The Chinese men cagers regained their firing powers by conquering the continent in an impressive style when their national squad outwitted South Korea to triumph in the 20th ABC Championship in Fukuoka, Japan, in September.

With seven straight wins, China savored the final victory and took revenge of South Korea, who usurped the title after a semi-final upset of China in 1997. China missed only two titles in the past 12 outings in the biennial meet.

The surprising defeat years ago cost China a tour to the World Championship in 1998, and this time China secured the only berth allotted to Asia for the new millennium Olympic Games in Sydney.

It could not be better for the Asian giants to overwrite their record of history in the world basketball arena as the current Chinese men's national team is hailed as one of the most talented and united squad to go for an Olympic glory.

Wang Zhizhi, a 2.14-meter pivot, who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks this summer, is tagged as the promising first Asian to play in NBA and he is surely ready to make his statement in the Sydney Olympics.

"All I'm concerned now is to go out for the Sydney Olympics," said the 22-year-old center after China shadowed South Korea 63-45in the final of the ABC Championship on September 5.

Head coach Jiang Xingquan, who awarded China its best eighth place in the 1994 World Championship, said, "This team is better than the 1994 Worlds where I led the team to the eighth place."

In the Atlanta Olympics, China also finished eighth in the men's basketball tournament, the highest placing for the Chinese team, then coached by Gong Luming.

However, their women counterparts have yet to get rid of a plummeting movement which has been trapping them for more than three years.

The women's national team suffered a string of defeats to South Korea and Japan and even the Chinese Taipei to finish fourth in the Asian championship last May, the worst for the team in the tournament as they once won the Olympic silvers in 1994 and finished second in the World Championship in 1996.

And surely, it could not be any more optimistic as the Chinese junior men's team finished a disappointing 15th place in the World Junior Championship in July wherein only sixteen squads had competed. (Xinhua)