Beating Saudi's heat

Team China barely surviving in its Asia Cup opener against the host has provided another harsh reminder of its current power slump, as the reshuffled squad pushes on with its youth movement in the hope of a future turnaround.

Opening its group phase at the Cup tournament against underdog Saudi Arabia, China kept fans on the edge of their seats, grim-faced and fists-clenched, until the dying seconds of Monday's game, before it edged out the host 93-88 in a much-tougher-than-expected battle in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

To put fans' critical takeaway into perspective — China thrashed the Saudis 98-10 in their previous meeting, a knockout game at the 2005 Asian championship, with NBA All-Star Yao Ming, in his prime, left resting on the bench.

Of course, over the past two decades, the Gulf nation has developed leaps and bounds in a game that was never a mainstream sport in the region, thanks in part to help from North American-born naturalized talent.

It is the sharp decline of Team China's competitiveness, though, that has fans and media worried about its own future prospects in the popular ball game.

For a national program that once did the country proud with a quarterfinal run at its home Olympics in Beijing in 2008, investing in youth — underlined by sending a raw team with little international experience to Saudi — seems to be the right move, as it looks to rebuild following the disappointment of missing out on the past two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris.

Head coach Guo Shiqiang anticipates a tough learning curve for the young team, with an average age of 26 and only three players from the 2023 World Cup roster.

"It was a tough game for both teams, especially for us. Playing the opening game against the host nation was a difficult challenge," Guo said afterward.

"We prepared thoroughly for this game, and I give credit to my players for staying focused and executing our plans well throughout 40 minutes."