All paint, no gains

"The fundamental training in shooting, passing and dribbling needs to be strengthened with the current generation," said Liu, a formidable member of China's quarterfinal team at the 1994 world championships and 1996 Olympics.

Perhaps China's head coach Guo Shiqiang should look back to his half-complete roster, which finished runner-up at the men's Asia Cup in August behind Australia, relying on a smaller, yet sharper lineup.

China's 7-foot-1 (2.16-meter) former NBA center Zhou Qi and big forward combo of Zhang Zhenlin and Zeng Fanbo, both 6-foot-10, had missed the Asia Cup due to injuries.

"Having lost two games in a row in the Asian qualifiers has indeed made the situation much tougher for us to try to qualify for the World Cup," Guo said at the news conference following the second loss on Monday.

"Our execution, offensively and defensively, was bad compared to the Korean team ... They played better, more cohesively with greater agility and better shooting, than us.

"We didn't execute the game plan well, we played with no focus. That's why we lost the game ... We need to play better."

Sixteen teams, including Australia and New Zealand, have been vying for the continent's seven qualification spots for the 2027 World Cup.

Drawn with South Korea, Japan and Chinese Taipei in Group B, Team China will next face Japan on the road on Feb 26, and then take on Chinese Taipei in another away game three days later, followed by two home fixtures against them both in July to try to clinch a top-three spot and advance into the second qualifying phase.

From there, three teams from Group D — potentially Asian power Lebanon, the Cup host Qatar and Saudi Arabia — will join them, creating a six-team round-robin, where each team will carry over its first-phase win-loss record as they compete for the top three qualification berths for the FIBA showpiece. The combined win-loss record after the second phase will determine final team standings.

At the World Cup finals, only the highest-ranked Asian team, barring the Boomers and Tall Blacks, earns a sole direct Olympic ticket for the LA28 Games.

Having missed out on the Olympics twice (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024), Team China cannot afford a third strikeout in a row, yet trying to make it to the Cup finals — essentially the Olympic qualifiers — now seems a tall task in itself.

"Obviously, we have a lot of catching-up to do, but I really believe that these two losses did not reflect our real level," Team China forward Hu Jinqiu, a key contributor to China's Asia Cup podium finish, said on Monday.

"I believe we are better than this. I think we need to find our fighting spirit, like we had in the summer."