Puerto Rican n's Basketball Team's best achievent in the Olympics was reaching the "Final Four."
However, that was back in 1964, a full 40 years ago.
None of the players on this Puerto Rican team were even born at that ti.
They longed to create a new "legend." —Sending the United States "Dream Team" their first official international match loss would indeed make their na stand out in the FIBA history books.
But that wasn't enough!
Both sides were filled with desire.
The ga was intense from the start.
Alonzo was to the Puerto Rican team what Yao Ming was to the Huaxia n's Basketball Team.
He established a new offensive system for Puerto Rico, and his teammates were invigorated under his lead.
The Huaxia n's Basketball Team, known for strong first quarters that could rival any team including the "Dream Team," found themselves trailing by 7 points at the end of the first quarter. By halfti, they were down by 13 points.
Alonzo had perford exceptionally well in the first half, scoring 7 points and 6 assists.
Del Harris shook his head slightly.
Even Su Wan couldn't manage, he thought.
He didn't an to bla Su Wan.
NBA star guards couldn't contain Alonzo; it was normal that Su Wan couldn't.
From the first half's performance, Su Wan's defense did have so effect.
Alonzo's shots were all disturbed, and he missed all his 5 shot attempts in the first half.
But his lower center of gravity at 1.88 ters, his agile figure, and his quick speed made his breakthroughs devastating. Su Wan often needed his teammates to help in defense or to double team, to contain Alonzo's breakthroughs.
That gave Alonzo opportunities for breakthrough passes.
He made 6 assists with only 1 turnover!
But just when Harris thought they might lose to a solo performance by Alonzo, as the Dream Six Team had,
In the second half, Su Wan's defense transford. His movents beca quicker and he perfectly matched Alonzo's quick steps, consistently strong in positioning and forced a coming Alonzo to "hit the brakes" successfully defending his breakthroughs alone.
Alonzo's breakthroughs lost their sharpness, his shooting was off since the first half, and his personal offensive threat diminished to the lowest level. The Huaxia n's Basketball Team didn't need to double-team his breakthroughs, and the threat from his passing also diminished.
He seed to have run out of tricks, like Cheng Yaojin, and his presence on the court contrasted sharply with the first half.
While Su Wan not only held off Alonzo defensively, he also began to exert force on the offensive end, especially when Yao helped with pick and rolls; his breakthrough dunks had beco a spectacular sight.
The point difference was now just 4 points.
However, at this mont Yao Ming got two consecutive fouls, adding to his two fouls from the first half, with still 3 minutes left in the third quarter, his total reached four fouls.
Under FIBA rules: a player is sent off upon accruing 5 fouls.
To ensure Yao could continue in the fourth quarter, Harris had no choice but to substitute him out.
Yao was very aggrieved as he walked off the court, took the towel from a staff mber, and slamd it on the bench. —Breaking the Huaxia n's Basketball Team Olympic record was his dream; he was truly unwilling to see this opportunity ruined by his own actions.
He looked at Su Wan on the court with hands on hips waiting for the ga to restart, his eyes earnest,
You must hold on!
Not just him, but all the dostic fans watching on TV were also placing their hopes on Su Wan at this mont.
They had heard of Su Wan's stories from the sumr league, but for Huaxia fans, the court didn't feel secure without Yao, even though Su Wan had just perford very well, and he had initiated this scoring run.
The only one probably happy at this mont was probably Bartel, who was substituting in. The Big Black Bear's bulky body seed surprisingly agile as he moved onto the court. He was thinking,
Why strut in front of ? Didn't you still ss up at a critical mont? Without ever having won an NBA championship ring, thinking so stats make you a big shot? It's still I who have to save the day, isn't it?
This was his happiest mont since the conflict with Yao had erupted.
The ga restarted, and he actively called for the ball, fancying himself as the "Savior," to rescue the Huaxia n's Basketball Team at this mont. Su Wan didn't insist on playing alone, as if Bartel had scored at the start, the opposing team would definitely continue to tighten their defense, which indeed made it convenient for him to attack from outside.
But Bartel's threat under the basket was far inferior compared to Yao Ming.
Bartel was blocked on his first attack, and Du Feng risked falling to the ground to snatch the rebound and passed it back to Su Wan.
Bartel continued to call for the ball. Su Wan saw his asure and decided not to pass it to him anymore, asking him to co forward for a pick and roll. Unexpectedly, Bartel looked at him as if he had seen a ghost and didn't co up for the pick and roll.
Su Wan, seeing the 4-point difference and Puerto Rico easing after the last unsuccessful attack, slightly frowned and simply called for a tiout.
Del Harris didn't know what Su Wan was up to. He quickly approached Su Wan, waiting for his ideas.
And Su Wan, after coming off the court, waited alongside the court, his gaze constantly waiting for Bartel to co over.
"If you don't want to pick and roll, don't want to play properly, don't want to win this ga, then you might as well switch to a Spurs jersey right now and sit on the bench!" he said coldly, shocking everyone, including Bartel.
Since the n's basketball team training began, he had never spoken to Su Wan, rembering him not to be a talkative person. How dare he now yell at ?
Does this bastard even know where I was when I first played for the National Team?
It's all damn Yao Ming. If he hadn't openly contradicted in public, how could a rookie now dare to talk to like this!
Bartel's entire face was stern, his eyes as venomous as poisoned.
However, Su Wan directly waved at Mo Ke: "Brother Mo, you're up!"
This made everyone's expression even more uneasy. However, after Del Harris listened to the translator next to him and understood Su Wan's request, he indeed let Mo Ke substitute for Bartel to play the pick and roll with Su Wan.
Huaxia n's Basketball Team's attack, which had been stalled for a possession, beca smooth again. Before the end of the third quarter, they managed to catch up with the 12-point difference.
In the third quarter, Su Wan not only locked down Alonzo but also scored 14 points and had 4 assists on the offensive end.
With 3 minutes and 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Yao Ming returned to the court, and the montum of the Huaxia n's Basketball Team rose again. They triumphed over Puerto Rico 78 to 67, an 11-point victory.
A historic mont was born:
Huaxia n's Basketball Team advanced to the top 4 of the Olympic Gas!
Su Wan, with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, was undoubtedly the Huaxia n's Basketball Team's great contributor to breaking through history.
Right after the ga ended, everyone from the Huaxia n's Basketball Team bench, including Del Harris, rushed toward Su Wan, who sat collapsed on the ground. Coaching the Huaxia n's Basketball Team into the "top four" was such an accomplishnt!
Except for Bartel, his face full of complex expressions was cloudy.
Many people saw the scene of Su Wan shouting at him after calling the tiout. He was worried about how to maintain his dignity when the post-ga reporters asked about it.
But as it turned out:
He was overthinking!
The dostic dia didn't care what Su Wan had shouted at him; they were ecstatically reporting this historic mont.
Yao Ming once again beca an "emoji."
Facing the dia, Su Wan said, "Thanks to Yao for letting train in the Sumr League, I was able to grow like this."—The original owner managed to participate in the draft, thanks to Yao arguing with the Sharks, and playing in the Sumr League also had Yao's help, along with the agent. Although not Su Wan's preferred choice, he at least solved many troubles for him. These were the original owner's debts, but as a beneficiary, he had to repay them, and today was a good opportunity for that.
Wade and LeBron were also at the ga, watching Su Wan play. The "Dream Team" had been swept aside, and they were under so pressure just by being there. So they did not co forward to congratulate. —LeBron didn't want to co, but Wade felt that he and Su Wan shared the sa aspirations. If he ca alone, LeBron would not feel reassured.
—Uncle, this guy single-handedly blew away Allen Iverson and Stephen Marbury. You let him score only 2 points in the second half, that's impressive!
Wade sent a ssage to Su Wan, his attention all on Su Wan's performance on the court. LeBron, with a wider field of view, noticed Su Wan shouting at his teammates, which made him feel unease inside.
Unfortunately, the Huaxia n's Basketball Team couldn't advance further. In the semifinals, they faced Italy again and lost to them once more. In the "bronze dal contest" against Lithuania, they fell short by 6 points and collapsed just shy of a dal.
Coach Zhang said, "Apart from little Su, physical fitness is the biggest issue for the n's basketball team. If we can reasonably solve this problem, this group is very likely to win the first Olympic dal in n's basketball!"
He had another unspoken, daring thought:
If Wang Zhizhi could return to the National Team...
Next Olympics, the Huaxia n's Basketball Team will be the host.
The right ti and place, just lacking "unity!"
To Su Wan's surprise, right after the match against Lithuania, he received a ssage from the Cavaliers' general manager, Danny Ferri:
—Uncle, it's a pity you almost took down Lithuania, but it was still aweso. In my view, you were the best perforr this Olympics, none co close!
Reviews
All reviews (0)