Pick Westbrook

Chapter 373 The Competition Begins
The first quarter is over.

18: 30.

The starting players of the Chinese team all played the entire game, and Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian were the only players who were able to score under the defense of the US team.

Because of the dream team's defensive strategy and the players' defensive awareness and rotation speed, the Chinese men's basketball team was completely unable to cooperate on the offensive end.

But Li Lai still did not give up the idea of ​​this game. He looked at Guo Ailun, Sun Yue, Yi Li, Zhou Peng and Zhang Zhaoxu who were in the rotation lineup, and said seriously.

"It's a very rare opportunity to play against the Dream Team."

"Creating the historical record of the Chinese men's basketball team is our dream now, and we have achieved it."

"And the future dream of the Chinese men's basketball team will eventually fall on you. Now it's up to you to work hard to grow into better players."

Li Lai's heartfelt words made all Chinese players respect him more. Guo Ailun nodded seriously at this moment. He very much hopes to play against the world's top players like the Dream Team.

Li Nan on the side couldn't help but said at this time: "Coach Li Lai is really thinking about the Chinese men's basketball team. He is very different from the foreign coaches we hired before."

Guo Shi had already noticed this, and agreed: "This trip of the Chinese men's basketball team to the London Olympics, both the players and we have learned a lot from them."

Du Feng shared the honor and disgrace with a smile and said: "The coach is different."

The second game.

The Chinese men's basketball team played the entire game with a full bench lineup. In the contest with Westbrook, Guo Ailun was overwhelmed on both offense and defense.

Sun Yue was taught various singles lessons by James Harden. Yi Li was defended by Andre Iguodala on the court and only scored 1 point with free throws. Also scare several levels of Spider-Man Anthony Davis.

At the end of the second quarter, the Chinese men's basketball team fell behind by 35:55.

Although they were 20 points behind at the end of the half, the Chinese men's basketball team did not feel discouraged by this, but was full of confidence and passion.

Team USA coach.

The old coach K saw the game state of the players of the Chinese team and couldn't help but praise them very much.

"Go all out in the face of the weak, and be neither humble nor overbearing in the face of the strong. This is what a qualified head coach should lead the team to do."

Second half of the game.

Li Lai took Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian and other main lineups.

But after only half a quarter of the game, Li Lai replaced all the main players and gave more opportunities to young people.

Wang Zhizhi didn't even play tonight.

Of course, Guo Shiqiang and Li Nan knew the reason. Because of the high-intensity competition in the past few days, Dazhi's ankle felt a little uncomfortable, so Li Lai didn't give the other party a chance to play.

Of course, Wang Zhizhi’s ankle discomfort does not mean that he cannot play. As a professional player, he is now fighting for his country, but how can Wang Zhizhi accept sitting on the bench if he can play.

So in addition to this reason, the Chinese men's basketball team has another reason.

After the old coach K saw that the Chinese team had completely replaced the main players, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian had already put on their training uniforms and took off their knee pads and elbow pads.

He was startled for a moment, then smiled knowingly.

"Hey, Kobe, LeBron, you two come down for me too."

Kobe and James, who hadn't played to their heart's content, looked at the coach's bench in surprise, and not only the two of them, but all the main players of the dream team were all replaced.

Seeing this scene, Li Lai smiled back at the old coach K. This is the behavior of coaches from both sides paying tribute and respect to each other on the basketball court.

At the same time, after replacing the main players, the Chinese players are not the opponents of the dream team.

The final game was not particularly ugly, 72:90.

"The U.S. team has successfully advanced to the finals, and the Chinese men's basketball team will then play the last match of the London Olympics, which is the third and fourth qualifying battle."

Although the Chinese men's basketball team lost tonight's game, this was already what Yu Jia expected.

No matter how hard the Chinese men's basketball team plays tonight, it is impossible to be the opponent of the American Dream Team. The dimensionality reduction attack is completely crushing.

Of course, Yu Jia believes that the Chinese men's basketball team will definitely be qualified to challenge the US team in the future.

Su Qun said affirmatively: "There will definitely be a day when our defenders are getting better and better and we no longer rely too much on inside players."

"The Chinese men's basketball team will definitely be able to play against the world's top teams."

After the game, Li Nan, Du Feng and the players returned to the Olympic Village to actively prepare for the next game, but Li Lai and Guo Shiqiang did not leave in a hurry.

The two arrived at another venue at the Olympic Arena, anxiously awaiting their next opponent.

Guo Shiqiang said with some incomprehension: "The strength of the American Dream Team is naturally beyond doubt. To the Spanish team."

"I lost to Puerto Rico, Lithuania and Argentina at the Athens Olympics in 04, and I lost to Greece at the World Championships in Japan in 06."

"But the American Dream Team is still a world-class team, not to mention that this year's Dream Ten lineup has gathered the strongest players in the United States."

"The new and old NBA No.1 Kobe Bryant and James are in the lineup, and the Olympic killers Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant are all playing with the team."

"It's not difficult for us to lose to them."

Li Lai knew that what Guo Shiqiang wanted to say was not only these, but was paving the way for the next words, so he motioned for the other party to continue talking.

Guo Shiqiang said without hesitation: "The overall strength of the French team in this year's Olympics is not particularly strong. It will be extremely difficult for us to defeat them alone, let alone the Spanish and Argentine teams."

Due to the sequence of the matches, the three or four qualifying opponents that the Chinese team is about to usher in at present have not been determined. They can only be determined after the results of the match between the Spanish team and Argentina.

"The Spanish team is the only opponent qualified to challenge the US team in this year's London Olympics, and they are also regarded as imaginary enemies by the US team."

"In fact, the US team, which originally wanted to play a flexible lineup, tried its best to invite Tyson Chandler to join, just to limit the size of Gasol."

Li Lai said seriously.

Guo Shiqiang, who heard the names of the big and small Gasol, couldn't help showing embarrassment. Yao Ming and the big Gasol have always been considered big killers in the international arena.

In the NBA, Gasol's achievements are better than Yao Ming's, and in the international arena, Gasol's achievements are also better than Yao Ming's.

It is precisely because of the crushing of these two aspects that everyone is sure that Gasol is a better inside player than Yao Ming, which is why Yao Ming has not been recognized as the league's number one center.

But Guo Shiqiang really wanted to defend Dayao. What would happen if Yao and Mai were not injured in the best year of the combination?What if the other players of the Chinese men's basketball team can be stronger?

Of course, saying if it feels like deceiving yourself, but Guo Shiqiang still wants to say that Dayao is no worse than Gasol.

"The Spanish team is also one of the few teams to play a double-tower lineup in this London Olympics. Both Gasol and Gasol are very versatile. Such abilities and characteristics are very suitable for the international arena."

"Coincidentally, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian are also extremely versatile. If the four of them match up, they should be evenly matched."

Li Lai said seriously.

But even though Guo Shiqiang heard that the coach had such a high opinion of the UAE and Dayao, he still couldn't get any excitement, because the Spanish team completely abused the Chinese men's basketball team in other positions.

Guo Shiqiang said: "After all, the Spanish team is the second seed in the London Olympics, and it is also the only team that dares to compete with the US team."

"If we meet them, I'm afraid there will be no chance of winning. On the contrary, it will be a favorable result for us to meet the Argentine team."

Li Lai nodded in agreement.

The strongest points of the Argentine team are the Argentine eagles Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola, but Li Lai is not without solutions to these two points.

Although they also play a flexible lineup, the Argentine team's advantage is not obvious, and there is no big center player in their team, and the tallest Martin Leva is only 207cm.

If the Chinese men's basketball team meets the Argentine team in the third or fourth qualifying match, Li Lai is 4% sure that he can beat the opponent.

In this way, the Chinese men's basketball team will be able to win the No.3 Olympic men's basketball competition, the first time in history to win the Olympic men's basketball medal.

This honor will be more glorious than breaking the historical ranking record of the Chinese men's basketball team.

Guo Shiqiang couldn't help but glanced at Li Lai at this moment. He guessed what Li Lai wanted to do as early as the middle half of the third quarter of today's game when Li Lai replaced all the main players.

Compete for Olympic medals!
Thinking of this, Guo Shiqiang couldn't help but gasp.

The Chinese men's basketball team has successfully broken the record for the best ranking in history. Yao Ming is the hero of all Chinese people. If Li Lai can lead the Chinese men's basketball team to win the Olympic medal, his status in the hearts of Chinese fans will be unmatched and reach its peak.

"coach."

Li Lai raised his hand and nodded towards Guo Shiqiang, he already guessed what the other party wanted to say.

Li Lai said: "Da Yao is basically sure that he will not be able to participate in the next Olympics, and Da Zhi has a lot of injuries. It is very likely that the UAE will lead the team as the No. 1 Chinese men's basketball team at that time."

"But the future is too difficult for him alone."

"This is why I hope that Guo Shiqiang and Sun Yue can grow up as soon as possible and become the best support for the Chinese men's basketball team, but it is hard to say where they will reach in the future and how far they can go."

"So, this may be the closest the Chinese men's basketball team has come to an Olympic medal."

"As the coaching staff of the team, we must lead the players to fight!"

Guo Shiqiang looked at Li Lai very moved, he hugged him hard and said gratefully: "You are our coach, please stay after the London Olympics, Coach Li Lai."

Li Lai shook his head and revealed his feelings to Guo Shiqiang in advance.

"You, Li Nan, and Du Feng are the most important people in the Chinese men's basketball team. I don't know if I can coach the Chinese men's basketball team in the future, but my players are still waiting for me in the NBA."

"People, you can never disappoint those who care about you."

beep!beep!
The whistle sounded on the playing field.

The Argentine team beat the Spanish team 87:85 and successfully joined the American Dream Team in the final.

This also means that the Chinese men's basketball team has lost its opponent Argentina, which has a clear advantage in lineup alignment, and has to face the stronger Spanish team, which is very similar to each other.

Guo Shiqiang couldn't help but let out a long sigh at this moment.

"We also faced a small lineup and flexible play in the Olympics. We can switch out and defend out, but why can't the Spanish team?"

Li Lai quickly recovered his serious mood after sighing.

He knew that the Chinese team was able to switch because of Yi Jianlian, and the Spanish team couldn't because neither Gasol nor Gasol could switch defenses, and the lateral movement speed was very slow.

This is also the key to the Heat's ability to defeat the Lakers in the Finals.

Therefore, the Chinese men's basketball team is about to face the second seed of the Olympic men's basketball team. At the same time, the opponent is Paul Gasol, who has been compared many times in Yao Ming's career.

"Olympic medals, the Chinese men's basketball team still has to compete."

Olympic village.

Du Feng already knew what Li Lai was thinking, so he called all the players immediately after returning to the room.

He said: "The coach asked me to tell you a word: bowing your head is not to admit defeat, it is to see the road under your feet clearly, and looking up is not to be proud, it is to see the height you want to achieve, no matter what, don't give up your dream, think about it Those moments when you're on the court with your head down, you have to believe that dreams can come true."

"Bring a medal to the Chinese team."

"We can't beat the US team, but we have the confidence to beat any team except them."

Everyone in the Chinese team was extremely shocked when they heard this. They already knew what coach Li Lai was going to do.

Lead the Chinese men's basketball team to compete for Olympic medals!
Before going to the London Olympics, no Chinese player thought he could do such a thing, but along the way, the Chinese men's basketball team is actually only one game away from the medal competition.

As long as the Chinese team wins this game, they can create a more glorious history.

"After the Olympics, I will leave the Chinese men's basketball team." Yao Ming suddenly said with a smile at this time.

Seeing the gazes of all his teammates, especially the questioning gaze from his old opponent Wang Zhizhi, Yao Ming continued to speak with joy on his face.

"Since 99 when I joined the women's team at the age of 19, I have played for the Chinese men's basketball team for 13 years. I will be 36 years old in the next Olympic Games."

"I'm very fortunate that I didn't suffer a serious injury and reimburse my entire career under such a large weight, but my body has already suffered from minor injuries and illnesses."

"So I have already applied to the basketball team to temporarily leave the Chinese men's basketball team after the London Olympics. Of course, there is a high possibility of a farewell."

In other words, this will be Yao Ming's last game in the Chinese men's basketball team.

After Yao Ming finished speaking, he looked at Yi Jianlian, his eyes were full of responsibility and anticipation.

Yi Jianlian has grown into an NBA All-Star player, and played well in the London Olympics. Even in the last game against the US team, he was relentless. He and Yao Ming became the only two players who could face them. score player.

Yao Ming can safely hand over the Chinese men's basketball team to Yi Jianlian.

Although Yi Jianlian already knew that this day would come, when this day finally came, he still couldn't help feeling sad in his heart.

In the past, he didn't know why Yao Ming worked so hard to fight every international competition for the Chinese men's basketball team. Until this trip to the London Olympics, he saw the fans accompanying the team and the Chinese players when the Chinese men's basketball team successfully broke the historical record. The kind of joy that comes from the heart.

That is the glory of the nation!

Yi Jianlian still remembered what Yao Ming said in the interview, and he read it softly.

"The rise and fall of the men's basketball team is my responsibility!"

"It's not everyone's responsibility, it's my responsibility."

Guo Ailun stood up very excitedly and said: "Since it is the last match, let's beat him upside down. Whoever said we are the weakest team among the top four teams this time, we just want them to take a good look."

"It's not luck that the Chinese men's basketball team can go all the way to the Olympic semi-finals!"

Wang Shipeng agreed and said: "That's right, we don't care whether the Spanish team or the Argentine team comes, we are not afraid of whoever comes!"

Wang Zhizhi took the initiative to put his arms around Yao Ming and stretched out his hand, and all the Chinese players put their hands over.

"Chinese men's basketball team!"

"come on!"

Later, Wang Fei and Gong Luming rushed to find Li Lai.

Gong Luming said: "I have already informed the Basketball Association that you want to lead the team to win Olympic medals. When they heard the news, they were very excited and made a promise."

"As long as the Chinese men's basketball team can compete for medals in the London Olympics, coach Li Lai will be the person most respected by the Chinese men's basketball team and Chinese fans."

"We can do whatever you want."

Wang Fei nodded and said in agreement: "Although Coach Li Lai is full of honors and is a Forbes top 100 entrepreneur, China can help you free of charge and friendly anywhere."

Li Lai knew that the help that Gong Luming and Wang Fei mentioned was probably a business matter. He shook his head and said, "It is my personal decision to help the Chinese men's basketball team win medals. I don't want to gain any benefits."

"But I am still grateful for the attitude given by the basketball team. If possible, I hope to hold training camps in China in the future, so that all the big-name stars in the Hornets will come to China to hold training camps."

This.!

Hearing this, Gong Luming and Wang Fei were already extremely moved.

There have been many times in the past that the Basketball Inclined thought of the idea of ​​inviting big-name NBA stars to the Chinese team to hold training camps, because only in this way can the interest and motivation of Chinese teenagers to learn basketball be stimulated, and the technical and tactical level of college players can be greatly improved.

But the result made the basketball side very helpless. Apart from coming to China to collect money for business activities, those big-name players would not be willing to hold thankless training camps at all.

Li Lai's move undoubtedly greatly helped the future of the Chinese men's basketball team.

"Coach Li Lai, you are really a friend of China."

8 month 12 day.

Men's basketball finals and third and fourth qualifying matches.

China.

At East China University, a graduate student handed in his own leave slip.

Dear Professor: This is the closest in the history of the Chinese men's basketball team to an Olympic medal, and it is very likely that Yao Ming's last Olympic game.I must go to bid farewell to Yao Ming to watch the Chinese men's basketball team and watch my youth.Hope to approve.

Shudu Middle School.

A group of students who are about to become seniors in high school jointly handed a leave slip to the class teacher during the extremely important summer make-up time.

Dear Head Teacher: At 8 am on August 12th, the Chinese men's basketball team will face the Spanish men's basketball team for Olympic medals. Please give us a chance to witness our dreams.

At the same time, the employees of a company cheered after seeing the notice posted on the door the moment they came to the company.

Our company decided to take a half-day holiday on the morning of August 8th because of the London Olympic medal match and Yao Ming's last female team match.Even if the Chinese men's basketball team can still have a second name named Yao, we no longer have the energy to chase it. Salute Yao!Salute to the Great Wall of China!
The whole of China is empty.

Restaurants on the street, school cafeterias, canteens at the school gate, students taking computer classes in classrooms, family gatherings, bars, movie theater support theaters, wherever they could watch the live broadcast of the Olympic men's basketball game, countless people gathered.

CCTV commentary desk.

Yu Jia said excitedly: "Because of the upcoming medal competition for the Chinese men's basketball team, there has been a basketball craze all over China."

"I believe that at this moment, countless fans have gathered in front of the TV to watch this live broadcast of the game."

"I also firmly believe that countless Chinese fans will never forget today's game."

"No matter what the result is, let us cheer for the Chinese men's basketball team!"

Su Qun was very emotional at the side. If it was another game, he would definitely talk about it meticulously and fairly at this time: The overall strength gap between the Chinese men's basketball team and the Spanish men's basketball team is very obvious. It is impossible to win this game. easy.

But at this moment, Su Qun raised his glasses and said seriously: "The Chinese men's basketball team, as long as they dare to fight, everything has hope! Believe in dreams!"

Olympic Stadium.

Zhang Weiping connected to the CCTV commentary station.

He said seriously: "We interviewed Arab League in the players' locker room. After his brief discussion, we learned that the Chinese men's basketball team had already discussed and reached a consensus decision on tonight's game."

"Sprint for an Olympic medal!"

"This is the first time in the history of the Chinese men's basketball team to participate in the Olympic medal competition. I believe that the domestic fans are already very excited at this moment."

"To be honest, I am as excited as everyone else. I arrived at the center of the Olympic Stadium at 6 o'clock this morning, ready to welcome the arrival of this game."

"To my surprise, Coach Li Lai and Coach Guo Shiqiang have also come here earlier, and Coach Li Nan and Coach Du Feng are also preparing for warm-up training in advance."

"All the players of the Chinese men's basketball team started warming up on time at eight o'clock two hours in advance."

"Judging from the attitude of the coach and the expressions of the players, the Chinese men's basketball team is ready for everything in today's game."

Just as Zhang Weiping finished speaking, the starting lineup for today's game was displayed on the big screen.

Chinese men's basketball team: Liu Wei, Wang Shipeng, Zhu Fangyu, Yi Jianlian and Yao Ming.

Spanish men's basketball team: point guard Sergio Lerumeria, shooting guard Jose Calderon, small forward Rudy Fernandez, power forward Marc Gasol and center Pau Gasol.

"The game is on!"

(End of this chapter)