On the one hand, there are constant player injuries in the league, and on the other hand, the national team’s performance pressure from the men’s basketball World Cup.
“The team is now troubled by pneumonia, fever and diarrhea. I hope all players are safe and can not only complete the game task, but also keep healthy.” Jiangsu men’s basketball coach Li Nan said after the match with Shanxi men’s basketball on January 15.
The second stage of the CBA league in the 2022-2023 season is coming to an end, but for many teams, the past few days have been difficult. On December 21, 2022, Liaoning men’s basketball, in the competition with Fujian men’s basketball, only 7 people were able to sign up for the competition. Team coach Yang Ming also missed because of physical discomfort. Jiangsu men’s basketball players Hong-fei shi and Wu Yujia have already missed many games. They have left the competition area for lung infection and returned to Nanjing for further examination and treatment.
In the past period of time, almost every team has been affected by physical discomfort to varying degrees. In this case, many people think that the league should be suspended and the remaining rounds of the second stage should be merged into the main and away matches of the third stage.
However, the reason behind CBA company’s choice of persistence is actually very simple: the established schedule and the most important task this year are the men’s basketball World Cup.
In fact, the CBA league of the 2022-2023 season always focuses on the World Cup in the formulation of the schedule. From October 10 to October 30, 2022, nine rounds of matches were held in the first stage. After that, the league was suspended for preparation and participation in the World Cup window. The second stage of the competition held 18 rounds from December 6, 2022to January 19, 2023. in addition to the factors of the Spring Festival holiday, the rest period was also because the national team had to prepare for the World Cup qualifier.
According to the plan, the third stage of the CBA league this season will start in early March and resume the main and away game system. It has been reported before that the fourth stage will be merged with the third stage, but if it is still carried out according to the schedule announced at the League conference, the latest end time of the season is May 7, 2023.
On August 25, the men’s basketball World Cup will begin. The importance of this World Cup is self-evident because it is related to whether the tickets for the Paris Olympic Games can be obtained. Judging from the cycle of China’s preparations for the world competitions men’s basketball, the three-month period is reserved, for China men’s basketball with limited strength, it is a common practice.
Therefore, all kinds of factors are intertwined, which forms the current troubles of the league-the health and safety of the players are of course the most important, and the second stage of the league is finished ahead of schedule, however, the schedule of the Spring Festival holiday and the World Cup window will not change, which means that the schedule of the main and away matches after the league matches will be closer. If it affects or even compresses the preparation time of the national team, relevant competent authorities will definitely feel the pressure. After all, once China men’s basketball fails the Olympic Games again, it will have a negative impact on Chinese basketball.
In fact, the management, coaches and team members of CBA team all understand the factors behind it. Although there are dissatisfaction, they can only choose to insist, “I hope all athletes and coaches are safe, all athletes, coaches, the efforts and struggles of the referees and staff are worthy of respect. Competitive sports have win and lose, and the body is the most important. I hope that under the premise of protecting our bodies, continue to dedicate wonderful games to the people of the whole country.” Liu Weiwei, the coach of Qingdao men’s basketball, may have spoken everyone’s heart.
(Zhongqingwang reporter Yang Di Source: China Youth Daily)