The Chinese Basketball Association says veteran Chinese coach Jiang Xingquan is to take charge of the national men's basketball team for the third time.
The 63-year-old man coached the national team from 1990-1995 and 1999-2000.
Officials say his immediate task will be leading the team to the crown of the Asian championship in September.
The appointment has put to an end a four-month-long marathon-style selection process, which started after the former coach Wang Fei was sacked as China failed to defend its Asian Games title at the 2002 Busan Games. China lost to hosts South Korea in a dramatic final showdown.
Jiang Xingquan coached Chinese squad to four Asian titles, in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1999, before China finished 10th in the 2000 Olympic Games. His best achievement was probably at the 1994 world championships, where China finished eighth.
He has also done an impressive job at the lower level as he helped promote Xinjiang Guanghui, a squad from China' northwestern autonomous region Xinjiang, to the CBA league in 2002. The team surprised the field to finish fifth the following season.
(China Radio International April 14, 2003)
