To provide you with an enhanced version of the article about the Chinese women's basketball team for the upcoming national games, here it is with added details and rephrased while maintaining the original meaning:
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Title: \"Little Profiterole\"
Editor: Dongfang Fuxin
The content of this article is based on authoritative sources and personal opinions, with citations and screenshots included.
Recently, the situation of the women's basketball team has sparked considerable controversy. Starting with defeats on the court, the players and coaching staff faced immense public scrutiny, highlighting significant room for improvement.
Amidst this controversy, the National Games proceeded as scheduled, but the roster announcement unexpectedly led to a wave of cheers.
Our \"national stars,\" led by Li Meng, are gearing up with a rare \"luxury lineup\" of top-tier players. However, concerns harbored by Coach Gong Luming have unfortunately materialized.
So, who exactly are these participants? What exactly worried Coach Gong Luming?
When Sichuan's women's basketball team roster was officially announced on July 23rd, the entire Chinese basketball community exploded with excitement.
This lineup could be described as the \"all-star squad\" of Chinese women's basketball, boasting a collection of nine national-level players—a lineup of unprecedented luxury. The roster includes recent Asian Cup participants Han Xu, Wang Siyu, Jia Saqi, and Li Yuan. Former national team members such as Li Meng, Gao Song, and Wang Xuemeng, alongside Liu Yutong and Zhang Jingyi, who represented China in the World University Games.
Some netizens jokingly suggested that this lineup would simply \"lower the difficulty level\" at the National Games and proposed awarding them the gold medal straight away.
From a tactical perspective, Sichuan's team lineup is near-perfect: Liu Yutong, the \"female Shaquille O'Neal,\" and Asia's top center Han Xu dominate the paint. On the perimeter, Wang Siyu and Li Yuan, two national team point guards, orchestrate plays, while Li Meng's versatile offensive capabilities on the wing are unmatched.
This configuration leaves other teams trailing in their wake. The \"superstar mode\" is not new; Inner Mongolia had previously succeeded with this strategy, importing national players like Li Yueru, Huang Sijing, and Yang Liwei, alongside Zhang Ru and Pan Zhenqi, forming a luxurious lineup that won two consecutive WCBA titles.
Following suit, Sichuan has replicated this model over the past few years, clinching the WCBA championship twice. Emboldened by their success, Sichuan is now transplanting this model onto the National Games stage, setting their sights directly on the gold medal.
This \"buying spree\" model, while effective in the short term, could stifle league competitiveness in the long run.
This situation has fans excited, oblivious to the concerns voiced by Coach Gong Luming.
Faced with such a luxurious lineup from Sichuan, national women's basketball team head coach Gong Luming is apprehensive.
He has publicly criticized the phenomenon of clustering national players in the WCBA league, believing it severely impacts league competitiveness and player development.
\"The current poor performance of women's basketball is due to the low level of the league,\" Gong Luming analyzed.
Especially in recent years, the women's basketball league has been dominated by Sichuan and Inner Mongolia, rendering it uncompetitive after clustering national players, with many of them starting to coast.
Gong Luming's concerns were brutally validated in the Asian Cup semi-finals, where China's women's team lost 81-90 to Japan, conceding 16 three-pointers due to glaring deficiencies in individual player skills and tactical execution.
Post-match, fans criticized heavily, and what's more worrisome is the predicament faced when Gong Luming attempted to integrate new players.
Despite facing opposition, he insisted on including 18-year-old Zhang Ziyu in the national team, opting for a \"twin towers\" lineup of Han Xu and Zhang Ziyu in the semi-finals, only to be caught off guard by Japan's rapid offense. Some netizens sarcastically commented, \"There's really nothing to say about this tactical arrangement.\"
To be honest, Gong's concerns are not entirely unfounded, but the root of the problem lies in the entire development system, and solely blaming clubs won't solve it.
The most attention-grabbing aspect of this National Games roster is Li Meng's comeback. The former \"Queen of Chinese Women's Basketball\" unexpectedly missed the national team before the Asian Cup, with Gong Luming citing \"substandard performance\" as the reason.
However, speculation abounds that there are hidden reasons, from \"makeup training\" to a sudden change in hair color, indicating a clash of ideologies between Li Meng and the coaching staff.
More intriguingly, after being omitted, Li Meng promptly dyed her hair back to blonde—a \"silent protest\" that quickly made headlines. Netizens joked that this move was sharper than her on-court maneuvers.
Now, Li Meng will reassert herself at the National Games as the focal point of Sichuan's frontline. Her performance will directly influence the team's championship prospects and possibly determine her return to the national team.
For 30-year-old Li Meng, this National Games holds special significance, but she certainly has her competitors.
Hosts Guangdong will be the biggest obstacle on Sichuan's path to the championship. This team, based around Dongguan's women's basketball team, shines just as brightly.
Guangdong boasts current national team players like Huang Sijing, Yang Liwei, Yang Shuyu, and Chen Mingling, with powerhouse center Li Yueru confirmed to join.
To bolster their strength, Guangdong has also recruited Wu Tongtong, further enhancing their perimeter firepower. Some fans jest that this lineup against Sichuan is akin to the Avengers facing off against the Justice League.
As hosts, Guangdong bypassed qualifiers, securing a direct spot in the main event.
This gives them more time to prepare and coordinate, ready to challenge Sichuan on home turf. The clash between these two powerhouses isn't just a provincial rivalry; it's a direct dialogue between China's two major factions in women's basketball.
However, after the Asian Cup defeat, Gong Luming's coaching position is in jeopardy. Calls from fans demanding his dismissal have grown louder, believing his tactical philosophy no longer keeps pace with modern basketball trends.
Facing scrutiny, Gong Luming must make a difficult decision before the World Cup qualifiers in six months: continue trusting the veterans or push for a complete transition to younger players?
Deeper issues lie in the development path of Chinese women's basketball, with domestic leagues monopolized by a few powerhouse teams, and national players lacking genuine competition.
When players are content with high domestic salaries and reluctant to go abroad for improvement, and when the youth training system lags behind, these structural challenges cannot be solved merely by changing coaches.
Gong Luming has stated that Chinese women's basketball needs a \"balanced transition of old, middle, and young players,\" but amidst the dual impact of the Asian Cup defeat and the clustering of powerhouses at the National Games, this vision faces severe challenges.
Chinese women's basketball now resembles an old car; changing the driver won't solve the fundamental issues—the key is a major overhaul of the engine.
The women's basketball tournament at the National Games will kick off on August 10th. Beyond the court, the challenges facing Chinese women's basketball are even more daunting.
A comprehensive reform is likely needed, from league competition mechanisms to youth training systems, from player overseas policies to national team selection criteria—all necessitating change.
While the roster announcement for the National Games has lifted spirits, Coach Gong Luming's concerns are far from baseless.
The current transition between old and new players and physical challenges in women's basketball need urgent resolution. After all, sunshine always comes after the rain, allowing continued dominance on the court.
Let's hope that the women's basketball players in this National Games give their all and bring good news to the fans. Of course, winning the championship would be even better.
What are your thoughts on this women's basketball roster for the National Games?
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