WITH the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 just around the corner, China’s star point guard Guo Ailun is feeling a rush of excitement.

“I have been thinking about it for many months now, and I had dreams about playing in this competition, being cheered and with plenty of support from our fans,” he said.

“Who wouldn’t want to play in a FIBA World Cup at home, on your home soil and try to make your fellow compatriots proud? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we all want to have a great tournament.”

China is poised to have a good chance to do well in their first World Cup since 2010. Team Dragon missed out on the 2014 edition in Spain after failing to make it to the semifinals of the FIBA Asia Cup 2013, but they seem to be in an auspicious spot this year, having been drawn against Venezuela, Poland and Cote d’Ivoire.

Guo himself believes that they have the opportunity of a lifetime, but of course, they’ll need to actually show up on the hardwood.

“It’s a very good group, and I really like it to be honest,” he declared. “We are going to play against teams that play different kinds of basketball, and will need to get adjusted and play hard to win and go to the next round. Venezuela won the FIBA Americas a couple of years ago, Poland has some players that compete in the best leagues in Europe and Cote d’Ivoire is a very solid team. We are going to take it one game at a time, and we have to start the first round the best way.”

To maximize their chances of impressing at home in front of their own fans, China’s players  have embarked on an intense series of training camps and preparation games, and they certainly hope all of those efforts will pay off in spades at the World Cup.

“Intense preparation is the only way to keep improving and be ready for a great and long competition like the FIBA Basketball World Cup,” he explained. “We needed to get adjusted to some things, but I think that we learned and improved a lot in the last couple of weeks. We are ambitious and very motivated to be in the best physical and mental mindset for the start of the competition.”

Guo has been known to be one of the most competitive players in China, as proven by his being a multiple-time All-Star in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and his leading the Liao-ning Flying Leopards to their CBA title in 2018.

He’s also excited for the Chinese basketball fans, who are known to be among the most passionate in the world.

(FIBA)