Weibo sympathy for Chinese teen basketball sensation over final loss to Australia

Chinese basketball fans have questioned the decision to withdraw their country’s new young star Zhang Ziyu during the loss to Australia in the Fiba Under-18 Women’s Asian Cup final.

Towering teenage centre Zhang scored a game-high 42 points to go with 14 rebounds but was helpless on the sidelines as China lost 96-79 to Australia in Shenzhen on Sunday.

Named the tournament MVP on her debut appearance for her country, Zhang, 17, was taken off by head coach Wang Guizhi with four minutes left as the Gems from Down Under again denied the 16-time champions, having done so in India two years ago.

Weibo users debated Wang’s decision, made with China trailing only 83-76, with many arguing Zhang was head and shoulders above her teammates in every sense at the Longhua Culture & Sports Centre.

Zhang is listed as 2.20 metres (7ft 3in) tall by Fiba, the sport’s world governing body, but some Chinese media have reported her height as 2.27 metres – putting her just short of the legendary 2.29-metre former NBA superstar Yao Ming.

“Zhang lost because there were nine against one on the court,” a comment from Malaysia said.

A Hebei user added that China would not have reached the final had Zhang not been in the team.

None of the other players in the China team managed more than nine points, while Australia’s top scorer, Saffron Shiels – who led three other teammates in scoring in double figures – amassed 31 points, 15 boards and six assists.

One Weibo user from Zhejiang wrote: “The gap between the Chinese and the Australians was quite large. Zhang was lowering herself to play – no one on the team could catch up.”

China led only briefly, for just under three minutes, and were otherwise chasing the game. Despite her 42 points, Zhang had converted only 18 of her 36 shots while missing half of her 12 free throws.

Australia then went on a 13-3 run in her absence to put the match beyond doubt and seal their second title.

Still, it was a good tournament for Zhang overall. In her first stint with the national team, she put in two 40-point performances in five outings, including 44 points against Japan in the group phase to set the competition single-game scoring record.

With an average of 35 points and 12.8 rebounds in the week-long tournament, Zhang headlined the All-Star Five made up of teammate Xu Peilin, Shiels and Lara Somfai of Australia, and Japan’s Kokoro Tanaka.

Daughter of former national player Yu Ying, Zhang would be the all-time tallest player in the WNBA were she to pursue a career in the league, which requires players to be at least 22 years old.

Margo Dydek holds the record for the league’s tallest-ever player at 7ft 2in.