Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 17th Question: Zhu Qiang and Shake the Dominance of the Men’s Basketball Team of the High School Affiliated to Tsinghua University——A Summary of the Men’s Team of the Chinese High School Basketball League
Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Jingyu and Wang Haoming
The 2021-2022 China High School Basketball League Finals ended recently in Foshan, Guangdong. Shijiazhuang No. 2 Middle School (hereinafter referred to as Shijiazhuang No. 2 Middle School) won the men’s championship for the first time, and the High School Affiliated to Tsinghua University (hereinafter referred to as Tsinghua High School), which has won 14 championships The men’s basketball team was upset and missed the final. With the deepening of the integration of basketball sports and education, the territory of the Chinese high school basketball league is also changing, and the dominance of the men’s basketball team in the High School Affiliated to Tsinghua University has been shaken.
Shijiazhuang No. 2 Middle School
In the semi-finals of the Chinese High School Basketball League last season, Shijiazhuang No. 2 Squadron completed a lore with 0.7 seconds before the end and advanced to the final, which became a topic of discussion among fans. Although they later lost by 40 points in the final against the Tsinghua High School Men’s Basketball Team, they made a comeback this year.
In this season’s Northern District final, Shijiazhuang No. 2 Squadron defeated Tsinghua Affiliated Squadron 73:55. In the finals, they joined Dongguan No. 4 Senior High School, Zhejiang Linhai Huipu High School and Urumqi No. 101 High School Team. After years of hard work, Shijiazhuang No. 2 Squadron, which has won two runner-ups and four third runners-up, finally reached the championship podium.
Xing Luguo, head coach of the men’s basketball team at Shijiazhuang No. 2 Middle School, said: “We have been working hard to climb the peak for more than 20 years. We had opportunities in the past few years, but we were not lucky. In addition, the high level of Tsinghua High School is really high, and the selection of materials is better than ours. Last year’s The 0.7-second lore boosted our self-confidence. This year, we won the Tsinghua Affiliated High School by more than ten points in the Northern Division game. Since we can play the Tsinghua Affiliated High School, then we have a chance for all teams.”
Xing Luguo believes that Shijiazhuang No. 2 Middle School also has a chance to win the championship this time. Compared with last year, the dominance of the men’s basketball team in the High School Affiliated to Tsinghua has dropped significantly.
“Their strength has declined, while others are improving.” Xing Luguo said, “The selection of Tsinghua Affiliated High School is mainly for tall people, and the back line is relatively short. This year their back line is too weak, and all teams deploy tactics. They are pinching their backline, and they have basically succeeded. On the other hand, their inner dominance is not as strong as in previous years.”
In the final with Urumqi No. 101 Middle School, Xin Zelin and Li Zirui, the backcourt combination of Shijiazhuang No. 2 Middle School, jointly scored 59 points. Xing Luguo’s team-building concept of focusing on outsiders was rewarded.
“The team always focuses on the outside line, and the inside line is basically a defensive barrier. Xin Zelin and Li Zirui will have the opportunity to hit the professional league in the future. Xin Zelin needs to practice the mid-distance again, and Li Zirui’s outside shooting is not very stable. They both have shortcomings. If they can complement each other, it will be even more powerful.” Xing Luguo said.
A variety of factors have led to the decline in the record of Tsinghua Affiliated High School
The “14 Champions” Tsinghua Middle School Men’s Basketball Team finally ranked fourth this year. In addition to losing to Shijiazhuang No. 2 Squadron in the regional competition, they also lost to Urumqi 101 Middle School and Huipu Middle School by a large margin in the semi-finals of the finals and the competition for the third place. In the fourth round of the knockout stage, they beat the Hunan Geology Middle School Team with a 66:64 win.
Chen Guang, a teacher from the Tsinghua University High School Majohn Sports Specialty Class, told reporters that the biggest difficulty the team has faced in the past two years is the loss of players. Chang Haoran was promoted to the first team by the professional club of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The departure of these outstanding players has weakened the strength of the team. Secondly, this year, the team could only close training for a long time, and the warm-up matches, rehabilitation, and physical therapy were all affected. Before participating in the Northern Division competition, the team only played two warm-up games, and the number of games was greatly reduced compared with previous years. In addition, a main guard fractured in the North Division game, which also made it more difficult for the team in the finals.
“These are objective reasons after all. In the final analysis, our strength is not enough.” Chen Guang said.
The integration of sports and education promotes high school men’s basketball competition
In recent years, the trend of integration of basketball sports and education is obvious. Many CBA clubs, including the old CBA powerhouse Guangdong Hongyuan, have increased their cooperation and joint construction with local middle schools. The competition in the men’s team of the Chinese High School Basketball League has become increasingly fierce.
In the four regional competitions of the East, South, West and North divisions, strong teams in the southern region where the Guangdong and Hunan teams are located gathered. Taking Guangdong as an example, in addition to Dongguan No. 4 Middle School, Dongguan Guangming Middle School, Shenzhen No. 2 Experimental School, Guangzhou Panyu Middle School, Guangdong Experimental Middle School and other teams have strong strengths. Tian Guikun, head coach of the men’s basketball team at Shenzhen No. 2 Experimental School, said that the gap between the top four teams in Guangdong Province is only three to five points, and they are all strong teams nationwide.
The Hunan Geology Middle School team won the runner-up in the Chinese High School Basketball League in the 2019-2020 season, but failed to enter the national top eight in the 2020-2021 season, and was replaced by another campus powerhouse Hunan Mingde Middle School team from Changsha.
Peng Zhiqiang, the head coach of the men’s basketball team at Geology Middle School, said that the basketball atmosphere in Guangdong and Hunan is very good, and there are many campus teams with similar strength. If you relax a little, you will not be able to enter the top eight in the country. This kind of healthy competition improves the level of the team. helpful.
In this year’s southern semi-finals, the Guangdong Experimental Middle School team, which cooperated with Guangdong Hongyuan, lost 76:81 to the Hunan Geology Middle School team and missed the national finals. The fierce competition is evident.
Zhao Junjie, director of the competition management department of the China Sports Association for Secondary School Students (CFA), said that from the high school affiliated to Tsinghua University to flourishing everywhere, this is the situation that the Chinese Sports Association hopes to see. Originally, Tsinghua Affiliated High School had certain policy advantages in admissions, but now the in-depth development of the integration of sports and education has led to the cooperation and joint construction of many schools and professional clubs, and the overall level of the league is on the rise. Secondly, a few years ago, the Ministry of Education organized a group of middle school basketball coaches to go abroad for short-term study, with good results. Judging from the games in recent years, the players’ handling and grasp of key moments and key balls have improved significantly, which is related to the general improvement in the level of coaches. In addition, from the perspective of policy orientation, the in-depth development of the integration of sports and education has made the selection of campus teams wider. Improve the quality of the competition, reduce the factors of regional differences and unbalanced development, and strive to make the strongest team in the country on the stage of the finals.