章 100: Chapter 100: The Massacre (Part 1)
Two days later, the national team faced their second group stage match against the EL national team.
The EL national team was also a strong European team and a very young team. The oldest player on the team was the 30-year-old Kirilenko.
Although most of the players on this team played in the European leagues, their strength was not to be underestimated. Moreover, the rules of the European leagues were the closest to the Olympic competition rules.
Facing such a team, even the US team could lose if they were careless.
Wade Dong was even more cautious. If they won against the EL men's basketball team, the Chinese men's basketball team would basically secure the top spot in Group B. The remaining opponents were relatively weaker.
The EL men's basketball team had just won a game in the preliminary round.
So this match was also very important for the EL men's basketball team. If they lost to China, they would have no chance of finishing first in the group. Even if they lost to the XB national team, they could still have a chance to become the group's top team.
Before the game started, the players from both teams entered the court and shook hands.
Kirilenko was considered the leader of the EL men's basketball team, so in his eyes, only Wade Dong mattered.
When shaking hands with Wade Dong, Kirilenko said, "You are the most similar player to me in the NBA."
"Is that so, idol?"
Wade Dong smiled. Kirilenko's words probably meant that both of them could play from the 1 position to the 5 position.
However, saying that Wade Dong was similar to him was a bit exaggerated...
In this game, three-quarters of the audience were Chinese fans. They had small red flags on their faces, and their enthusiasm was almost like that of soccer fans. Even some celebrities came to watch the game.
"Beep!!!"
As the referee blew the whistle, the game officially began.
EL Men's Basketball Starting Lineup: Kirilenko, Mozgov, Monia, Shved, Kaun.
Chinese Men's Basketball Starting Lineup: Wade Dong, Yi Nan, Wang Xin, Zhu Gui, Chen Jiang.
Unlike the first game, the Chinese men's basketball team replaced Guo Qi in the starting lineup with the veteran Wang Xin to play center. The Olympics had no room for error, and every game was crucial. In the first game, Guo Qi's two unnecessary defensive lapses made Wade Dong lose confidence in him.
Moreover, head coach Deng Hua now consulted Wade Dong on tactical arrangements. Wade Dong had half the role of a coach and half the role of a player on the national team.
The players from both teams jumped for the tip-off, and Mozgov tipped the ball to Shved.
The Chinese men's basketball team quickly set up their zone defense. Shved crossed the midcourt line and immediately passed the ball to Kaun. Kaun passed it to Kirilenko, who dribbled once and passed it to Mozgov. Mozgov made a mid-range shot!
2:0!
They completed an attack in less than twelve seconds, with four players involved. It was a very good tactical coordination.
"Come on! Come on! Come on!"
The Chinese fans in the arena began to cheer loudly for the players.
Wade Dong took the ball from Chen Jiang and said to his teammates, "No matter how good the tactical coordination is, it's useless in the face of absolute strength. You all focus on defense, and I'll handle the offense."
As he finished speaking, Wade Dong shot a three-pointer from two steps behind the three-point line.
"Swish!!!"
The ball went straight through the net.
This attack was clean and efficient, with no unnecessary movements.
The EL men's basketball team was clearly not adapting well. The offense shouldn't be like this... Wade Dong, you're playing too independently!
But Wade Dong didn't care about what the EL men's basketball team thought. Before the game, he had exchanged three skill packages: Bird's three-point skill package, Miller's three-point skill package, and Allen's three-point skill package. With the Curry and Thompson three-point skill packages he already had, his three-point shooting was now unstoppable.
The EL men's basketball team attacked again. After a few precise passes, the ball ended up in Kaun's hands. However, Kaun's layup was blocked by Yi Nan, and Wang Xin grabbed the rebound.
At this moment, Wade Dong had already sprinted towards the frontcourt. Wang Xin passed the ball to Wade Dong.
Wade Dong received the ball and rushed towards the basket. Just when everyone thought Wade Dong would finish with a dunk or a layup, he suddenly stopped at the three-point line and shot a three-pointer!
"Swish!!!"
The ball went in again!
This was an incredible level of confidence. The game was still in the first quarter, and Wade Dong chose to shoot a three-pointer on an open basket!
Crucially, the shot went in, and the EL men's basketball team's morale was starting to crumble...
Kirilenko immediately comforted his teammates, "Don't let Wade Dong affect our play. You can't win a basketball game with just one person."
"Come on! Come on! Come on!"
The EL men's basketball team also rallied. They couldn't afford to lose a game before facing the US men's basketball team.
The team's basketball strategy was absolutely sound. The EL men's basketball team could always find scoring opportunities, but when defending, they mostly relied on single coverage against Wade Dong. Only when Wade Dong drove into the paint did they choose to double-team him.
But in this game, Wade Dong had no intention of going into the paint.
The first quarter ended.
Wade Dong made 9 out of 13 three-pointers, scoring 27 points in a single quarter!
The EL men's basketball team scored a total of 25 points, 2 points less than Wade Dong alone.
The score at the end of the first quarter was 37:25!
The Chinese men's basketball team led the EL men's basketball team by 12 points.
"Wade Dong is awesome!"
"Wade Dong is awesome!"
"Wade Dong is awesome!"
The Chinese fans in the arena chanted in unison. (Don't take the slang as a reference to its time of appearance; it's just a parallel universe (｀?ω?′))
...
Yu Jia, "Wade Dong's three-point shooting today is insane."
Coach Zhang, "Making 13 shots in a single quarter, only Wade Dong can do that. In my playing days, no one had that kind of shooting freedom."
Yu Jia, "Wade Dong is taking over the game."
...
The second quarter began, and Wade Dong continued his hot three-point shooting.
The EL men's basketball team also changed their defensive strategy, with Kirilenko sticking closely to Wade Dong, not giving him any chance to receive the ball.
But when a world-class three-point shooter finds his rhythm, not even Jesus can stop him from scoring!
"Swish!!!"
"Swish!!!"
"Swish!!!"
Some of Wade Dong's three-point shots seemed extremely unreasonable to ordinary people, but he managed to put the ball in the basket.
The first half of the game ended.
69:47!!!
The Chinese men's basketball team led the EL men's basketball team by 22 points.
Wade Dong did not enter the three-point line in the first half. All his shots were three-pointers, making 15 out of 21 attempts and scoring 45 points! Especially in the second quarter, facing Kirilenko's sticky defense, Wade Dong still made 6 out of 8 three-pointers.
...
When Wade Dong's three-point shots started falling, the entire game seemed to become his personal show.
The third quarter began.
The Chinese team attacked, and Chen Jiang passed the ball to Wade Dong. Kirilenko began his full-court press.
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット