From CBA to La Liga, set off again for your dream - an exclusive interview with Chinese men s basketball national player Yu Jiahao

(subtitle) Walking with Dreams Upward

In the summer of 2022, Yu Jiahao went to the United States to participate in the trial training of NBA teams. Although he failed to achieve ideal results at the time, Yu Jiahao still looked forward to slowly improving himself and one day to hit the NBA arena again. "I will definitely not give up on the goal of continuing to hit upward, but I still have to slowly improve myself step by step and play a convincing performance in the European arena first. "Yu Jiahao said.

In recent years, the Chinese men's basketball team has poor performance in international competitions. From the defeat in the 2023 World Cup to the regrets of the Hangzhou Asian Games, they are deeply imprinted in the heart of this young center. "We must get better every day in order to stand on the world arena and strive for the World Cup and Olympics. "This desire to win glory for the country, together with the dream of entering the NBA, is the driving force that drives him to jump out of his comfort zone and go to overseas leagues to accept challenges.

In the first season of his CBA career with Zhejiang Men's Basketball Team, Yu Jiahao, as a super star, averaged 12.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. In the following seasons, although there was no obvious leap in data, he could feel his improvement in technology and mentality. . In the 2024-2025 playoffs, Yu Jiahao took more responsibilities than before. He and Yang Hansen's inside confrontation in the series left a deep impression.

Recalling the matchup with Yang Hansen in the CBA playoffs, Yu Jiahao admitted that the opponent's observation ability, ability to seize opportunities and perception of defense are all worth learning. "In the future, I will continue to expand my aggressiveness on the court, reading ability in the game, and communication with my teammates. ”

In the past two or three years, young players such as Yang Hansen and Cui Yongxi have gone overseas in different ways. Yu Jiahao believes that with the ambition of "upward impact", more and more young new players will go to the international arena and temper themselves. Whether they are rushing to the NBA to face higher intensity confrontations, or taking root in the European arena to learn systematic experience, every time these young players "go out" is accumulating energy for themselves, and they will eventually become the confidence for the Chinese men's basketball team to climb up.