93-88! The Chinese men's basketball team had a thrilling debut! Hu Mingxuan completely underperformed.

In their first match of the Asian Cup against the host nation Saudi Arabia, the Chinese men's basketball team started with Zhao Rui, Hu Mingxuan, Zhu Junlong, Zhao Jiayi, and Hu Jinqiu.

From the beginning, Saudi Arabia showed a very strong offensive state, while the Chinese men's basketball team managed to respond effectively. With Zhu Junlong's buzzer-beater three-pointer, they led 30-22 against their rivals.

In the second quarter, Saudi Arabia launched a fierce counterattack, narrowing the gap to 5 points. Fortunately, the Chinese men's basketball team withstood the pressure and scored continuously before halftime, leading by double digits at 53-43.

In the first half, the Chinese men's basketball team utilized a 10-player rotation. Except for Hu Mingxuan and Gao Shiyan, everyone scored, with Hu Jinqiu contributing 15 points and 3 rebounds, and Wang Junjie adding 10 points and 4 rebounds.

In the early part of the third quarter, the Chinese men's basketball team faced significant difficulties, as Saudi Arabia continued to close the gap. In this critical moment, captain Zhao Rui stepped up, scoring both inside and outside to stabilize the situation and inspire his teammates, leading us to an 80-65 score entering the final quarter.

Although in the final quarter the Chinese men's basketball team fell into the habit of struggling when holding a large lead, they still emerged victorious,winning 93-88 against Saudi Arabia and achieving a strong start in this year's Asian Cup.

In this match, five players from the Chinese men's basketball team scored in double figures: Zhao Rui with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists; Hu Jinqiu with 20 points and 5 rebounds; Cheng Shuai Peng with 13 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals; Wang Junjie with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist; and Yu Jiahao with 15 points and 7 rebounds.

On the Saudi side, their naturalized player Rahman scored 32 points alone, with four other players also reaching double figures.

In this game, the Chinese men's basketball team made 8 out of 22 three-point attempts, achieving a shooting percentage of about 36%. They had only 9 turnovers and won the rebounding battle (32-30), but their free throw shooting remained a challenge,hitting 21 out of 31 for a low percentage of about 68%with the most reliable Hu Jinqiu hitting only 2 out of 9, which was disappointing.

Of course, the poor free throw performance does not overshadow Hu Jinqiu's contributions, but it is clear that Hu Mingxuan will likely face criticism,as the starting guard played 29 minutes, shooting 0 for 4 (0 for 3 from three-point range) and scoring a meager two points solely from free throws, with a plus-minus of -5, the second lowest on the team.

Hu Mingxuan must regain his form in the upcoming matches; otherwise, the Chinese men's basketball team will struggle to achieve their goal of reaching the podium.