pinnacle of basketball

Chapter 541 The Real Rival

The Japanese team that lost the game actually felt a sense of relief.

However, the record-breaking point difference still could not allow them to retreat from Hokkaido. After the game, the Japanese team was "sieged" by the Japanese media, with criticisms, reprimands, and doubts one after another.

As the captain of the Japanese team, Fuji Kudo stepped forward and took all the responsibility for the team's loss on himself!

In any case, Kudo Fuji is a competent captain.

He tried his best in this game. In front of the powerful Chinese team, he still had a stable shooting rate of 19 of 8 shots. He contributed 21 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. He played his normal level. He is also one of the few players who can play normally in the game against the Chinese team.

At the end of the game, the Chinese team also stepped forward to express condolences to the man who fought to the last moment.

Although there are many planning players in the Japanese team, Fuji Fuji has always been the soul of this team and the absolute trump card.

It's just that their luck was not very good. In the semi-finals, they encountered the opponent that was the least likely to be defeated. If it were New Zealand or the Philippines, they still had a chance.

Stopping in the semi-finals made the Japanese team's dream of Hokkaido shattered. After all, winning the championship at home is just a fantasy.

Missing the final, the Japanese team had to pass the Olympic Qualifiers to obtain the only "Olympic Resurrection Seat" in Asia. Also participating in the Qualifiers was the powerful Philippines.

Due to the entry of the Philippines, the hope of the Japanese team's Olympic journey has become extremely slim.

"Now we all have half of the tickets for the Olympic Games in our hands. As for whether we will get the full tickets or hand over the half and watch the last game." Fang Tianzheng held a small stack of materials in his hand, which looked like three or five.

"What is that?" Mu Chenfeng asked.

"New Zealand team information." Fang Tianzheng responded.

The expressions on the faces of the players were a little restless. In the past, the information of each opponent was thick and thick, at least 10 chapters of A4 paper to start, but the information of the New Zealand team in front of them was only five, which was pitifully small.

"No, coach, even if the New Zealand team is not strong, you can't cut corners." The team members joked, thinking that the reason for the lack of information is that Fang Tianzheng didn't even bother to collect it seriously.

"That's all." Fang Tianzheng also said helplessly, and Su Mengyao, who was standing beside him, also confirmed this point. Fang Tianzheng spent a day and a night collecting information about the New Zealand team, but because the team was too mediocre before, there was very little relevant information to be found. Fang Tian just collected these five pages because it was not easy, and most of the information was about the team's history. There was almost no information about the current national team members, including the coaching staff and players. It can be said that the New Zealand team is a blank sheet of paper.

It is such a blank sheet of paper, but it shines in this Asian Cup and has become a dark horse with full color.

"Although the information is a little less, it is still useful." Fang Tianzheng picked up the top sheet of information and handed it to the players. "The reason why the New Zealand team can play such a beautiful schedule has a lot to do with this person."

"Who is this person? Is it a player? Or a coach?" the team members said while getting the information.

"It's impossible for a player. He should be a coach at his age, but I haven't seen him in New Zealand's coaching staff." Mu Chenfeng can easily remember the opponent's appearance, from player to coach, Mu Chenfeng can remember it just once, but in his memory, he has never seen this person in New Zealand's coaching bench.

"Of course you haven't seen it. He is the chairman of the New Zealand Basketball Association: Bugatti!" Fang Tianzheng said slowly.

Chairman of the Basketball Association?The team members were collectively stunned, "No wonder I haven't seen him."

"You said his name is Bugatti!!!" Mu Chenfeng couldn't help getting excited when he heard the name. Bugatti's name sounds very strange in China, but in the NBA, Bugatti has long been famous.

Mu Chenfeng and Bugatti did not have any intersection, but he had heard the legend about Bugatti in the NBA. His professional player career was not glamorous. He played for 10 teams in his 11-year career.

After retiring, Bugatti discovered his talent in another field, which is the coaching bench. His coaching style is always slanted, and he often achieves amazing results. The peak of his coaching career was leading the Brooklyn Nets to an NBA championship. At that time, the Nets did not have any superstars in the team, and they were a veritable grassroots team.

The Nets' championship is very similar to Detroit's counterattack in 04, but the difference is that a large part of the reason why the Pistons were able to win the championship was because the Los Angeles Lakers had already fallen apart at the time, and the Nets were able to win the championship only because of one person, this person is Bugatti.

That year, Bugatti led the Nets all the way to the finals as a dark horse. They faced the Dallas Mavericks in the finals. At that time, Dallas played the role of the Big Three, and the Nets even had a hard time finding an absolute core player.

Bugatti and his Nets won the most unexpected championship. In the second year, the Nets reached the Eastern Conference finals, but unfortunately lost to the Milwaukee Bucks. The tiebreaker seemed to use up all the luck of the Nets. Even Bugatti could not resist the indiscriminate bombing of the Bucks. The Eastern Conference finals were lost 4-0 cleanly.

Even so, Bugatti has already left a strong mark in the NBA.

After losing the Eastern Conference finals, Bugatti chose to return to New Zealand to coach the national team. After several years of coaching experience, Bugatti became the chairman of the New Zealand Basketball Association and became the absolute leader of New Zealand.

In the years when Bugatti has been the chairman of the Basketball Association, New Zealand's basketball has steadily entered a recovery period. Reaching the Asian Cup final is the biggest recognition for Bugatti.

Through the analysis of the past, Bugatti is very good at turning decay into magic, which made Mu Chenfeng suspect that it is very likely that Bugatti was behind the New Zealand team's way to the final. Judging from the team style, this idea is very likely to be true.

"Perhaps Bugatti is our real opponent." Mu Chenfeng said slowly.

(End of this chapter)