Simpson confident China's strong play will continue

JAKARTA (2015 FIBA Asia U16 Championship) - Three-time defending champions China ran India roughshod in their 116-57 Group A win to open their campaign in dominant fashion and assistant coach Craig Simpson was of the opinion that East Asian's strong showing will continue for another edition.

"We now have a very good number of fine young players that will keep China among the leading powers in Asia for the years to come," the 34-year-old Australian said after the game.

"The coaching staff has been working hard in the last two years to identify the best talents and I believe we brought the best 12 players to Jakarta.

"These players surely have the the potential to become China's stars in the future, all they need is to keep working hard and with the right attitude I believe that they can help China maintain their top status in Asia."

China's faith in youth paid off in Changsha-Hunan when they won the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship earlier this month.

Five out of the 12 players in that team participated in past editions of the FIBA Asia U16 Championships.

"China's success in Changsha was the direct result of faith and investment in youth talents," Simpson said.

"Rongqi Huang and Haotian Bai are two bright players who we believe have the ability to become exceptional talents and great assets to the Chinese senior team in the future just like Zhou Qi and Guo Ailun are now," he concluded.

FIBA