If Wang Fei is fired from his job, he deserves it.
At the recent World Basketball Championships in Indianapolis, Wang Fei strutted like a peacock. He chose the reporters whom he liked to talk to. Apparently, I wasn’t one of those in his preferred list.
I walked up to Wang Fei during the warm-ups before China’s game against New Zealand at the Conseco Fieldhouse last Sept. 4. I tried to make casual conversation. I was behind China’s bench and Wang Fei stood nearby, looking–as usual–disinterested and smug. It was like he didn’t think New Zealand was a worthy opponent for his redshirts. After all, China trounced the Kiwis, 75-60, at the Sydney Olympics two years ago.
"Did you know that Johnny Neumann was fired?" I asked Wang Fei. He looked at me, probably wondering who I was and why the heck I was asking him about the Lebanese coach. Neumann’s termination was announced a few days before and a press release was issued by the Lebanese Basketball Federation so it was big news at the World Championships.
To brush me off, Wang Fei said, "I don’t know him." End of conversation. Clearly, he was in no mood to talk to some nosy reporter.
I told myself the guy’s a crumb. My kumpare Tony Lu, the ace sports photographer, covered the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) championships in Shanghai last year and showed me pictures of Wang Fei and Neumann embracing each other after the finals. China beat Lebanon for the title in their second meeting of the tournament. Wang Fei and Neumann shared the Most Valuable Coach prize awarded by sponsor Amway.
Wang Fei not knowing Neumann is like Eric Altamirano not knowing Ryan Gregorio.
Anyway, I watched China play New Zealand behind the Chinese bench. I noticed somebody telling Wang Fei what to do throughout the contest. That somebody turned out to be Jarrin Akana, a Hawaiian who speaks Mandarin. Akana was enlisted by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) to assist Wang Fei on the bench at the World Championships. Akana, 32, is the Denver Nuggets director of player development and Asian scout in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
China raced to a 24-point second period lead only to lose a 94-88 decision to the Kiwis. The setback was China’s fifth and knocked the team out of medal contention. After the loss, Yao Ming was furious. He refused to shake hands with the New Zealand players and stormed out of the court in a huff. In the Chinese lockerroom, Yao reportedly berated Wang Fei for his coaching lapses. Yao lashed out at Wang Fei for playing best friend Gong Xiaobin, an aging veteran, extended minutes (30) and Mengke Bateer sparingly (14 minutes). He also stuck it to Wang Fei for favoring Guo Shiqiang over Liu Wei at point guard. Liu is Yao’s chief feeder on the Shanghai Sharks club in the CBA. Against New Zealand, Guo compiled seven points and five turnovers in 32 minutes while Liu was scoreless in eight minutes.
China eventually limped back to the Mainland with a lowly 1-7 record, finishing 12th in the 16-nation competition.
I had a chance to talk to Wang Fei again before China packed up for home. I introduced myself as a Filipino reporter and asked if China’s poor showing in Indianapolis meant an all-out effort to win the Asian Games gold convincingly. Wang Fei could’ve replied in English because he’s fluent but to irritate me, spoke in Mandarin–drawing a round of laughs from the Chinese reporters around him. Luckily, my pal Xu Jicheng of the Xinhua News Agency was beside me to translate.
Wang Fei said beating teams like Indonesia by 50 or so points is insignificant because China is focused on playing at the world, not Asian, level. He said it’s no challenge for China to play in Busan. In short, defending the Asian Games championship was no problem.
On taking out his Indianapolis frustrations on the opposition in Busan, Wang Fei smirked. In so many words, he said there’s no need to wipe out the enemy because the opposition has died even before the start of the tournament. I wondered if Wang Fei would be in for a rude awakening. Such arrogance had to be defused. Deep inside me, I hoped for Wang Fei’s comeuppance.
Wang Fei is no stranger to Filipino fans. At the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, he shot 30 points to lift China to a 90-76 win over the Philippines in the basketball finals. Only one player from the 1990 squad was back on the Chinese team in Busan–Wang Fei’s chum Gong Xiaobin.
Wang Fei went to Manila in 1982 to play for China at the Asian Youth Championships. In the finals, the Philippines defeated China, 74-63, at the Araneta Coliseum. Wang Fei had 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists in 37 minutes. Joseph Uichico–playing for coach Ron Jacobs–collected eight points and four rebounds in 28 minutes. In Busan, Wang Fei and Uichico faced off as China crushed the Philippines, 92-51, in the quarterfinals.
With China’s loss to South Korea in the Asiad finals, Wang Fei is in for a long winter. He coached poorly in the gold medal game. Bateer, whom he probably dislikes, hardly saw action. Why? Imagine a frontline of Yao and Bateer. No way Seo Jang Hoon and Kim Joo Sung–who combined for 36 points against China–could’ve pushed their weight inside the lane with the Twin Towers lurking in defense. In the closing seconds of overtime, China took too long to put South Korea on the line. Why? When China badly needed a shot down the stretch, it was Zhang Cheng who got the tap, not Hu Weidong, not Li Nan. Why?
The word is Wang Fei has signed a contract to coach the national squad up to the 2004 Athens Olympics. But if the powerful CBA forces his resignation, Wang Fei has no choice but to step down in shame. That possibility looms after China’s disastrous showing in Indianapolis and the debacle in Busan.
It’s tough to diet on humble pie. Wang Fei, who apprenticed at the Dallas Mavericks training camp for a summer two years ago, has some eating to do.