MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - Given his many contributions to the national team, playmaker Liu Wei should go down as, arguably, the best point guard in Chinese basketball history.

He started playing for the Big Red Machine's senior team way back at the 2002 FIBA Basketball World Cup, mainly playing behind the more veteran Guo Shiqiang.

Liu's numbers were relatively pedestrian in his first foray onto the world stage, but he steadily increased his production with every tournament. Not long after his debut for the national team, Liu eventually took over as the starting point guard for the next decade.

By far his best performance was at the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where he averaged 11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. He scored a personal tournament best of 21 points against Lithuania in their Round of 16 clash, which turned out to be the last for team as they were eliminated afterwards.

His most recent participation was at the 2012 London Olympics, where China finished a disappointing 12th and he put up 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.

In his country's own pro league - the Chinese Basketball Association - Liu has also excelled, even helping his original team, the Shanghai Sharks, win the championship in 2002. In a move that was unanticipated, Liu transplanted himself from the Sharks to the then-rebuilding Xinjiang Flying Tigers last season, getting the chance to play with NBA player and naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche. Unfortunately, despite that team’s depth, it failed to qualify for the CBA playoffs.

In another surprising turn of events, Liu, who turned 35 earlier this year, was called back to the national pool despite his planned retirement from international competitions. This is mainly because, based on the most recent senior-level FIBA Asia competitions, China's main weakness has been the point guard position.

Over the years, the likes of Hu Xuefeng, Yu Shulong, Chen Jianghua and the popular Guo Ailun have all tried to continue what Liu started, but nobody has really stood out and shown tremendous potential. I'm guessing that CBA officials are raring for Liu Wei to provide stability and, hopefully, help the development of young floor generals like Guo.

This is significant because China have been on a bit of a title drought the past few years. The last major title triumph they achieved was winning the FIBA Asia Championship way back 2011. Since then, China have struggled to regain their foothold atop the Asian ladder.

They hit rock-bottom, of course, at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship in Manila, where for the first time, they lost to Chinese Taipei in the tournament's Quarter-Finals, effectively booting the Chinese out of podium contention and sending them back to their homeland with more questions than answers.

As a veteran, Liu is expected to be a mentor of sorts to the young guards on the national pool this year. Not a lot of people expect him to actually make the final roster, but he should make his presence felt by leaving his mark on the development of the country's up-and-coming point guards like Liu Xiaoyu, Fang Shuo, Sui Ran, and Zhao Jiwei.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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