Can Yao lift China in Athens?

Only four players remain on the Chinese national team from the squad that won the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) championship in Shanghai three years ago. The holdovers now playing at the Athens Olympics are 7-5 Yao Ming, 6-11 Bateer Menke, 6-6 Li Nan and 6-6 Zhang Jinsong.

The influx of fresh talent is unabated. Chinese officials are forever in search of better players to surround Yao, the Houston Rockets center who is a National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star.

At the World Championships in Indiana two years ago, China took 12th place in a dismal showing that saw coach Wang Fei post a lowly 1-7 record. A consolation was Yao’s phenomenal performance. He ranked first in field goal percentage (.753), first in blocked shots (2.3), third in scoring (21.0) and third in rebounding (9.3). Wang eventually lost his job when a few months later, China squandered a 7-point lead in the final minute of regulation to lose to Korea in overtime in the Asian Games title match.

The Busan setback triggered the exit of veterans Liu Yudong, Hu Weidong, Zhang Cheng and Gong Xiaobin.

China brought back Jiang Xingquan to the bench for the ABC tournament in Harbin last year. Jiang, 62, led China to the quarterfinals of the 1994 World Championships and was considered an icon in the sport. He recruited Fan Bin, Jiao Jian, Li Ke and Sun Jun to beef up the national team which went unscathed in capturing the crown. China scored a vengeful 106-96 win over Korea in the finals.

In an unprecedented move, Chinese authorities tapped former NBA coach Del Harris to take over the national team reins from Jiang for the Athens Games. Also appointed was assistant coach Jonas Kazlauskas of Lithuania. Retired point guard Adiljiang was the only Chinese in the coaching staff.

The once blindly patriotic Chinese realized to prepare for the Olympics, the team couldn’t afford to be narrow-minded and sought out foreign help. The search started at the 2002 World Championships when the Chinese recruited Denver Nuggets assistant coach Jarrin Akana, a Mandarin-speaking Hawaiian to assist Wang.

A few changes were made to touch up the national team. Gone were Jiang’s four recruits. Aside from the four 2001 holdovers, Harris retained 6-3 Liu Wei, 6-4 Guo Shiqiang, 6-7 Zhu Fangyu, 6-8 Chen Ke and 6-9 Du Feng. He then added 6-10 Mo Ke, 6-11 Yi Jianlian and 6-0 Zhang Yunsong to complete the 12-man lineup.

The oldest in the cast is Jinsong, 30, while the youngest is Jianlian, 16. The average age is 24.5.

Only three players averaged in double figures in the last ABC joust. Yao (22.6), Li Nan (14.5) and Du (10.8) led the offensive attack. Key contributors were Jinsong (9.4), Fangyu (8.0), Bateer (7.9) and Liu (6.8).

Waiting in the wings to join the national team are teeners 6-1 Chen Jianghua, 6-11 Zhang Xiao, 7-1 Mo Guochao, 7-1 Liu Junshan, 7-5 Sun Mingming and 7-0 Zhao Hang. There is an abundant supply of newcomers–tall, stocky, quick and hungry–in China’s vast population to sustain the development of the national team.

In Athens, Yao is betting that China will finish in the top eight of the 12-team competition. He won’t shave for six months if China winds up among the last four. If China lands in the top six, Asia will gain an extra fourth slot in the 24-team World Championships in Saitama in 2006.

International Basketball Federation president Carl Ching Men Ky of Hong Kong said China will pull a surprise and make it to the semifinals. "Yao is very powerful," said Men Ky. "When he is in the paint, the only way to stop him is to foul. The other players in the Chinese team are also good. The team has improved a lot recently. If they play well, maybe they can cruise into the semifinals. If not, a top eight finish will not be too difficult."

China is bracketed in Group A with Argentina, Italy, New Zealand, Serbia-Montenegro and Spain. Group B is made up of Angola, Australia, Greece, Lithuania, Puerto Rico and the US. The top four of each group advance to the quarterfinals after a round robin in the eliminations. The eight survivors then clash to determine the four semifinals. The semifinal winners will play for the gold on Aug. 28.

China got off to a poor start in losing an 83-58 decision to Spain. Li Nan led China in scoring with 14 points and Yao was held to 12. Spanish center Paul Gasol knocked in 21 points and Juan Carlos Navarro added 16.

Yao was dejected after the blowout and said he’s thinking of retiring from the national squad. He probably didn’t anticipate growing a beard.

In China’s next game, Yao went berserk as he netted 39 points to fuel a 69-62 win over New Zealand. The Rockets star also grabbed 13 rebounds in 34 minutes. No other Chinese was in twin digits. Yao took charge from the onset and singlehandedly kept the Kiwis at bay. New Zealand resorted to outside shooting with Yao blocking the lane and shot only 10-of-37 triples. The victory avenged China’s 94-88 defeat to New Zealand at the last World Championships.

It’s a tall order for China to move up to the quarterfinals. Two teams in Group A won’t make it. New Zealand is likely to fall by the wayside. China must upset either Italy or Argentina to avoid elimination since a win over Serbia-Montenegro is unimaginable.

Italy beat New Zealand by two and lost to Serbia-Montenegro by two. Argentina bowed to Spain by 12 and to Serbia-Montenegro by one. China was beaten by Argentina by 24 at the last World Championships. At a pre-Olympic tuneup in Belgrade, Argentina outscored China 22-8 in the fourth period to post a come-from-behind 84-74 win. So it appears that if China hopes to make it to the top eight, Harris’ charges must beat Italy tonight (tomorrow morning, Manila time).

Italy is banking on its reputation of crushing the US, 95-78, in a pre-Olympic tuneup last Aug. 3. Coach Carlo Recalcati’s team lists three players who saw action against the Philippine Centennial quintet twice in an Italian tour two years ago. They are Alex Righetti, Michele Mian and Rodolfo Rambaldoni.

China is hoping to make an impact in Athens preparatory to defending the ABC crown in the World Championship qualifier next year. It has an automatic berth as host of the Beijing Olympics and is determined to bag at least a bronze in 2008. If China finishes in the top six at the World Championships, Asia could earn three tickets to the Beijing Games.