Fresh from leading China to their first FIBA Women's Basketball Asia Cup in 12 years, coach Zheng Wei remains level-headed about her side's triumph in the continental competition.

Head coach Zheng Wei (R) of China reacts during the final between China and Japan at the 2023 FIBA Women's Asia Cup in Sydney, Australia, July 2, 2023. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua)

"Mentality played a key role in our winning performance this time," she told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

China narrowly beat archrivals Japan, winners of the past five editions of the Asia Cup, 73-71 on July 2. This victory marked their first trophy in the tournament since 2011, following their runner-up finish at last year's FIBA Women's World Cup, which also took place in Sydney, Australia.

"After what we experienced at the World Cup, we have become more tenacious. Although we encountered some difficulties during our preparation for and participation in the Asia Cup, we are getting more mature after overcoming these difficulties," said Zheng.

UNEXPECTED TITLE THROUGH ADVERSITIES

"I had never expected to win the title," admitted Zheng, referring to several players sustaining injuries or playing overseas.

"When we assembled for our Asia Cup preparation, we lacked eight players compared to what we had at the World Cup," Zheng recalled.

As the Asia Cup serves as a pathway to earning a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympic qualifying tournament, China had set an initial goal of securing a berth in the Olympic qualifiers through a top-four finish at the Asia Cup, before striving for a better result.

"Many things were uncertain at that time, as we didn't have all players available in the squad throughout our preparation. After we landed in Sydney, we finally had our complete Asia Cup roster," said Zheng, adding that the title was within the team's sight, but they were not certain about winning it at all.

Another reason why China felt unsure about their Asia Cup campaign is that they had lost consecutive matches in Europe before heading to the competition. During that process, China faced Belgium, Spain, and France, all semifinalists at this year's FIBA Women's EuroBasket.

"Always losing definitely hurts your confidence and mentality as you doubt whether you can overcome this. But at the same time, our reserve players gained experience against those strong sides," Zheng commented.

"After we arrived in Sydney, we didn't have enough time to reflect on our losses as the Asia Cup was around the corner," she added.

A lack of training together was reflected in China's group matches, as they didn't demonstrate their dominance from the get-go and had to come through overtime to dispatch South Korea to finish as group winners.

"We were not in favorable form in the group stage and tried to build our chemistry along the way. But these three group matches were quite important to us, as we could discover our problems and try to sort them out," Zheng said.

Having achieved their minimum goal of reaching the semifinals of the Asia Cup and earning a ticket to the Olympic qualifying tournament, China gradually improved their form as the competition progressed, overcoming hosts Australia in the semifinal and Japan in the title showdown.

China had lost to Australia in a pre-tournament warmup match. "Before the semifinal, we regrouped our mentality, hoping to showcase our fighting spirit and focus on the process. After winning the match, I felt that our confidence was back," explained Zheng.

Even when China geared up to cross the final hurdle, they were affected by injuries, as captain Yang Liwei suffered a leg injury late in the match against Australia.

"As we had not won the Asia Cup for 12 years, I think those veterans really wanted to win it, and they didn't want to miss the chance again this time. Despite Yang's absence, everyone else stepped up and we managed to restrain opponents through our defense and display our characteristics as well. It was quite tough," said Zheng.

FULL SCORE FOR TEAM MENTALITY

"As for mentality, I can give a full score for my team. Our running-in on tactics and technique was not at the best, but everyone gave it their all," Zheng said.

"We felt a bit down when losing many matches, but if you didn't experience this, you might always regard yourself as the runners-up of the World Cup.

"Every day we encountered new problems, and we tried to solve them," she added.

Zheng added that she caught a glimpse of the chance of winning the final after the first quarter.

"As we had failed to claim the Asia Cup for 12 years, our players were impatient in the first half. During halftime, I told them to keep cool-headed and stick to their style. From the third quarter, we were more patient and relied on teamwork. The game was then basically in our control," Zheng recalled.

As for Zheng, commitment, teamwork, fighting spirit, and a never-say-die spirit were what China relied on en route to reaching their goals.

"Those playing overseas or suffering injuries came back to the national team without any hesitation. Starting the game or sitting on the bench, offense or defense, they always stuck to the team's need," she said.

STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH

In addition to claiming the title, China also tested their young players at the Asia Cup. For Zheng, "the goal has been reached."

"When we trained in Europe, as we were not sure about the conditions of our players playing overseas or suffering injuries, we set a goal of testing reserve players, aiming to improve their level and helping them gain experience. During the Asia Cup, everyone on the court showed their value," Zheng noted.

Despite China's achievements of reaching the final at the World Cup and lifting the Asia Cup in these two years, Zheng still sees much room for her side's improvement.

"We need to improve on many aspects. We will sum up our campaign this time and seek for problems, and try to solve them in the upcoming training," she said.

The team plans to rest for around ten days before gathering on July 16 for their preparations for the Hangzhou Asian Games, which will be held from September 23 to October 8.

"As Han Xu and Li Meng continue their WNBA duties, and some players need treatment and rehabilitation, we need to concentrate on the training of our young players available at the current stage," Zheng commented.

"Now we are the Asian champions, but I have to say that Asian competitions are tough, and we are not so sure of winning the title as in the past. Therefore, we should focus on our daily training and fight for the best result at the Asian Games.

"We will move forward step by step, and fulfill our mission one at a time. The Asian Games is our top priority now, then the Olympic qualification, and finally the Paris Olympics," Zheng concluded. 

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