Why did the Chinese women s basketball team lose to Japan attract such great attention?

On the evening of July 19, 2025, the lighting in Shenzhen Gymnasium was particularly dazzling. When the scoreboard was frozen at 81:90, the whole game fell into silence - the Chinese women's basketball team lost to the Japanese team at home in the semi-finals of the 2025 FIBA Women's Basketball Team. This defeat was like a bombshell, instantly detonating social media. Weibo topic #Chinese Women's Basketball Team stopped at the semi-finals#The reading volume exceeded 1.2 billion, Douyin-related videos played more than 2.3 billion times, and the circle of friends was full of sighs and anger from fans.

Why did a basketball game fail to cause such a huge social response? Behind this is the heavy burden of history, the cruel impact of reality, and the deep worries about the future.

1. Historical scars: the stinging pain of seventeen years of reincarnation

"It has been 17 years since the Chinese women's basketball team won the Asian Cup championship at home... " When captain Han Xu choked up and said this in the mixed interview area, the hearts of countless old fans were grabbed.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese women's basketball team won fourth place, which was their last glory. Since then, the Japanese women's basketball team began to dominate the Asian arena and achieved five consecutive championships. In 2023, the Chinese women's basketball team finally defeated Japan in the Asian Cup final, ending the opponent's consecutive championship record. The whole country was immersed in the joy of "women's basketball revival", and the fans seemed to see hope of returning to the top of the world.

However, just two years later, the same opponents, the same venue, history repeats itself with amazing similarity. Japan's 19-year-old defender Ta Zhong made 5 three-pointers in the first quarter, scoring 21 points, and his three-point shooting percentage was as high as 47.1%. When the outside defense of the Chinese women's basketball team was completely penetrated by the opponent's three-point rain, people saw not only the technical gap, but also the cruelty of the cycle of reincarnation in an era.

"It's like looking at my beloved child. I finally stood up and took two steps, and then fell heavily to the ground. " A senior basketball commentator said in the live broadcast, his voice full of helplessness.

2. Realistic impact: The complete collapse of the tactical system

Game data reveals a more cruel reality: the Japanese team made 16 of 34 three-pointers, while the Chinese team made only 6 of 27 shots; the Japanese team scored 22 points by mistake, while the Chinese team only scored 8 points; the Japanese team scored 18 points in a fast break, while the Chinese team only had 4 points.

"Our double tower system created a penalty area scoring rate of 68% in the group stage, but today it was completely cracked by the opponent's three-pointer. " Head coach Gong Luming admitted after the game. When Zhang Ziyu, who was 2.26 meters away from the three-second zone, and when Han Xu, who was 2.07 meters away, had to pounce on the outside to repair the defense, the "Mobile Great Wall" of the Chinese women's basketball team became a living target for the opponent's kite tactics.

What is even more shocking is that the average height of this Japanese team is only 1.78 meters, while the average height of the Chinese team reaches 2.07 meters. When height advantage became a fig leaf for tactical rigidity, the "Cradle of Giants" mode of Chinese basketball encountered an unprecedented crisis of trust.

"We are like a group of warriors holding big swords and spears, facing the enemy's muskets but don't know how to deal with it." A former national basketball player in the women's basketball team used this metaphor on social media.

3. Talent gap: The fatal injury of the youth training system

This failure exposed the serious problems in the talent reserve of China's women's basketball team.

"There are many women's basketball players who can play basketball, but most people are unwilling to enter professional team training. "A woman's basketball management person who once worked in WCBA revealed, "They want to enter higher education institutions with their basketball expertise, and have a diploma, so that they can find good jobs when they come out. "

This choice has led to an absurd phenomenon: the intensity of the confrontation of the Chinese College Basketball League (CUBA) is far from that of the professional league, but a large number of potential new stars choose to stay on campus. Shanxi Women's Basketball Guard Yang Yue comes from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was once the scoring and assisting king of CUBA, but after entering the professional league, it took two seasons to adapt to the rhythm of the game. The collapse of the youth training system is particularly obvious in the U19 women's basketball team. At the 2025 U19 Women's Basketball World Cup, the Chinese team lost to Portugal 52:75, and was beaten by the Canadian team 52:115. The absence of the core insider Zhang Ziyu has become a fatal weakness, but the deeper problem is the singleness of the tactical system and the overall backwardness of the player's ability.

"We are like building tall buildings on the beach. They look tall, but their foundation is very fragile. " A basketball youth training expert commented.

4. Social sentiment: The collective anxiety of a sports power

The failure of the women's basketball team has caused such a huge social response because it carries a deep meaning beyond competitive sports.

Under the "Sports Power" strategic background, the results of the three major balls have been given special political and cultural values. The runner-up of the women's basketball team in 2022 was once regarded as a "breakthrough in China's collective ball events", but this home defeat caused a severe blow to this narrative.

"When Captain Han Xu expressed his tears in his words that he delayed his study abroad due to a waist injury and public opinion pressure, I saw the helplessness of an athlete. "A sports reporter wrote in the report, "When the naturalized player Li Kaier was criticized by the men's basketball team, I felt the sense of tearing in the sports field - we longed for victory, but were unwilling to pay the price for victory. "

This sense of tearing is particularly obvious on social media. After the game, Li Meng's social media comment section was "furious", and tens of thousands of fans left messages calling for her to return to the national team. A Guangxi fan's message received 100,000+ likes: "Sister Meng, come back to save the Chinese team! "

5. Conclusion: Finding hope in failure

The lights in the Shenzhen Stadium are gradually dimming, but the story of the Chinese women's basketball team is far from over. This disastrous defeat is like a mirror, reflecting the various problems of Chinese basketball and the urgency of reform.

When fans shouted "The future is promising" to bid farewell to the women's basketball girl, behind this encouragement is heavy expectation. What Chinese basketball needs is not anger at the loss, but a calm reconstruction of the philosophy of victory.

As Yao Ming said: " 'Toward Paris with one heart ', there is a starting point but no end point on this road. " The road to revival of the Chinese women's basketball team is destined to be full of ups and downs, but as long as they can learn from failure and find breakthroughs in difficulties, one day, they will stand on the top of the world again.