Chinese basketball players walk dejectedly after the match against South Korea in Wonju, South Korea on December 1, 2025. Photo: VCG

Chinese national basketball team suffered their second straight defeat in the World Cup Asian qualifiers on Monday after being defeated by South Korea 90-76 on the away court. The result has raised concerns among fans over the quality of players. 

The loss sparked criticism for the team's reliance on interior play and insufficient perimeter defense or outside shooting, especially compared with South Korea's three-point efficiency. 

Statistically, the contrast was even more stark from long range: South Korean players bagged 11 points from 23 attempts for three-pointers while China only managed to score five out of 28 attempts. The biggest gap on the scoreboard was China trailing South Korea by 32 points. 

Head coach Guo Shiqiang acknowledged the seriousness of the situation after the game.

"Losing to South Korea in back-to-back games, our first and second matches of this World Cup qualifying window, has indeed made it much harder for us to reach the World Cup finals," Guo told the post-match news conference. "At the moment, the Chinese team is in a very passive position."

Offensively, shooting guard Cheng Shuaipeng led China with 19 points, followed by center Hu Jinqiu with 18 points. 

"It's a brutal reality. Losing two straight games leaves us with a lot to reflect on," Hu told reporters. "But I will always believe in our entire group and our entire team. This is not our true level, we've lost the internal fighting spirit and mentality we used to have."

Cheng was also the only Chinese player who found any rhythm from deep as he scored four three pointers in six tries, indicating his teammates scored only one shot from beyond the arc in 22 attempts. 

Basketball commentator Fu Zhenghao said the numbers reflected a deeper structural issue.

"The most striking gap between the two teams was three-point shooting. If you take out Cheng's 4-of-6 three-pointer performance, the rest of the squad combined to hit only one three-pointer in 22 attempts - an unwatchable 4.5 percent," Fu Zhenghao, a Beijing-based basketball commentator, noted to the Global Times. 

"Such an amateur-level shooting display left fans utterly despondent."

Notably, Chinese team captain and veteran guard Zhao Rui remained absent due to injury, which many analysts see as weakening the team's offensive stability. 

With the captain out, pressure was on younger players such as Hu Mingxuan and Gao Shiyan to control tempo and limit mistakes. Star point guard Hu Mingxuan also came under fire for not scoring a point across two matches except free throws.

"It is a hard reality check for China's campaign, a reminder that success at the FIBA Asia Cup this summer doesn't guarantee smooth transition in World Cup qualifiers," Zhang Bin, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times.

In the previous match between the two sides on Friday in Beijing, China lost 80-76 at home, a disappointing start for the qualifiers at the storied home venue Wukesong Sport Arena in Beijing.

The back-to-back defeats also complicate China's longer-term goals as the qualifiers were part of China's bid to reach the 2027 World Cup and, ultimately, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, head coach Guo said.

The Chinese team's next World Cup Asian qualifier game will be on February 26, when they take on Japan at an away game, followed by another away game against Chinese Taipei on March 1.

"I was too optimistic in the beginning that the national team would qualify for the World Cup without any doubt as 16 Asian teams are competing for eight berths," Zhang told the Global Times. 

"But considering the recent two matches, I am no longer confident that the team will qualify without a hard fight."