China’s coach apologizes to fans

LIGHTNING struck twice for China in men’s basketball and the back-to-back losses against the Philippines has led its Serbian head coach Sasha Djordjevic to apologize for the team’s shortcomings.

First, the Chinese suffered a 96-75 beating at the hands of Gilas Pilipinas at the close of the 2023 FIBA World Cup classification round a month ago in front of wildly cheering Filipino fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

China coach Sasha Djordjevic FIBA. BASKETBALL PHOTO 

Last Wednesday, China lost to the Philippines anew in the 19th Asian Games. This time, the winning margin was only one point, 77-76, in a game that saw China blow a 20-point lead right in front of its adoring Chinese fans in Hangzhou.

The loss relegated China to the bronze medal game against Chinese Taipei on Friday, an unacceptable finish for Chinese fans, who expect no less than a gold medal in men’s basketball.

“Unfortunately, this is basketball, and games like this happening once in coaches’ and players’ careers or times, one way or another,” Djordjevic said, during the aftermath of the game as posted by China’s state news agency Xinhua.

“We were ready for the game, we played the first half great, we were ready for everything. And in the second half we felt the pressure and lost the competition,” he added.

Djordjevic noted that players are credited to the wins while coaches take responsibility for the losses.

“For the wins, players take credit, for the losses, coaches [take responsibilities],” the 56-year-old Serbian coach said matter-of-factly.

In the FIBA World Cup, it was Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson who broke the hearts of the Chinese after exploding for 34 points, including five triples in a critical third-quarter scoring rampage that triggered the Philippines’ 21-point win.

In the knockout semifinal match last Wednesday, Justin Brownlee, serving as a naturalized player, dropped 27 of his 33 points in the second half, including the game-winning triple en route to the massive upset.

The win vaulted Gilas Pilipinas to the gold medal round for the first time since the 1990 edition in Beijing, China.

The Philippines, which last won the basketball gold in 1962, and Jordan are contesting the Asian Games gold medal at press time.