Chinese basketball aims for Los Angeles Olympics after sacking coach Aleksandar Djordjevic
- National team have endured wretched run in which they flopped at World Cup and home Asian Games
China’s men’s basketball head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic has been dismissed, paying the price after the national team flopped at the World Cup and Asian Games and failed to reach the Paris Olympics.
The Chinese Basketball Association has launched the process of identifying its next boss after ending Djordjevic’s 18-month tenure on Thursday, with targets of qualifying for the 2027 World Cup as well as the next Olympics, in Los Angeles in 2028.
Guo Shiqiang, one of the four assistant coaches, will take on the head coach role temporarily.
Also head coach of Guangzhou Loong Lions in China’s top-tier league, Guo will first oversee a two-week training camp in Shanghai starting on Saturday, for which 26 players have been called up.
Djordjevic began his spell in charge of China in November 2022, but the Serb and his players were unable to deliver on any of the team’s primary objectives.
China put in a miserable showing at the Fiba World Cup last September, despite calling up naturalised player Kyle Anderson (also known by his Chinese name Li Kaier).
