China Women's Basketball's 29-Year-Old 'Clutch Queen' Returns; Besides Zhang Ziyu and Han Xu, Three Perimeter Players Must Step Up

On September 6, China women's basketball team will play their second Women's Basketball World Cup group-stage match against the Czech Republic. This game will determine whether China can advance from the group stage into the quarterfinal qualification round. A piece of good news for China is that Wang Siyu is expected to return for this game.

In this crucial match, China still needs to trust Wang Siyu. In the opening group match against the United States, China's guards as a whole struggled, with Zhang Manman, Yang Shuyu, and Chen Yujie failing to deliver their expected performances. Li Yuan was also not at her best due to a back injury.

Wang Siyu missed the opening game because of an ankle sprain. The 29-year-old Wang Siyu was a key contributor when China won the silver medal at the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup, the Women's Asia Cup title in 2023, and the Asian Games championship. Notably, in all three major tournaments, Wang Siyu produced decisive moments to rescue the team, earning her the nickname 'Clutch Queen.'

Wang Siyu is willing to attack and score in critical moments, while she also has solid playmaking ability and strong overall awareness. By comparison, Zhang Manman and Chen Yujie can sometimes appear more reckless on the court.

China must defeat the Czech Republic, and with a victory in this game, the team can basically secure a place in the quarterfinal qualification round. The Czech Republic lost to Spain in the opening game, and another loss to China would leave them facing the United States in the final game, where defeat would be highly expected.

China's advantage is in the paint. Facing the powerful United States in the opening game, Han Xu and Zhang Ziyu still performed well, with Han recording a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Zhang contributed 13 points and 6 rebounds.

Nineteen-year-old Zhang Ziyu made her debut in a major international tournament, and some people began heavily criticizing her after watching just one quarter. However, it should not be forgotten that the United States is the strongest team in the world, with six WNBA No. 1 draft picks on the roster. The other players are also WNBA first-round picks and are all at WNBA All-Star level.

What level is China women's basketball currently at? Only Han Xu on the roster is a WNBA second-round pick. The difficulties Zhang Ziyu faced in her first major international tournament appearance at age 19 were even greater than those Yao Ming faced in his NBA debut. Yao Ming scored 0 points and grabbed 2 rebounds in his NBA debut, when he was already 22 years old and had played professionally for many years.

Zhang Ziyu certainly still has many areas to improve, but against a group of exceptionally talented opponents, producing such a performance was already not easy.

Against the Czech Republic, both Han Xu and Zhang Ziyu are expected to perform even better. Czech star Chekhova will miss the Women's Basketball World Cup due to injury, so China needs to create opportunities from the interior and fully utilize the strengths of Han and Zhang.

Of course, China also needs perimeter players to support the interior and achieve a balanced inside-outside approach.

As the most experienced active perimeter player on China's women's basketball team, Wang Siyu needs to show her value in her return game. She may not immediately regain her best form, but it is hoped that she can organize the team's offense well. Wang Siyu is very quick at initiating fast breaks, which is an advantage over Zhang Manman, Li Yuan, and Chen Yujie.

China also needs Yang Shuyu to regain her form. Yang struggled in the first game, making only 2 of 9 shots. As China undergoes a transition, Yang is expected to become the team's primary perimeter scorer. In this game, she needs to play with more determination, whether attacking the basket or taking three-point shots.

China also needs Luo Xinyu to continue the form she showed in the first game, when she scored 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. As a small forward, Luo has been the most consistent perimeter player for China during the team's European preparations. Against the Czech Republic, China needs her to make an impact on both offense and defense.