Guo and Yi duet headlines China's World Cup roster
BEIJING (China) - China have experience and height, and a dazzling playmaker, to throw at opponents in Group A of the World Cup. Guo Ailun, Yi Jianlian, Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin are all in the squad.
BEIJING (China) - China have plenty of experience and height, and a dazzling playmaker, to throw at opponents in Group A of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.
Point guard Guo Ailun and big men Yi Jianlian (2.13m, 7ft), Zhou Qi (2.17m, 7ft 1in) and Wang Zhelin (2.14m, 7ft) are headline names in the squad that will take on Poland, Venezuela and Cote d'Ivoire in the Group Phase.
Yi has two World Cups under his belt, one of them the 2010 edition when he averaged 20.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest as the Chinese advanced to the Round of 16.
| China's 12-man roster for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 | |||
| Abudushalamu Abudurexiti | Fang Shuo | Guo Ailun | Makan Kelanbaike |
| Ren Junfei | Sun Minghui | Wang Zhelin | Yi Jianlian |
| Zhai Xiaochuan | Zhao Jiwei | Zhao Rui | Zhou Qi |
Guo is the only other player with World Cup experience. His first big tournament with China was the World Cup nine years ago in Turkey.
Zhou and Wang, along with Yi and Guo, represented China at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The others on the roster that played well for the respective clubs this past season, and for China in the Asian Qualifiers, are Abudushalamu Abudurexiti, Fang Shuo, Sun Minghui, Zhao Rui, Ren Junfei, Zhai Xiaochuan and Zhao Jiwei.
China, who did not qualify for the World Cup staged in Spain five years ago, open their Group A account on Saturday night against Cote d'Ivoire. They will need to finish in the top two places of the First Round to advance to the next phase of the competition.
FIBA