Chapter 410 409. National Focus
With consecutive wins over the Dream Team and the Spanish men's basketball team, the Chinese men's basketball team became the talk of the town, and all major media outlets were flooded with reports about the Chinese men's basketball team.

Although there is a double FMVP combination of Zhang Yang and Yao Ming, even the domestic media had previously only predicted that the Chinese team would be able to compete with the world's top teams in a short period of time, such as lasting a half court or three quarters, unlike in the past, when they would collapse in the second quarter or even be beaten from start to finish.

Unexpectedly, we beat the American team and then we had a massacre win over the Spanish team!
If you watched the game between China and Spain, you would find that Spain had already started to take control of the initiative in the third quarter. If Yao Ming hadn't gone berserk in the first half and Spain hadn't been too nervous, there wouldn't have been a 20-point difference at halftime. Even if China had had an advantage, it wouldn't have been that big, and Spain might have had a chance in the second half... But there are still a large number of passers-by who didn't watch the live broadcast, and the media wouldn't specifically mention this when reporting on it. They would definitely report on it in a way that would make the Chinese people excited.

Another day of rest passed, and at 14:3 p.m. on the th, the Chinese men's basketball team met with the German men's basketball team at the Olympic Sports Center.

Originally, when Yao Ming and Nowitzki met at the 08 Olympics, they felt sympathy for each other.

The German team also had a golden age of outside shooting in the 90s. At the end of the golden age, at the 02 World Championships, Nowitzki, who had just become a world-class player, led the German team through all the competitions and eventually won a good third place and the bronze medal.

But after that, many outside players of the golden era retired. The next year, Nowitzki had to fight alone in the national team. The German team failed to get a good ranking in the 03 European Championships and failed to qualify for the 04 Olympics...

The same goes for Yao Ming. In the 04 Athens Olympics, he went from being a little brother of the group of outside big men to a leader. In the group stage, he led his team to defeat the New Zealand team that was ranked fourth in the 02 World Championships and the Serbia and Montenegro team, the successor of the champion Yugoslavia... and that was it.

Here, Nowitzki looked at Yao Ming with eyes full of envy.

Zhang Yang! That's Zhang Yang!
Yao Ming actually has such great teammates, I'm so envious!

In the world, except for the inside players of the American team, Yao Ming is the only one who has such strong outside teammates in all other countries.

If he, the Silver Horn King, had an outside teammate like Zhang San, he would also be able to face off against Meng Ba head-on!
When Yao Ming greeted Nowitzki, he felt the other party's envy and couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth. But in order to hold back from laughing, he could only lift his cheekbones up, and his expression gradually became abnormal...

Nowitzki is such a good-tempered person, but when he saw Yao Ming showing off, he also wanted to jump up and hit this guy on the head.

At 4 pm, the match between China and Germany started.

There was an obvious gap in strength between the two teams. The Chinese team lost an NBA FMVP and was stronger than the German team. Zhang Yang and Yao Ming combined inside and outside, assisted by Sun Yue's passing, Zhu Fangyu's three-point containment, Yi Jianlian's cutting into the basket and three-point reception. They scored 25 to 14 in the first quarter and took a double-digit lead.

首节易建联得分最高，5投3中，其中三分球1中1，加上2中2的罚球拿到9分2板1盖帽。

In the second quarter, Nowitzki started to play wildly, which raised the upper limit of the German team and prevented the Chinese team from widening the gap and disrupting the game.

诺维斯基第二节拿到11分，率领德国队打出了22比24的比分，咬住分差，以36比49落后中国队13分进入下半场；第三节单节10分，率领德国队打出25比22的比分，将分差缩小到10分，以61比71落后进入末节。

However, although Nowitzki is strong, he can both provide a bottom-up defense in the interior and raise the ceiling with outside shooting in international competitions, but that's all.

首节4分、第二节11分、第三节10分，诺维斯基三节拿到25分……末节只拿到4分，德国队得分也暴跌到15分。

The Chinese team scored 21 points in the final quarter and eventually defeated the German team 92-76, winning three consecutive games in the group stage!

Yi Jianlian scored 25 points, the second highest in the game, plus 11 rebounds and 3 blocks, all of which set new highs for him in the World Series.

姚明只打了25分钟，拿到14分7板2助攻1抢断2盖帽。

张杨打了31分钟，9投5中，其中三分球3中1，加上2中2的罚球，拿到13分3板8助攻2抢断。

Unlike the United States and Spain teams who considered the overall situation on the defensive end, those two teams were capable and confident that they could defend the entire Chinese team. The German team focused on defending Zhang Yang. The more efficient Zhang Yang was, the more intensely the German team double-teamed him. With a clear advantage, Zhang Yang naturally chose to let his teammates shoot more shots.

Domestic fans are very happy that their team has won three consecutive victories. However, the most eye-catching game in today's basketball match is not this game, but the last game between the United States and Spain.

At 10 o'clock in the evening, today's focus battle began.

Zhang Yang, Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Zhu Fangyu and others came to watch the game.

The day before yesterday, seeing that the Spanish team was beaten by the Chinese team by 20 points in the first half, the Banana Boat members returned to the resort hotel and loudly told their teammates that the Spanish team could beat them at will... The Dream Team did not live in the Olympic Village, but lived outside at their own expense. There was no other way. They were the most profitable team of all the teams in the US Olympic delegation, and it could even be said that they were the most profitable team in this Olympics. They were rich and could do whatever they wanted.

The Lakers' backcourt duo did not quite agree with the opinions of the Banana Boat members, and K also felt that it was inappropriate. However, this Olympics had a bad start, and it was not easy for them to oppose the opinions of the Banana Boat members at this time. They needed to take to the court with high confidence.

So, the US team, which went into the game with the mentality of easily beating the Spanish team tonight, was beaten 38 to 25 by the Spanish team in the first quarter...

The Spanish team lost to the Chinese team the day before yesterday and was indeed frustrated, but they did not lose confidence.

After reviewing the game, they found that they were only confused by Yao Ming's terrifying defense under the basket in the first half. When Yao Ming's physical strength declined in the third quarter, their offense soared. Unfortunately, they encountered the "king of the third quarter" Zhang Yang who went berserk and failed in their counterattack.

After watching the game between China and Germany this afternoon, they are sure that their strength is stronger than that of China. Nowitzki can lead the team to compete with China for two quarters if he goes on a rampage. But when they played against Germany, Nowitzki fought desperately. Germany only lasted one quarter in the third quarter to prevent the score difference from widening. They were beaten in the other three quarters.

Another thing is that the Dream Team's deterrence declined after the opening game.

This Dream Team was highly anticipated, and people believed that they had the potential to reshape their dominance, mainly due to Kidd and Kobe.

Compared with the Dream Team VI in 04 and the Dream Team VII in 06, the Dream Team VIII actually only has two more players. The former is considered by many to be the best active point guard capable of leading a team, and the latter holds the title of "the best player in the world".

But the US team lost to the Chinese team in their debut, and it was a tough battle. Howard was so angry that he committed a malicious foul because he was beaten by Yao Ming on both offense and defense, which almost caused a full-scale conflict...

Although there are still many people who think that it was just an upset, there are also voices saying that "there is no essential difference between the Dream Team 8 and the past three Dream Teams." They believe that the US team is still the strongest team, but one thing is that the addition of Kobe and Kidd has greatly weakened the deterrent power to other strong teams!

So, tonight, the Spanish players, who vowed to defeat the American team just like they did to the Chinese team, gave the American team a tough blow at the start!
In the second quarter, Kobe came into full force, scoring consecutively from inside and outside, and beat the Spanish team 9 to 4 alone, narrowing the gap to single digits.

After Kobe opened up the situation, he focused on the defensive end. Wade and Anthony led the team in offense, Kidd and Paul assisted, Bosh and Felton supported, Howard, Okafor and James defended, and the US team launched wave after wave of counterattacks.

Compared with previous Dream Teams, this Dream Team is indeed special. They have Kidd, Paul, and Kobe, and their tactical coordination is extremely good and the division of labor is clearer. Just like the game against the Chinese team, when they were far behind, they were still able to catch up and surpass the score.

Although they were careless at the beginning and fell behind by 13 points in the first quarter, they were awakened and became more cautious than in the game against the Chinese team. For example, at the critical moment, Kobe held the ball and did the work alone, not giving the Banana Boat guys any chance to dig a hole.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Felton hit a three-pointer against Navarro, 91 to 89, and the US team successfully reversed the score. The Spanish team refused to admit defeat. They were leading for 3 quarters, so they launched another fierce attack, and the US team responded with a fierce attack. After half a quarter of fierce offensive, the US team took a 106-point lead with 102 to 4.

After the timeout, the three superstars Navarro, Fernandez and Gasol scored 11 points in a row, creating the final offensive climax. However, during this period, Kobe scored 9 points from inside and outside the court, and Wade made a three-pointer when he was completely left open. Facing the fierce offensive of the Spanish team, the US team widened the gap by 1 point, crushing the morale of the Spanish stars.

In the end, the US team reversed the Spanish team 123 to 118, improving their record to 2 wins and 1 loss, giving the Spanish team two consecutive losses!
Zhang Yang, who was watching, applauded the performance of the American team.

Zhang Yang said to his teammates next to him: "98 points in three quarters, the American team is too strong!"

Yao Ming: "Paul doesn't randomly shoot key shots, James doesn't randomly play singles, Howard has restrained his defensive tricks and is familiar with the rule without the three-second defense. After they avoided the loss in the first game, they no longer have obvious flaws."

Zhang Yang: "Just now the Spanish team scored 5 goals in a row and got 11 points. I thought they were going to turn the tables, but Kobe scored 9 points in a row and Wade made a three-pointer, which directly crushed the Spanish team."

Yao Ming: "Kobe was invincible at that time. We were lucky to win the Lakers in the finals. The Lakers had no small forwards or shooting guards available, only Kobe could carry the team. Walton and Ariza couldn't make open shots, and Deng could double-team Kobe. I just had to stay under the basket and save my energy for singles at critical moments.

Wade's three-point shooting is not good, much worse than James, but Yang Yang, you see, his three-point shooting choices are all very good, he shoots when it is time to shoot, which allows the US team's tactics to be executed smoothly. Today, he also shot 4 three-pointers before, and made 1. If you shoot more, you can always make it. Even if he doesn't make it, Kobe will help him, so he doesn't have to worry. "

Zhang Yang: "Luckily we played them in the first game. If we had played them after two or three games, we would have no hope at all."

Yao Ming was about to agree when Zhu Fangyu suddenly said, "Yangzi, Yao Ming, didn't you complain before that you played against the United States in the first game and didn't get any preferential treatment as the host country?"

Zhang Yang, Yao Ming: "..."

The two looked at each other and turned to look at Zhu Fangyu.

Zhu Fangyu felt a chill down his spine. His body reacted faster than his brain. He suddenly jumped up and dived into the crowd of fans leaving the stadium, disappearing from his teammates' sight...

Zhang San, Little Giant: Knock, you run so fast!
...

On the 16th, at 3:58 pm, the match between China and Angola ended with a score of 91 to 79, and China successfully defeated the African champions.

12投8中，其中三分球2中2，加上4中3的罚球，张杨拿到21分3板6助攻3抢断。

Yao Ming did not play after the first half, scoring 7 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block.

The highest scorer in the interior was Yi Jianlian, with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Zhang Yang feels that in terms of pure strength, Yi Jianlian is very close to the player who averaged 2010 points and 20 rebounds per game in the 10 World Championships. Of course, from the perspective of a functional player, he is far better than before in terms of receiving long shots, cutting in to catch dunks, setting wing screens, following up on fast breaks, and second-chance offense... these aspects are far better than his original self.

In terms of core playing style, it is very likely that it will not be as good as before. In this Olympics, Yi Jianlian has almost no core player playing style. The tactical core of the inside line is either Yao Ming or Wang Zhizhi.

It is hard to say what the future will be like many years from now, but at least for now, Yi Jianlian's style of play is very suitable for him and Yao Ming. Even the US team and the Spanish team cannot ignore Yi Jianlian's presence, allowing him, Yao Ming, and the wing shooters Liu Wei, Zhu Fangyu, and Wang Shipeng to play better.

In addition, Zhang Yang feels that the Angolan team seems to be stronger than the German team. Indeed, the German team lost to the Angolan team before. After losing to the Greek team this morning, the German team has lost four games in a row. The last game is against the United States. It is certain that the German team will lose all the games in this Olympics.

The Silver Horn King was really miserable. Judging from the situation in the match that day, Nowitzki basically got no other help except for two teammates who cut in to grab the ball and had good awareness.

However, the new generation of talents of the German men's basketball team are now in elementary school or junior high school and have entered the youth training stage.

All in all, the Chinese men's basketball team is even worse off. Their youth training system has been destroyed by ghosts and gods in recent years.

In the evening, Zhang Yang and his group went to watch the game between the American team and the Greek team.

After a fierce battle, the US team defeated the Greek team 69 to 58 to win.

Yao Ming: "If we want to get first place in the group, we have to compete with Greece the day after tomorrow."

Zhu Fangyu: "Yes, the German team will definitely not be able to beat the American team. The American team will definitely try to widen the gap and compete with us for the first place in the group."

Zhang Yang: "Let's go back and discuss with Jonas how to play the last game... I'll defend the European Kobe!"

Upon hearing this, Yao Ming sighed in his heart, he is indeed the bad boy Jack!

In tonight's match between Greece and the United States, the highest scorer was not Wade of the American team who scored 18 points, but "European Kobe" Spanoulis of the Greek team who scored 20 points.

Zhang Yang directly took on the most difficult job!

On the second day, the Chinese team prepared for training. Their opponents were very strong. They eliminated the Dream Team 7 in the semi-finals of the World Championships two years ago, and this year they were also able to compete with the Spanish and American teams. However, the Chinese coaching staff and players were very motivated.

Four consecutive wins is one aspect, but the most important thing is that they have a backbone and have solutions to the most difficult problems - Yao Ming protects the rim and Zhang Yang defends against the opponent's arrows.

The former also existed in the first two world championships. In 04, when Yao Ming had outside help, they could beat world-class teams like Serbia and Montenegro and New Zealand. But in 06, they were no longer there. The outside shots were made into sieves by the opponents, and they were unable to respond with offense.

Now with Zhang Yang leading the outside offense and defense, the others only need to do a good job of joint defense.

The day of preparation passed quickly, and on August 8, the last day of the men's basketball group stage arrived. At noon, after finishing the pre-match preparations, Zhang Yang and others received the news that the US team had defeated the German team 18-119.

The US team's record improved to 4 wins and 1 loss, half a win behind the Chinese team, but the total net score in the group stage reached an exaggerated level of over , more than twice the Chinese team's competitive score.

If the Chinese team wants to maintain its hard-earned first place in the group, they can only win today.

There is a big difference between the first and second in Group B. In Group A, the top three have been determined, with Lithuania in first, Argentina in second, and Croatia in third. Lithuania and Argentina seem to be about the same in strength, with Croatia in second. Moreover, these three teams are obviously stronger than the remaining three teams. Australia, Iran, and Russia are still competing for fourth place.

If we can be the first in the group and play against one of the three teams behind, it will definitely be better than being the second and playing against Croatia.

Not only that, this will also affect the Chinese team's promotion route in the knockout stage. Being on the same promotion route as Lithuania and Greece is definitely better than being on the same promotion route as Argentina and Spain.

However, although the Chinese players are under pressure, they are more excited!

They have already exceeded their goals, and all they need to do next is play every game well and not leave any regrets due to individual performance issues!

...

At 4 pm, at the Olympic Sports Center, the Chinese team and the Greek team started a showdown.

The atmosphere at the scene was extremely enthusiastic and the Chinese players played extremely fiercely.

The Greek team won the jump ball and attacked first. Sun Yue completed a successful assist defense as soon as he came on. When Zhang Yang was sticking to Spanoulis, Sun Yue rushed over and blocked the shot. He then snatched the ball and passed it directly to Zhang Yang who was running fast. Zhang Yang flew over and dunked to get the first two points.

However, this was the only goal that the Chinese team scored easily in the entire first quarter.

The Greek team is different from the Spanish team. In terms of strength, the Greek team is certainly not as good as the Spanish team, but their personalities are completely different from the "romantic" Spaniards.

The Spanish players get nervous when they feel pressure, and lose their composure when Yao Ming goes berserk.

The Greek team also felt pressure because the Chinese team had defeated the United States and Spain. Their thinking under pressure was - our hand-to-hand combat was not intense enough!
Therefore, although the difference in the score between Greece and the United States was larger than the difference in the score between Spain and the United States, the Greek team received higher evaluation than the Spanish team. Although the Greek team was suppressed, it did not give up or collapse throughout the whole process.

After the first quarter, the Chinese team relied on Zhang Yang's last-minute breakthrough into the paint and caused a foul, making both free throws and leading the Greek team by two points, 17 to 15, into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Chinese team played very passively and they also encountered a "zero-shut moment". For several rounds in a row, they did not score a single goal in running games and could only rely on Yi Jianlian's rushing and causing damage to get sporadic free throws.

Fortunately, the Greek team's offense was also very strong.

Spanoulis, who performed very well against the U.S. team, was not effective today.

First of all, the Chinese team has Yao Ming. If we only look at the dominance under the basket, the Chinese team is far stronger than the American team. The American team's group of inside players cannot match Yao Ming alone.

Kobe is at a slight disadvantage in defending Spanoulis because he will be 30 years old in a few days. He has more sophisticated skills and better techniques, but in terms of athletic ability, no matter how well he takes care of his body, it is not as good as the peak of his athletic ability in previous years. Wade and Iguodala are at the peak of their athletic ability, but the former is not good at defending pick-and-rolls, and the latter lacks defensive basics and is still in the growth stage or the stage of choosing a playing style. Neither can defend against the European Kobe.

As for Zhang Yang, if we only look at his defensive skills, he is not as good as Kobe, and his athleticism is not as good as Wade and Iguodala, but he is good enough. The key is that he has Yao Ming protecting the rim behind him, and Sun Yue, who got a total of 4 blocks in the first 7 games and amazed the Lakers management, helps with defense. The European Kobe suffered a setback today.

第二节中国队和希腊队打出了9比10的超低比分，半场打完，中国队以26比25领先希腊队1分进入中场休息。

In the third quarter, at the beginning, Zhang Yang seized the transition period when the opponent's physical strength declined and his steps were slightly slow, and started a fierce attack, shooting inside and outside, taking the first 5 shots, 4 of 2, including 3 of 1 three-pointers, plus 2 of 2 free throws, and beat the opponent 7 to 3 alone, making the score 33 to 28 and expanding the lead to 5 points!
Zhang Yang's fierce attack had a great impact on the Greek team. The two teams were originally evenly matched, and the Greek team successfully dragged the Chinese team into their rhythm in the second quarter. Zhang Yang led the Chinese team to break the deadlock!
The Greek team could no longer slowly grind their opponent out like they did in the first half and had to catch up, otherwise they would most likely be worn down.

The Greek team increased their offensive output, their established strategy was broken, and their defensive loopholes were obviously more than in the first half. Moreover, although they increased their offensive output, their shooting performance was not very good. In the first half, they only scored 26 points for the Chinese team, and their own offense was also affected.

In the next 7 minutes, the Greek team only scored 13 points, while the Chinese team scored 17 points!
After three quarters, the Chinese team led the Greek team by 50 points, 41 to 9!
At this point, the Chinese team's coaching staff did not have a clear direction for adjustment after entering the intermission. The advantage of the head coach being an Eastern European coach was reflected - when in doubt, they would confront, attack defense, and engage in hand-to-hand combat!
In the final quarter, the Chinese team only scored 8 points, making only 14 of 3 shots. This offensive efficiency was enough to make the fans in front of the TV almost have a cerebral thrombosis. However, the atmosphere on the scene was completely different. They could more intuitively feel the benefits of the Chinese team's play - the Greek team only scored 16 of 3 shots in the final quarter!
Every time the Greek team missed a shot, the fans cheered loudly. When the Chinese team finally scored a goal, the fans shouted the player's name in unison.

The score in the final quarter was 8 to 9, and the Chinese team maintained its lead until the end!
At 5:53, the final whistle sounded.

张杨26投9中，其中三分球7中2，加上7中5的罚球，拿到25分7板2助攻2抢断。

别看他命中率这吊样，35%不到，但他已经是今晚出手次数达到10次的球员里第二高的，只有10投4中拿到11分12板2抢断4盖帽的姚明比他高，斯潘诺里斯那边15投仅5中拿到14分，命中率只有33%。

Zhang Yang and Yao Ming jointly led the Chinese team to defeat the Greek team 58-50, advancing to the next round with a perfect record in the group stage! Winning first place in the group!

Kobe, Kidd, Felton, Okafor, and Iguodala were standing in the corner watching the Chinese players gather together to cheer and celebrate, and listening to the enthusiastic cheers of the fans, all of them feeling very depressed.

The five of them got together while playing in the Olympics. The four guys from the 5 class couldn't get along with them. Howard had a grudge against everyone. Granger was a nobody. Paul was troubled by the team being divided into two or three camps. He only had a good relationship with Felton, the people from the "West Coast Gang", and had a good relationship with the "South Coast Gang", so he chose to join the "South Coast Gang".

The fact that they didn't get first place in the group is not important to Kobe and others. It doesn't matter who they play against.

From the perspective of strength, this Dream Team is stronger than the original Dream Team, mainly in terms of mentality.

After losing at the start, being beaten by the Spanish team by 13 points in the first quarter, and being tortured by the Greek team... they became cautious, which the original Dream Team did not have. Starting from the second quarter against the Spanish team, they got rid of many problems. When playing against the Greek team, they showed the style of a strong team to the fullest. No one exploded, and while the Greek team controlled the rhythm of the confrontation throughout the whole process, they relied on their hard power to defeat the Greek team.

But it was such a shame for them not to get first place in the group... They were going to compete against the Dream Team in the first place!

...

After the group stage, the eight qualified teams were given three days of rest.

A组晋级球队按排名：立陶宛队、阿根廷队、克罗地亚队、澳大利亚队；B组晋级球队排名：中国队、美国队、西班牙队、希腊队，A1与B4、A2与B3、A3与B2、A4与B1将在20号进行八强赛。

The final ranking of the four eliminated teams will be decided on the 4th and 18th, and the fifth and sixth teams in the group will cross-play.

On the 17th, the first rest day, the Chinese team did not arrange any training. They had a tough battle with the Greek team and needed to take a break.

We advanced to the quarterfinals with all wins, which is the best result ever achieved in the team's history, so we have to celebrate briefly.

Lunch was still eaten in the Olympic Village cafeteria in accordance with the regulations of the Chinese Olympic Committee, but the chef prepared a special meal for them. The former national team members from the coaching staff also secretly brought some wine, and the others turned a blind eye to it. Anyway, everyone only had one or half a cup. Although they were former players, their more important identity was the current coaches, so they brought two bottles of wine to satisfy everyone's cravings.

The scene of them raising their glasses to celebrate their advancement into the quarterfinals before the meal was photographed and reported by the team reporters. It did not cause any negative impact, and the Basketball Association, the Olympic Basketball Committee and other parties did not intervene.

On the other hand, in the United States, the scene of Zhang Yang and Yi Jianlian drinking caused heated discussion among fans. Upon checking, it seems that there is no age limit for drinking in China. The only restriction is that people under the age of 18 cannot buy alcohol.

The media that reported these photos originally wanted to guide fans to cyberbully Zhang Yang, but unexpectedly, it gave Zhang Yang a good reputation - strictly abiding by local laws.

Although Zhang Yang is notorious, there has never been a single report of him drinking in all his years in the United States.

After a day's rest, on the 18th, the Chinese team began preparing for the match against the Australian team.

There is frequent exchange between Asian basketball and Oceania basketball. The two teams have played against each other many times and are very familiar with each other. The Chinese team has a clear direction of preparation.

On the outside, as the Chinese men's basketball team won first place in the group for the first time in history, the enthusiasm for basketball continued to rise, and fans were looking forward to the upcoming knockout rounds.

There are two main topics: How far can the Chinese men's basketball team's dream journey go? Who can snipe the Dream Team 8?
The latter topic is what is most frustrating to the "West Coast Gang". For them, leading the dream team to compete in the Olympics is a failure when such a topic comes up.

What they want is to be like the Dream Team III, the perfect successor to the Dream Team I, and be considered as having won the championship the moment they step onto the Olympic stage.

The three-day rest time passed quickly, and on August 3, the day of the quarterfinals arrived. The first thing that kicked off in the morning was the 'Spanish League Civil War', Spain VS Argentina.

The reason for this statement is that most of the players of both teams play in La Liga, and most of those who enter the NBA were previously superstars of the Spanish league. Not only basketball, but also the leagues of multiple sports of the Argentine team have finally become the 'talent reserve pool' of the Spanish league.

People in Europe were also saying that the Argentine men's basketball team won the Olympic gold medal in 04, which was roughly equivalent to the Spanish men's basketball team winning the gold medal. After the Spanish team won the World Championship in 06, the reports in Europe were "Spanish basketball dominates the world."

However, the relationship between the players of the two teams is not good. The Argentine players extremely hate this statement, but they have no way to refute it and can only let the game speak for itself.

After the game started, the attitudes of the two teams also proved the relationship between the two teams. They fought hard as if their lives were at stake. The Spanish team wanted to "prove its status as the dominant country" and the Argentine team wanted to draw a clear line between them.

History always repeats itself in a surprising way. Two years ago at the World Championships, the two teams played against each other, with Spain winning by just one point.

The situation was similar this time, the Demon Sword blew up the "Bomb" Navarro and the "Golden Boy" Rubio, but the big and small wives dominated the basket.

Ginobili scored a game-high 21 points, but it still couldn't make up for Scola's 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Gasol and Gasol Jr. both scored 19 points, leading the Spanish team to a narrow 82-77 victory over Argentina and the first to advance to the semi-finals!
The Chinese men's basketball team unexpectedly won first place in the group stage, and the Argentine team became the most unlucky one and could only compete for seventh place at best.

The match between the United States and Croatia, which started at 11 a.m., was not so exciting. The score was 101 to 72, and they were beaten the entire time. The U.S. players did not want to give any team a chance to upset them.

Zhang Yang learned about the results of these two games, but didn't pay much attention to them. It had little to do with them. What he cared about was the match between Lithuania and Greece which would start at 3 pm.

Although there was a big gap in the group stage results and the rankings were the most different between first and fourth, public opinion generally believed that in this Olympics, the four teams in Group B that advanced to the quarterfinals are likely to win all the games and advance into the top four.

Before the Olympics, when the media analyzed the two groups, they said that any team from Group B, such as the United States, Spain, or Greece, would be able to take first place if they were to move to Group A. Two years ago at the World Championships, the Greek team had defeated the Lithuanian team.

The Chinese team did not arrange training in the afternoon. Although Zhang Yang and others did not go to watch the game and stayed in their training ground to rest, they all gathered in front of the TV to watch the match between the Greek team and the Lithuanian team. At this moment, they collectively became supporters of the Greek team... Then, the two teams tied at 67 in regular time and went into overtime!

In the first overtime, the two teams presented a famous scene to Zhang Yang and others... The score was 5-0 in 0 minutes!

In the second overtime, after the defense of both teams collapsed, people started to score. Europe's Kobe Spanoulis showed his strength. He came on as a substitute in the second overtime and played for 3 and a half minutes, scoring 6 points alone, beating the Lithuanian team 6 to 3!

In the end, the Greek team scored 9 to 7 in the second overtime and narrowly defeated the Lithuanian team 76 to 74, advancing to the semi-finals!

When Jasikevicius's final three-pointer flew out of the baseline without any touch, cheers echoed throughout the Chinese men's basketball training ground. This scene was photographed and spread by the team's reporters...

However, this scene did not make domestic fans feel that there was anything wrong with it. Instead, it made the fans feel "empathy" with the men's basketball players.

They were also so happy and excited when they saw the Greek team narrowly beat the Lithuanian team.

It’s not that they think it’s easier to beat the Greek team than the Lithuanian team. The two teams are of similar strength. They have always been the two teams that have been benchmarked in the past few world championships. The main reason is that they have just defeated the Greek team before and have winning experience!
As for whether this will make the Greek players feel underestimated and become more angry, it doesn't matter. The Chinese team has defeated them before, and their anger has already been maxed out, so this little bit doesn't matter.

Moreover, the Chinese players and domestic fans don’t care what the Greek players think when they see this scene, as they haven’t even entered the semi-finals!

The Australian team is not a weak team, it has just declined in recent years, and has shown signs of re-emerging and dominating the Asia-Pacific region.

After watching the live broadcast, the coaching team led by Jonas took the players to dinner and then went to the Olympic Sports Center to make pre-match preparations.

The Chinese men's basketball team has entered the quarterfinals, and the game time for the quarterfinals is naturally the domestic prime time - 8 pm.

Almost all popular satellite TV stations will broadcast the signal of Chaoting Channel and live broadcast this game, which will truly be the focus of the whole nation!
(End of this chapter)