China coach Maher praises learning capacity of his players

BEIJING (FIBA World Championship for Women) - Veteran play-caller Tom Maher is delighted with the learning capacity of his players as China look to continue their transition when they step out at the FIBA World Championship for Women.

Having initially turned a new page at the FIBA Asia Championship for Women last year when they only just squeezed onto the podium in Bangkok, Maher is continuing to take satisfaction from the way his young team have evolved since their time in the Thai capital.

Utilising their comprehensive preparation schedule, Maher has been trying to make his side more resilient and help them to move on from the loss of several experienced players who all stepped down during the last couple of years.

Maher led China to the Semi-Finals of the 2008 Olympic Games on home soil and, at this year's FIBA World Championship, there will be no survivors at all from the Beijing side and only a handful from London 2012 -  something which underlines the transformation which is currently being undertaken.

"This young team is now showing signs of a very good growth," stated Maher.

"Compared to 2008, the team members are younger but it also means they are learning faster and they understand my coaching ideas within a much shorter period of time.

"Relatively speaking, the overall strength of the players on the current roster compared to 2008 is not so significant, but it is difficult as there is no world-class player like Miao Lijie."

I'm not too sure at what time the real stars or core of this present team will come out, but our strength is the chemistry between the players. Everyone will contribute to the team. - Maher

Replacing the older players is a very long process, but ever since the beginning of last year and especially during this year, the current generation of young players have come to understand what we are trying to achieve.

"I think we are now closer to being of the same strength as the Japanese team which is very good."

Maher has also repeated his desire for the players to catapult themselves into the Quarter-Finals when they take to the hardwood Turkey.

He reiterated: "We're still a young team, but we have been progressing.

"While some people may think that as a whole, the Serbian team is stronger than us for example, these people probably haven't seen us recently and we will look to take the opportunity to beat Serbia.

"The Quarter-Finals still remain our main goal and we will be doing our best to fight for that top eight spot."

FIBA