Shandong Lose to Qingdao! Yang Xuewen and Zhao Haoran Hold the Line, Wang Zheng Struggles, Bench Makes Little Impact, Focus Remains on Development

In the Shandong vs. Qingdao summer league game on September 5, 2026, Shandong fell behind through the first three quarters. Although they cut the deficit somewhat in the fourth quarter, they were unable to complete the comeback and eventually lost 66-72.

There were actually two main highlights from the game. One was Yang Xuewen, who surprisingly maintained the team's interior production. He posted an 11+11 stat line, with both his rebounding and scoring performances being solid. Shandong's goal for Yang Xuewen is now very clear: he only needs to hold his own for more than 10 minutes. Zhao Haoran also delivered a surprising performance. Based on his current showing, his improvement has been significant. His mid-range jumpers were consistently clean, but his rebounding and defense still need improvement, and he needs to become stronger physically. These two players are both interior players that Shandong values highly.

Unfortunately, Wang Zheng had a very poor shooting performance in this game. He went 4-for-16 from the field, although he still scored 16 points, the efficiency gap was still too large. However, Qiu Biao's purpose was very clear: he wanted Wang Zheng to handle a larger workload while also giving him more opportunities to create with the ball. These were all part of his development.

Of course, Shandong's bench players did not perform well in this game. In particular, Wang Lanqin, who had previously been the main core of the backcourt, did not take many shots in this game, possibly because he was conserving energy. In addition, Xu Mengjun continued to struggle with his shooting, going 1-for-6 with a very poor shooting percentage. Chang Haoran also went 1-for-4, and that efficiency was not good enough.

Shandong's goal in this summer league was very clear: the focus was on developing young players and improving team chemistry. The team gave players the authority to make their own decisions, while Qiu Biao generally did not call many timeouts, leaving adjustments on the court to the players themselves. After tomorrow's game, the summer league will come to an end, but several young players and new additions have gained enough opportunities for development.