Whether head coach Bob Donewald admits it or not, the current China team is still in great need of Yao Ming in the paint.

In a must-win match on Tuesday against Puerto Rico in Ankara, Turkey, China was overpowered in the paint 52-16 and out-rebounded 44-26, losing 84-76 despite fighting valiantly throughout the entire game.

However, after the game, Donewald tried to shrug off Yao's absence and said he believed the young team will only get better.

"I'm not thinking of with or without Yao. I'm not trying to figure it out right now," said Donewald, who took over the team four months ago and seems to have a long way to go to rebuild the side.

"We will see how Yao is going on. But right now we will focus on this team. It's two years to go before the 2012 Olympic Games and we must work hard to have less mistakes, get more confidence and gain a lot of experience.

"I am confident by then we will go into those Games knowing exactly what it takes to win against world-class teams," the American said.

Washington Wizards forward Yi Jianlian lived up to his growing status with 24 points and seven rebounds. He is in the top three in scoring and rebounds so far in this tournament.

But, as a power forward, he has received little support from the team's other big men.

China only has Su Wei and the inexperienced Zhang Zhaoxu as legitimate centers. Su is far from being a world-class big man, while Zhang, who stands 2.21m, only played a few seconds in China's first match against Greece.

"We made too many mistakes in defense, lost too many rebounds and made some bad shots on offense. We tried hard and tried to push in the last quarter but it was just not enough," Donewald said. "The Puerto Rico players have more experience and they are physically stronger. They got a well-deserved win."

When asked about the team's chances of advancing to the next round, Donewald put a different spin on things.

"I'm not worried about this. I know you want to see us go through. I want to go through and the boys want to go through. But I'm more concerned about how we keep preparing, how we keep fighting and how we keep getting better," he said.

"Let's not forget we are young and let's not forget the competition here is a great experience for our future, for the next championship and for 2012 Olympic Games."