China Men’s Basketball win gold at the Asian Games 2018

Facing off against old rivals Iran, this would be the last medal opportunity for the old guards of this Iranian team. In contrast the Chinese team that is playing in the Asian Games is the ‘development’ team, comprising of young and upcoming talents. This would be the first medals final games for a lot of the youngsters on the team, although the team is tender in years they do boast considerable talent in the form of Houston Rocket’s project big man Zhou Qi, 2-way contract Ding Yanyuhang of the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors Summer League attendee Abudushalamu Abudurexiti and finally the 57th pick of the Memphis Grizzlies Wang Zhelin.

Starting the first quarter the veteran Iranian team looked to be in complete control as Haddadi controlled the tempo through his high post passing. The 33-year-old was an absolute behemoth this game, the twin towers of Qi and Wang had a lot of difficulty coming up against Haddadi. Haddadi would backdown his man, if the double team came he’ll kick it out to an open shoter or if no help came he’ll post his man. Playing to their strengths and focal point Haddadi, Iran were able to get to a 14-point lead over China in the first half.

There are some players that shy away when the lights are on at their brightest and for this game China’s Fangshuo shone brighter than anyone else. Fangshuo alongside Zhao Rui and Abudushalamu lead a spirited comeback against Iran. There three point shooting brought themselves back into the game and eventually the lead that they’ll hold onto. A major change for China was the application of the high press. The Chinese guards started breaking the full court press on Iran, making it diffcutl for Iran to get the ball up slowly and force a faster pace. They then made sure to pass the ball as much as they could to tire out the Iran defense. This constant plan of passing and cutting to force Haddadi out of the paint and to make the older Iranians run.

A barrage of three’s in the second half, rejuvenated team China and their willingness to run the ball ultimately contributed to the acceleration of Iran’s decline in stamina. Credit must be given to both Wang and Hanlin, in the third quarter every single Iranian possession went through Haddadi who played the entrie quarter. The ease Haddadi had to get himself into high percentage shot areas meant that almost every time he would be guaranteed a bucket. Both Wang and Han stepped up to put their bodies on the line. Both players defended Haddadi to the best of their efforts and made sure to contests.For all of Haddadi’s efforts, he looked absolutely gassed coming into the fourth, barely able to get up and down the court this would spell the end of Iran’s domination as the Chinese guards started dicing their way through Iran’s interior.

59% from 3 to Iran’s 27% was the decisive factor. Looking at this Iranian team, there were plenty of those jack-of-all trade physical players. However in terms of a pure shooting threat or creative outlet they just didn’t have anyone. Having built the team around Haddadi, they were always going to be in trouble once stamina kicked in or if Haddadi got into foul trouble. This Iranian team was dominant for 10 years playing a style of grit and grind basketball but unfortunately like all dynasty they come to an end. A mighty effort by the Iranians and probably the last time you’ll see players like Haddadi and Barahmi.

A lot of Chinese players stepped up today, and the one who probably walked himself into a World Cup spot is no doubt Fangshuo. He was clinical this game and was a true floor general. He’s had a rough tournament so to come into form when it matters the most, he deserves the praise and highlights.
Player of the game:

Honing in on the star of the game it was doubtfully the next Chinese super star in the making, the Chinese-Uyghur Abdushalamu. Again he showed his fantastic basketball instincts going 50% from inside, 80% from deep and 6 rebounds. His ability to play inside the paint, backdown players, and stroke the three, he caused massive problems for the Iranian defense who couldn’t stop him.
When Qi and Wang were off, Abdu would go inside and battle with the Iranian front court. He was more than capable at playing there against the wider and taller Persian players. One of the things the Chinese commentators often mentions when Abdu is playing is that he always makes the right decision, if you watch Abdu you’ll notice that Abdu rarely rushes his shots and he’s always moving off the ball. Abdu has to go to the World Cup finals next year and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get 6th man minutes.
