Without Li Meng and Li Yueru, the strength of the Chinese women's basketball team has dropped a notch, and in the face of the strong European powerhouse Belgium, the Chinese women's basketball team lost 63-78 in the warm-up game. The best performance of the Chinese women's basketball team in this game is Han Xu, Yang Liwei and Sun Mengran. Huang Sijing ushered in a comeback, but obviously it still needed time to find her form, she played 8 minutes, shot 0 of 2, did not score a point, and grabbed 4 rebounds.
Han Xu shot 9 of 19, 2 of 6 three-pointers, and 3 of 6 free throws, scoring 23 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block. 23 points is Han Xu's highest score in this year's warm-up game. Yang Liwei scored another double-double, she shot 4-of-7 and 2-of-4 from three-point range, scoring 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. The 31-year-old veteran Sun Mengran performed steadily at the power forward position, scoring 13 points and 5 rebounds on 4-of-7 shooting.
Point guard Wang Siyu played averagely, with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, but there were 5 turnovers. Li Yuan made 0 of 3 shots, did not score, only got 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and had 2 turnovers. Yang Shuyu was not in good shape, shooting 1 of 7, only getting 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 32 steals, and 3 turnovers.
The Chinese women's basketball team still has the same old problems, with as many as 23 turnovers and 11 of 20 free throws. In this year's warm-up game, the Chinese women's basketball team's mistakes remained high, and the free throw shooting rate has been relatively low. The Chinese women's basketball team needs to practice free throws well. The current level of free throws is a bit on par with the Chinese men's basketball team.
Han Xu's state has picked up is something to be happy about, she is the inner core of the Chinese women's basketball team, and if she wants to hit the medals in the Olympic Games, she needs Han Xu to return to her peak form.
Yang Liwei made a comeback from training in Europe and scored consecutive doubles. As the captain of the Chinese women's basketball team, she showed her worth. With this performance, she is expected to return to the starting line-up at the Paris Olympics.
After the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Sun Mengran faded out of the national team, but with her outstanding performance in the Inner Mongolia women's basketball team in the 2023-24 season, Sun Mengran returned to the national team and played well. Sun Mengran's performance is better than that of another power forward, Pan Zhenqi. That means her chances of competing in Paris have increased.
Li Meng went to Europe with the team, but he has been sitting on the bench, and it is still unknown when he will return to play. In addition, Li Yueru is still competing in the WNBA, and her return time has not yet been determined. It is very difficult for the Chinese women's basketball team to hit the medals in the Paris Olympics.