HONG KONG (FIBA Asia Cup 2021) – By luck of the draw, Hong Kong were pitted against New Zealand, Korea, and China in the first round of the FIBA World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers. Those three teams would eventually be among the first to qualify for the World Cup out of Asia, while Hong Kong were left winless in their 6 games against each other.

Even though they were unable to collect a victory, these six games will be great lessons to learn from towards further building up the Hong Kong national team program. At the center, metaphorically and literally, of Hong Kong’s future is 29-year-old Duncan Reid.

“It was a very rare and special opportunity for myself and my teammates to compete at that level of competition. The experience we gained was invaluable. Having the opportunity to play in front of our home fans, for them to witness high level basketball in Hong Kong was very unique,” said Reid.

The bearded big man has been the main man for Hong Kong for most of this decade, so he’s experienced the improvement Hong Kong has made throughout these years first-handed. Reid is a force down low for the East Asian nation and hopes that the program continues to make strides forward in the right direction.

“We had stretches where we were able to keep up with the powerhouses of the region. As a team we have a lot of work to do but we also have a lot of potential moving forward,” Reid said. In their final game of the Asian Qualifiers, Hong Kong went toe-to-toe with Korea up until the final quarter in front of their rowdy home crowd.

Basketball fans in Hong Kong have been treated to spectating their hometown heroes go up against some of the best players in the world this past year. They have responded by showering their team with endless cheers and packing up Southorn Stadium with any opportunity available.

“Hong Kong has some very passionate basketball fans and the national team is very lucky to have their full support. Basketball is a big sport in Hong Kong but we just need some better infrastructure at the grass roots level to really help us to foster more talent and continue to grow.”

Now that they are out of contention in the FIBA World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers, Hong Kong’s focus can shift to qualification towards the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 which starts later this year. After their recent bout against Asia’s elite teams, Reid and Hong Kong will now have a better idea of what they need to work on to make it through the qualifying round.

“We need to improve our ability to compete against larger and more athletic teams on the defensive front,” Reid says. “Our ability to rebound will determine how well we can stay in games more.”

Hong Kong averaged the least amount of rebounds in the Asian Qualifiers at only 26.2 per game, so Reid has a point emphasizing on Hong Kong’s need to improve on the glass. Reid leads the team in that respective area with 9.3 boards per contest so he’ll be a big part of how much better Hong Kong will be able to collect those caroms.

Aside from rebounding, Reid is 2^nd in scoring (14.8 PPG) and 3^rd in assists (2.5 APG) on average. Even then, the trilingual post player is still consistently adding more to his game to be even better.

“For me personally, I’m continuing to work on being a leader and doing whatever it takes for our team to be successful. Consistently working on my weaknesses and being the best player I can be everyday is all I’m focusing on.”

Already armed with sharpshooters like Lee Ki and Tsai Choi Kwan locked and loaded, Hong Kong will need Duncan Reid to be their anchor in the paint to help get them through their next hurdle at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 qualifiers.

“[Qualifying for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021] would be a huge step for us,” Reid says. “The region is getting more and more competitive, so being able to qualify will be a big challenge for us.”

FIBA