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FIBA: China basketball fans despair at World Cup 'deepest humiliation'

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/08/31/20230830-fiba-puerto-rico-china-jc-6.jpg"/><figcaption>China and Puerto Rico play thei FIBA Basketball World Cup match at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on August 30, 202. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>BEIJING, China-- Chinese basketball fans were in despair on Thursday after the national team crashed out of the World Cup without winning a game, dubbing the dismal performance as &quot;our deepest humiliation.&quot;</p><p>China needed to win their final group match on Wednesday night and hope the other results went their way, but were outclassed 107-89 by Puerto Rico.</p><p>Fans vented on social media, where a hashtag about their three successive defeats in the tournament, co-hosted by Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia, racked up tens of millions of views.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;ve never failed to win a single game since we started taking part in the World Cup -- this is our deepest humiliation for 45 years,&quot; said one comment on the popular Weibo platform.</p><p>&quot;Our performances couldn&#x27;t have been any worse, even if I&#x27;d been the one leading the team,&quot; another user wrote.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/28/23/china-on-fiba-world-cup-brink-after-stunning-loss">China on FIBA World Cup brink after stunning loss</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/30/23/fiba-puerto-rico-dismantles-china-books-ticket-to-2nd-round">FIBA: Puerto Rico dismantles China, books ticket to 2nd round</a></li></ul><p>Basketball is hugely popular in China and broadcasts of NBA matches typically draw huge numbers of viewers.</p><p>China&#x27;s women&#x27;s team is a global powerhouse, but the men have failed to meet expectations in recent years despite an infusion of naturalized overseas players.</p><p>&quot;If I felt helpless during the first two games, I feel speechless after watching today&#x27;s match,&quot; wrote pundit Jia Lei on Weibo.</p><p>&quot;Perhaps all the expectation in moments like these gives us delusions (of grandeur),&quot; he said.</p><p>China hosted the last men&#x27;s World Cup in 2019, but they finished 24th and did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and are currently ranked 27th in the world.</p><p>&quot;If China wants to... rejoin the ranks of the strongest global teams, we must make our domestic leagues more competitive and (better) nurture the talent we have,&quot; wrote sports pundit Ran Xiongfei on Weibo.</p><p>Rife corruption and investigations into match-fixing in the CBA, China&#x27;s top domestic league, have dampened many fans&#x27; enthusiasm in recent years.</p><p>Some compared the national side unfavorably to an up-and-coming grassroots league whose amateur players include rural farmers.</p><p>&quot;Is anybody going to say they even think the men&#x27;s team could win in the &#x27;CunBA&#x27;?&quot; read one Weibo comment using the league&#x27;s popular acronym.</p><p>Others saw an opportunity to make oblique jibes about the country&#x27;s recent social and economic malaise.</p><p>&quot;Why does watching the men&#x27;s team... feel like watching our (last) imperial dynasty playing against the Industrial Revolution?&quot; wrote one Weibo user.</p><p>Another quipped bleakly: &quot;Sport is a microcosm of our society.&quot;</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><em><strong>For more stories on the FIBA World Cup, click <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/fibaworldcup2023">here</a>.</strong></em></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2783410" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Chinese basketball fans were in despair on Thursday after the national team crashed out of the World Cup without winning a game.