Angeles Games in 2028, for which Yao believes "big surgery" is needed.

"From the national team and the CBA league reforms, to the entire youth training system, including the internationalization and integration of sports and education, this is a comprehensive overhaul that encompasses the entire basketball community," Yao said, adding that "our research has just begun, and I don't want to hastily say how we should proceed".

"I can easily shout a slogan like, 'I have confidence.' However, the key is what we are actually going to do," he added. "Our research report needs to produce something that everyone agrees on and is feasible."