DONGGUAN (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - China will try to preserve their unblemished record in the Asian Qualifiers as they host dangerous New Zealand at the Dongguan Basketball Center.

China went 2-0 in the first window, outclassing Hong Kong before pulling off a stunner against Korea on the road. New Zealand, meanwhile, went 1-1 in the first window, losing to the Koreans before rebounding with a blowout win over Hong Kong. Now the Tall Blacks are hoping to extend their winning ways as they travel to China to face Yi Jianlian and Co.

Key Matchups:

The matchup at the point guard position will pit arguably two of the top tier floor generals in FIBA Asia - Guo Ailun and Shea Ili. Guo, of course, did not play in the first window, but he should be a major cog for coach Du Feng in this window. Guo is well-known as a prolific scorer, but he should be more fo a facilitator here, what with sublime big men Yi Jianlian and Hu Jinqiu just waiting for those drop passes for easy buckets. Ili, for his part, proved in both the Asia Cup 2017 and the first window that he can hack it with the best in the region. He put up around 12 points, 5 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals per game last November, and he will certainly provide a stiff challenge for Guo in the backcourt.

Another marquee matchup here is in the box as former NBA player Yi Jianlian sizes up burly New Zealand frontliner Isaac Fotu. The latter gives up at least a couple of inches to former, but that shouldn't be a defining aspect of this head-to-head. It's an interesting contrast of styles here, with Yi being the more traditional big man who can really dominate any encounter, while Fotu likes to face the basket, shoot from the midrange and be content with being just the #2 or #3 guy on offense. Needless to say, though, Fotu will have his hands full trying to contain Yi around the basket.

Key Stats:

These were the two best three-point shooting teams in the first window. China hit 11 triples per game on a 43.1% clip, while New Zealand were miles ahead of everyone else, sinking 13.5 triples per contest on a blistering 54.0% success rate. We can expect the Tall Blacks to continue going to their perimeter barrage here, especially with China having the overwhelming edge in ceiling. If New Zealand can sink upwards of 11 threes, they have a good shot at an upset.

Bench scoring is another strength that coach Paul Henare's wards can bring to the table. Their second unit tallied 57.0 points per game last November, and that accounted for 54% of their total scoring average. That means that China's second unit will need to either significantly hamper their New Zealand counterparts' production or at least match it. If not, then the Tall Blacks, who were the highest scoring team in the first window, have the potential to score a ton and fast.

What China have going for them, of course, will be size, and they would do well to exploit that and try to dominate the inside scoring. A triple tower combo of Yi, Hu and Han Dejun is a real option for coach Du, though he will probably be satisfied with Yi and Hu teaming up with versatile Zhou Peng up front. Fotu will need help to defend the paint against the big Chinese, and that means Rob Loe, Finn Delany, Alex Pledger and Reuben Te Rangi need to step up big time.

FIBA