Homecourt advantage, a tall lineup and new coach will be China's main weapons when they opened their title defense in the 21st Asian Men's Basketball Championship this summer.

China, who has won six of the past seven editions of the Asian tournament, gained an extra advantage when the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) named Shanghai, a commercial hub in east China, on Tuesday as the host for the championships slated from July 20- 28 this year.

Fans' enthusiasm to basketball in Shanghai has been fueled up as the local club Sharks have put themselves on the track of toppling reigning champions Bayi Rockets for the season's league title.

The Chinese side will also gain strength from Wang Fei, coach of the reigning champions Bayi Rockets in the Chinese league, who has been recalled to call the shots.

The former national player was at the helm of China's men's teams a couple of years ago before he went to develop himself in NBA, the world's top basketball league.

Wang is expected to rely heavily on China's young and talented "Walking Great Wall", composed of 7'11" Wang Zhizhi, 7'6" Yao Ming and 6'11" Menk Batere. All the three have been linked to NBA with Wang rumored to be the first to join the league.

Veterans like small forward Liu Yudong and 1999 Asian MVP Hu Weidong will be other important factors in China's title defense.

"China this year is a cinch to win the crown. I don't think the Chinese would want to suffer the humiliation of losing in their own turf, especially since China has not hosted the ABC men's championships since 1989,"said ABC president Carl Menky Ching.

China, though finishing a disappointing 10th in Sydney Olympics, is still rated an Asian powerhouse, boasting a total of 11 Asian titles and aiming to repeat their successful title run in the last edition of the Asian championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

But China will face fierce challenges from other teams who will be strongly motivated to do well this year since the finalists are assured of playing in the 14th world championships in Indianapolis of the united States.

South Korea, who briefly ended China's reign with a shock win in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1997, is certain to fight the China again for the top honors.

Despite admittedly poor preparations, the Koreans finished runners-up to China in Fukuoka with a team led by old-timers Kang Dong Hee and Hur Jae, who has since retired from international duty in favor of young talents.

South Korea will not be the only team to challenge China's supremacy in Shanghai as a bunch of teams from the Gulf region have proven to be Asia's emerging tigers.

The most successful among these squads is Saudi Arabia, which took third place in Fukuoka, finishing ahead of traditional heavyweights like Chinese Taipei and Japan.

Another Mideast squad Kuwait finished sixth in 1999 Asian championships where Lebanon made the quarterfinals in their first appearance in the ABC.

(People's Daily 03/21/01)