Centers of attention

Huge in the paint, yet blunt on the perimeter, the Chinese women's basketball team is embracing the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in Wuhan as a critical opportunity to rebuild balance across the court and its prowess at the international level.

As host of the six-team 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup qualifying event in the Hubei provincial capital, Team China is targeting more than just direct qualification for September's Cup finals in Germany, as the Asian powerhouse looks to continue priming its young guns for major tournament basketball.

The task under head coach Gong Luming is simple and clear — to experiment with all possible plays that might give the team's towering trio of Han Xu, Li Yueru and Zhang Ziyu an advantage in the fast-paced, sharp-shooting modern game.

Han and Li, two established WNBA-caliber centers, will remain Team China's backbone when the host tips off its home campaign against African opponent Mali on Wednesday at the Wuhan Sports Center, where five teams, including Brazil, Czech Republic and South Sudan, will vie for three Cup finals tickets up for grabs.

Also featuring in the Wuhan showpiece is Belgium, which, as back-to-back EuroBasket champion, has already clinched its spot to the Cup finals, set to be held in Berlin from Sept 4-13.

Standing 2.26 meters tall (7-foot-5), with her giant presence a spectacle to behold, China's teen sensation Zhang, dubbed "Babyface Shaq" by fans, is likely to draw attention in Wuhan, even with Han and Li starring on Team China.

Zhang's insurmountable advantage under the rim — as apparent as her weakness in mobility, agility and conditioning — is expected to be tested on her senior international debut after having already turned heads at last summer's Asia Cup in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

The in-form Han, a 6-foot-11 former New York Liberty center who spent the past season playing for Perth Lynx in Australia's WNBL, is expected to stand tall for Team China together with current WNBA star Li, a 6-foot-7 backup center with the Dallas Wings. Yet, the sizable potential of Zhang, who averaged a team-high 15.6 points across five games at the Asia Cup, seems too obvious to be ignored.

How to maximize the trio's impact on a team apparently lacking pace, finesse and sharpness on the back court seems to be the most pressing issue for coach Gong.

"I hope our young guards can rise to the challenge (of making plays for the post players) at the qualifying tournament," Gong said after leading Team China to a 85-51 rout of the Czech Republic in its final warm-up on Sunday in Wuhan.

"We have world-class post players, so we need to accommodate to their presence with excellent play-making in the guard position. This will be a key criteria in measuring our ability to be competitive on the world's highest stage in the future."

Han, who has just returned from the WNBL following Perth's grand final loss to Townsville Fire on March 1, only played briefly in the third quarter against the Czechs, while Li sat out the game having also just completed a championship run with the Mist BC in the offseason 3-on-3 Unrivaled league earlier this month.

Despite needing a bit more time to gel, Team China's shooting guard Yang Shuyu has high hopes that the front-court combo will lead the charge.

"Playing alongside them, we are lucky," said Yang. "They will definitely draw a lot of defensive attention and open up more shots for everybody else."

The performance struggles of Team China on the perimeter in two earlier warm-ups against Brazil, despite winning both, did not bode well, though.

The team squandered a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter in its first scrimmage against Brazil on March 4, only edging out the South Americans 74-69 in overtime after allowing a game-tying three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left in regulation. The second win, 72-66, was also secured late in the final period, with Team China's error-ridden play almost allowing a Brazilian comeback with a late surge.

The host combined only 25 assists across the two games, while turning the ball over 39 times in total, and making just 12 out of a total 60 three-point attempts at only 20 percent shooting beyond the arc.

As unstoppable as she was near the basket, Zhang, who easily bullied defenders with her bulk to score free points under the rim, became an apparent liability in transition with her slow legs and lack of athleticism taking a toll on the team's defensive rotation against the strong threat of Brazil's WNBA star Kamilla Cardoso, Chicago Sky's 3rd overall draft pick in 2024.

China's veteran guard Wang Siyu, a key contributor to the team's record-tying runner-up finish at the 2022 World Cup, had to bail the host out with some clutch scoring in both warm-ups against Brazil, as the lack of another reliable playmaker by her side becomes an issue of concern.

"Zhang obviously has a lot of catching up to do, as she just turned 18 years old and has only just begun her professional career with the domestic league," Gong said.

"The intensity, pace and physicality of games at the senior level, particularly during the warm-ups against elite opponents like Cardoso, was a challenge that has helped her get used to the competitiveness at this level.

"Overall, we've picked up our confidence through the three recent warm-up wins, and have gained quite a bit of valuable experience for a young team.

"We are not yet at our best, but our young guards have been improving and we will get better," said Gong, who led Team China to three consecutive Asian titles from 2001-03 during his first stint at the helm of the women's squad.