| Wang Fei, head coach of China's national
basketball team, was confident to win in the East Asian Games next
month, and said Monday a younger team is enough to bring the trophy
back home.
"Everybody believes China will win in the East Asian Games.
That is also what I think," said Wang Fei after the first-day
training session of the 17-man team.
Along with China's Asian Games and Championship winning team veterans,
Wang Fei also added some young blood to his team by calling in three
19-year-old new faces of Mo Ke, Hu Xuefeng and Du Feng.
Wang said he had decided a 14-man squad to enroll for the EA Games,
which is scheduled from May 19-27 in Osaka, Japan.
"I'll save some experienced veterans for July's Asian Basketball
Championship in Shanghai, which will decide the Asian berth to compete
in the world championship," Wang said.
Wang, who had study experiences in Dallas with Mavericks of the
National Basketball Association (NBA) for half a year in 2000, said
one of Mavericks assistant coaches would join in the Chinese national
team for physical training.
"He will come to Beijing next Wednesday or Thursday,"
Wang said, not mentioned the name of the coach.
China will play three warm-up games against the All-Star team of
America's International Basketball League (IBL) on May 5, 7 and
9 in China before the East Asian Games.
Wang Zhizhi, Mavericks newly recruited center, will join the national
squad next month.
(People's Daily 04/11)
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