บท 97: Chapter 97: The First Olympics Match
This match.
XB Men's Basketball Starting Lineup: Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Fernandez, Calderon, Rubio.
China Men's Basketball Starting Lineup: Wade Dong, Yi Nan, Zhu Gui, Guo Qi, Chen Jiang.
Even in the UK, the arena was filled with a large number of Chinese fans who came to cheer for their national men's basketball team.
On the other side of the world, China had already entered the early hours of the morning, but there were still many fans gathered in front of their TVs. Even those who didn't usually watch basketball games were now paying attention to the Chinese men's basketball team. This was a matter of national pride.
The Olympics' viewership was on par with the NBA Finals.
"Beep!!!"
As the referee blew the whistle, the match that all Chinese fans were watching began.
Guo Qi and Pau Gasol jumped for the tip-off. Guo Qi used his height and reach advantage to tip the ball to Chen Jiang.
Chen Jiang dribbled past the midcourt line and passed the ball to Wade Dong.
This was the offensive strategy set by Deng Hua: all balls should be handled by Wade Dong. If Wade Dong couldn't score, then the teammates would take over.
Deng Hua knew that someone who could sit on the sidelines and act as a coach during training would definitely handle the ball calmly on the court.
Wade Dong dribbled, and Fernandez came to defend. Wade Dong accelerated and blew past Fernandez.
Pau and Marc Gasol immediately rushed to defend Wade Dong. At this moment, Yi Nan found himself open, so Wade Dong spun between the Gasol brothers and tossed the ball towards the basket.
Yi Nan understood and jumped high to catch the ball.
"Slam!!!"
Yi Nan slammed the ball with a powerful dunk.
2:0!!!
China scored the first two points.
"Come on! Come on! Come on!"
The Chinese fans in the arena waved their small red flags and cheered loudly for the players.
"Nice job!"
Wade Dong encouraged Yi Nan and immediately shouted, "Quickly get back on defense!"
Pau Gasol comforted his teammates, "It's okay, they just scored one basket. Let's play our game. China is not our match."
It was XB Men's Basketball's turn to attack. They had already planned their strategy before the game.
In fact, dealing with the Chinese men's basketball team was simple: just avoid Wade Dong. Their strategy was to avoid Wade Dong. Rubio dribbled the ball and immediately found Chen Jiang.
The Chinese men's basketball team adopted a simple 2-3 zone defense. Wade Dong could defend from the 1 position to the 5 position, but he couldn't defend all five players alone. Avoiding Wade Dong, the XB Men's Basketball team could easily score by passing the ball to the player farthest from Wade Dong.
Rubio blew past Chen Jiang and took a mid-range shot.
The crossover was beautiful, but unfortunately, the shot didn't go in. However, Pau Gasol grabbed the offensive rebound and scored on the putback.
2:2!
The XB Men's Basketball team tied the score.
Seeing this, Wade Dong shouted at Guo Qi, "What the hell are you doing on defense?!"
This basket was due to Guo Qi's poor positioning, which allowed Pau Gasol to easily grab the offensive rebound.
Offensive rebounds are much harder to grab than defensive rebounds. Wade Dong allowed his teammates to miss offensive rebounds, but every defensive rebound must be contested. If it weren't for Guo Qi's lack of focus, Pau Gasol wouldn't have easily grabbed this offensive rebound.
Guo Qi: (;′⌒`)
He felt a bit aggrieved. He was facing Gasol, who was a top-tier center even in the NBA. But since Wade Dong scolded him, he didn't dare talk back.
The Chinese men's basketball team attacked. Chen Jiang dribbled past the midcourt line and passed the ball to Wade Dong again.
Fernandez and Calderon double-teamed Wade Dong, but they couldn't stop him. Wade Dong changed his pace twice, shook his wrist, and spun past the two defenders with a behind-the-back dribble.
He drove to the basket and scored with a reverse layup.
This dribbling was like a master of rhythm in the basketball world. It could be said that after Wade Dong exchanged for Irving's dribbling skill package, the most rhythmic dribbler was no longer Irving.
4:2!
The XB Men's Basketball head coach saw this and understood.
During training, Pau Gasol and Rubio kept reminding him that no one could stop Wade Dong from scoring. Only after seeing Wade Dong play in person did he realize that Pau Gasol and Rubio's words were not exaggerated at all.
Wade Dong scolded Guo Qi, but he wasn't just targeting Guo Qi.
The other players on the national team were also Wade Dong's seniors, but no one dared to act arrogant in front of Wade Dong. Everyone raised their defensive intensity.
When Chen Jiang faced Rubio again, he defended like a mad dog, forcing Rubio to make a passing mistake.
Wade Dong intercepted the ball and launched a fast break towards the frontcourt.
As he approached the basket, Wade Dong noticed that no XB Men's Basketball players were chasing him. Perhaps they thought they couldn't catch up, or they knew that even if they caught up, they couldn't stop Wade Dong, so they didn't bother chasing.
However, Yi Nan followed Wade Dong.
Wade Dong reached the basket but didn't choose to dunk himself. Instead, he waited for Yi Nan and bounced the ball off the ground.
The rebound sent the ball high into the air, and Yi Nan jumped to catch it and slammed it with a powerful dunk.
"Slam!!!"
This dunk was even more powerful than Yi Nan's first dunk.
6:2!!!
"What a great play!!!"
The fans in front of their TVs were ecstatic, all shouting at the top of their lungs, but quietly, because it was late at night in China, and they didn't want to disturb their neighbors.
The XB Men's Basketball team was China's biggest opponent in this Olympics, aside from the US. Many fans thought that as long as China didn't lose by a large margin, it wouldn't be considered a loss. But in the opening minutes, the Chinese men's basketball team scored six straight points, including two alley-oops from Wade Dong to Yi Nan.
"Yeah!!!"
After completing the powerful dunk, Yi Nan pounded his chest and roared.
It felt so good!
These two dunks were highlights of his career, but Yi Nan also knew that he could complete such brutal dunks because of Wade Dong.
"Well done, old Yi!"
Wade Dong patted Yi Nan's back, and they returned to the backcourt together.
In this national team, aside from the young players, veterans like Wang Xin, Yi Nan, and Zhu Gui still had a strong fighting spirit, which showed their desire for victory.
Trailing by four points at the start, the XB Men's Basketball team was not panicked.
Pau and Marc Gasol began to score frequently in the paint. Five minutes into the first quarter, Wade Dong signaled to Deng Hua to call a timeout.
At this point, the score was 13:15.
The Chinese men's basketball team was trailing by two points.
After the players came off the court, Wade Dong pointed at Guo Qi and said, "You take a rest. Let Big Xin come in."
Big Xin referred to Wang Xin.
The national team was already used to Wade Dong acting as the coach because during training, Wade Dong spent most of his time sitting on the sidelines as a coach. Often, Deng Hua looked more like Wade Dong's assistant coach.
Wang Xin was already 36 years old, and his energy couldn't compare to Guo Qi's, but he had plenty of experience.
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