Guo named as Chinese men's basketball head coach

BEIJING -- The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) on Sunday announced that Guo Shiqiang has been appointed as the head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team.

"In order to prepare for the FIBA World Cup in 2027 and the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028, the CBA has decided to appoint Guo Shiqiang as the head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team," said the CBA in a statement.

Having led the team as acting head coach for over a month, the 49-year-old Guo succeeded Serbian coach Aleksandar Djordjevic, who had failed to guide the team to qualify for the Paris Games.

It will be the second spell of Guo as the head coach of the Chinese men. He was in charge of the national team in 2009, but stepped down the same year following the team's lopsided loss to Iran in the final of the Asian Championships.

Guo was a member of the Chinese team that finished eighth at the Athens Games in 2004. He started his career as a coach in 2005 and led the Liaoning Flying Leopards to win the CBA league title in the 2017-2018 season.