What caused Likel to suffer from "competition syndrome"?, China's men's basketball team suffered a disastrous defeat in the first game of the World Cup | South Sudan | suffering from
On the evening of the 26th, the Chinese men's basketball team faced strong opponents Serbia in the opening match of the World Cup. In the end, the Chinese men's basketball team lost 63-105 to their opponents. Losing to the Serbian team was expected, but losing so much and the poor performance of naturalized player Likel, who is regarded as the "new core" of the player, was somewhat unexpected - he missed all 9 shots and had 2-0 three-pointers throughout the game, contributing 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal, with a positive or negative value of -35, the lowest of the game.
The match against Serbia is theoretically the group stage, and the Chinese team should not have any psychological burden. The Serbian team ranks 6th in the world and is the strongest opponent in the same group. In the previous warm-up match, the Chinese men's basketball team once faced him and lost by a large margin. It is precisely because there is a huge gap in strength between the two teams that there is no pressure to win or lose on their backs. They can give it a try and play their own content.
But overall, the Chinese men's basketball team played this game with great effort but lacked confidence, and had ideas but lacked structure. Especially Li Kaier, he appeared very nervous and in a state of complete absence. In the first half, he made 5 out of 0 shots without scoring. In the second half, Li Kaier took off his goggles, but his hand still felt cold. Guo Ailun said during the commentary on the game, "There's no other way. The most urgent thing at this time is himself. He also wants to play well, but his form is not good, and he's a bit afraid to play."
As an active NBA player, Li Kaier is indeed expected to have high expectations in the Chinese men's basketball team. He is seen as a "weapon" that can immediately improve the team's strength, and these expectations may actually translate into additional psychological pressure at present.
The reality is that basketball is a sport that heavily relies on teamwork, and even top players need to adapt to the tactical system of the team and the style of their teammates. Especially in international competitions, players not only need to adapt to different game rules, but also need to adapt to different levels and styles of competition compared to usual. Obviously, Li Kaier still needs some time to adapt to different cultural backgrounds, training methods, and tactical concepts. And the expectations and pressure on his back must be released as soon as possible. Fortunately, many fans gave understanding and encouragement after the game, saying, "I hope you don't criticize him, he is indeed under tremendous pressure." "I hope the fans will show mercy, Li Kaier, come on!" Some fans left a message.
For the Chinese men's basketball team, the match against South Sudan in two days will determine whether the team can break through from Group B. In the game that ended earlier, the South Sudan men's basketball team lost 96-101 in extra time to the Puerto Rican team. Although they lost, the performance of the South Sudan men's basketball team made many Chinese journalists on site take a breath of cold air. In the first half of the game, Puerto Rico once had a shooting percentage of 50% and a 3-point shooting percentage of 13 out of 7, but South Sudan still led by 10 points at half time. If it weren't for the lack of last-minute detail handling, South Sudan is expected to achieve a historic breakthrough.
For South Sudan, the significance of the Men's Basketball World Cup is not just a game - the shouts of South Sudanese fans run through the entire field, and the front row of South Sudanese fans stomp the floor with a thud. A journalist from South Sudan told The Paper that on one hand, South Sudan hopes to win in the World Cup, while on the other hand, China's men's basketball team hopes to return to the Olympics through the World Cup. Both sides have reasons not to lose.
So, will the Chinese men's basketball team, whose morale has already fallen to the bottom, either collapse or rebound from the bottom?
