2017年CRI Han, trio of guards stand out against South Africa

 

Ren Junfei during the game between China and South Africa at the BRICS Games in Guangzhou on June 19, 2017. [Photo: China Plus/Fu Yu]

A sport event involving the five BRICS countries is continuing in Guangzhou.

In the men's basketball, Du Feng has followed up his winning debut¹ as national team coach with another success, defeating South Africa 90-61 in the second fixture².

Several players stood out from the night as the team settled comfortably into their grooves³.

CRI's Fu Yu brings more from court side.

Having struggled and thrived together in their first game against India, Chinese players found their rhythem against South Africa.

Coach Du Feng is smitten⁴ with his team's performances and named a few stand-out players on the squad⁵. He also says rebounds⁶ were key to success.

"I told my team that if we won the rebounds, I'm sure we could win big. We did it against India and we did it again today. It shows we are the better team. I told the players that they will definitely struggle with their forms and it will be even harder tomorrow. I am asking them to be prepared. A few of our young guards, Yu Dehao, Wu Qian, Zeng Lingxu, did superbly well. They controlled the pace tonight and executed to the point. I believe they have learned a lot from this game."

Ren Junfei was the game's top scorer with 21 points.

Ren says he feels like both him and the team are on the right track.

"We mainly went on the defensive⁷ and pressed them hard, which put a lot of pressure on our opponents. We made a few debatable decisions on substitution in the 3rd quarter and we felt the pressure. Other than that our passings went smoothly⁸ and we functioned well as a team. We all hope each of us can improve even further."

The team's other pillar Han Dejun continues to impress with 17 points for China, the second highest of the night.

Han, along with the Chinese guards, also cought the eye of South African coach Craig Gilchrist.

"It was very difficult, the whole Chinese team are very good players. They're all professional players, my guys are all amatures. I thought the big guy, number 55, was extremely difficult to contain, especially with our big guy out, the other guys weren't strong enough. The shooting from all the Chinese guards was excellent, they all shot the ball well so it was difficult to contain them."

Gilchrist admits although they tried to change their defense⁹ and confuse the Chinese players, they could not keep them from pulling away in the last quarter.

China has won both games so far at the BRICS Games. They have the chance to finish the tournament with an all-winning record in the game against Russia later today.

For CRI, this is Fu Yu reporting from Guangzhou.

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

3 grooves   

n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏

参考例句：

• Wheels leave grooves in a dirt road. 车轮在泥路上留下了凹痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sliding doors move in grooves. 滑动门在槽沟中移动。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 smitten   

猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• From the moment they met, he was completely smitten by her. 从一见面的那一刻起，他就完全被她迷住了。
• It was easy to see why she was smitten with him. 她很容易看出为何她为他倾倒。

5 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

6 rebounds   

反弹球( rebound的名词复数 )； 回弹球； 抢断篮板球； 复兴

参考例句：

• V is the velocity after the gas particle rebounds from the wall. V是粒子从壁上弹开后的速度。
• In the former case, the first body rebounds with practically its original velocity. 在前一种情况下，第一个物体实际上以原来的速度弹回。

7 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

8 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。