Chapter 241 Paper Tiger
He Zhongqiu received the ball all the way and finally received it in a high position, leaving the basket empty. At this time, Yi Jianlian cut into the basket from the right wing and he immediately passed the ball.

"boom!"

Yi Jianlian jumped up, caught the ball with both hands, and slammed it into the basket.

"Alley-oop slam dunk? Beautiful!" Sun Zhenping said happily.

"Yi Jianlian has really good athletic qualities. He can fly and dunk. He should be able to enter the NBA in the future." Xu Jicheng said with a smile.

After half a quarter, the Chinese team was only leading by 4 points, and Argentina called a timeout.

Xu Jicheng analyzed: "We played well inside, and no one could defend the mid-autumn point, but Argentina's outside attack was stronger than ours.

Then we made three more outside turnovers and lost the ball three times, which resulted in fewer shots than the opponent and the score was not widened."

Sun Zhenping said: "Dayao should be on the field soon. Now let's see if Zhongqiu and Dayao can widen the score by working together."

After the timeout, Dayao and Dazhi came on the court, replacing He Zhongqiu and Yi Jianlian.

"Oh, Zhongqiu is gone, so there is no hope of widening the score gap in this quarter." Sun Zhenping said.

Sure enough, at the beginning of the second half, not only did the score gap fail to widen, but mistakes occurred at the beginning, which allowed Argentina to launch a 7-1 attack wave and overtake the score in one fell swoop.

Then Harris quickly called a timeout and replaced He Zhongqiu.

After He Zhongqiu came on the court, he and Yao Ming took turns attacking the basket, which stabilized the situation and slowly began to catch up. At the end of the second quarter, the score was 42:42, which was exactly tied.

"Yao, it seems that I have to practice ball control after this Olympics. In the next Beijing Olympics, I will play as an offensive point guard and pass the ball to you."

He Zhongqiu whispered as they returned to the locker room.

"Stop talking. It will have a bad impact if people hear it." Dayao said hurriedly in a low voice.

He Zhongqiu pursed his lips and was too lazy to say anything more.

The domestic guards are too bad, they are simply a drag, otherwise with his and Yao Ming's strength, as long as they are stronger from the outside, don't make so many mistakes, and can get the ball to the frontcourt, they will definitely crush Argentina. How could they play so frustratingly now?

Soon after, the second half began.

The scene was still very tiring. China was invincible in low-post offense, but was not strong from the outside. The game with Argentina was quite entangled, and the score kept going up alternately.

With only two minutes left in the final quarter, Argentina made a three-pointer, 89:89, tied for the eleventh time, and the Chinese team called a timeout.

He Zhongqiu has scored 34 points and Dayao has 21 points. The two have contributed 55 points together.

After the timeout, China attacked.

He Zhongqiu did not rush into the penalty area, but instead responded from the outside to avoid mistakes.

The team has made 24 mistakes today, while Argentina has only made 11, a full 13 more.

If it weren't for the Chinese team's advantage in blocks and rebounds, the Chinese team's shots today would have been far lower than the opponent's.

But even so, up to now, they have taken 9 fewer shots than Argentina.

The ball was passed to Yao Ming who was in the high position, and He Zhongqiu took the opportunity to enter the penalty area to take position.

When he easily entered the basket, Yao Ming passed the ball, and then it was a natural dunk, which once again caused the opponent's center to foul.

"The opponent's center wanted to use a foul to stop Zhongqiu's attack, but unfortunately he failed to achieve his goal and ended up getting a foul." Sun Zhenping said happily.

"Yao Ming and Zhongqiu have to cooperate. No matter who is in the low post or who is in the high post, they can use the basket attack and mid-range shots to beat the opponent." Xu Jicheng praised.

Next, He Zhongqiu made the free throw, 89:92, Hua Xia led by 3 points.

Argentina attacks.

Ginobili had consumed too much energy and could no longer break through, so point guard Prigioni dribbled the ball and broke through.

But his breakthrough ability is not as good as Ginobili. When he barely broke into the penalty area, he was blocked by He Zhongqiu. His hasty shot missed and Yao Ming grabbed the backcourt rebound.

He Zhongqiu saw Dayao trying to initiate a fast break, and thinking of the ability of his own guard, he quickly shouted, "Don't worry, give it to me."

Yao Ming passed the ball to He Zhongqiu, who threw the ball with one hand and made a fake pass to the right wing, deceiving Argentina, and then passed the ball to Guo Shiqiang on the left wing.

Taking advantage of the defender's distraction, Guo Shiqiang received the ball and rushed across the frontcourt.

"Stay steady and fight a positional war."

He was afraid that Guo Shiqiang would take risks, so he shouted loudly.

Guo Shiqiang really wanted to take advantage of Argentina's unstable footing to score a goal, but was yelled at by He Zhongqiu and gave up the idea.

"It's better to calm down. You made too many mistakes today. You make mistakes when opponents force you and you get panicked when they get close to you." Sun Zhenping said quickly.

He Zhongqiu entered the penalty area and trapped the opponent's center behind him. Guo Shiqiang, who had the ball, immediately threw the basketball into the basket.

He Zhongqiu caught the ball with one hand, then immediately turned sideways and dunked with one hand.

The opponent's center had already committed four fouls, but he didn't care about the danger of being sent off and forcibly stopped him from dunking.

"Snapped!"

"boom!"

While being hit in the right forearm, He Zhongqiu smashed the ball into the basket.

"Di!"

The referee blew the whistle, a hand foul, two plus one, Argentina's main center Oberto was fouled out.

"Beautiful! Zhongqiu scored two plus one in a row under the basket. We are sure to win this game, we are sure to win!" Sun Zhenping shouted excitedly.

"We kept steady at the critical moment and shot under Zhongqiu's basket. As long as we don't make any more mistakes, we will definitely win." Xu Jicheng said excitedly.

Not long after, the final whistle sounded.

He Zhongqiu made 3 of 3 shots and 2 of 2 free throws in the last two minutes, scoring 8 points in a row, 92:97, helping the Chinese team defeat Argentina and win the third game of the group stage.

"We won, three consecutive victories, that's great!" Xu Jicheng said excitedly.

"Zhongqiu scored 42 points, the highest individual score in a single game in this Olympic men's basketball competition. Congratulations to Zhongqiu!" Sun Zhenping said with a smile.

On the 21st, the Chinese team experienced another tough battle.

The opponent was the Italian team, a team that could even pull out its center to shoot three-pointers. A wave of three-pointers rained down, giving the Chinese team a cold shoulder.

Fortunately, the Chinese team relied on the offense of He Zhongqiu and Dayao, played slowly, made as few mistakes as possible from the outside, and finally defeated the Italian team.

这场比赛，贺中秋再次轰下39分12篮板，大姚25分13篮板，二人联手贡献64分25篮板。

In the last group match, we played against Serbia and Montenegro. Serbia and Montenegro were very strong but in average condition. However, they played quite smoothly, winning by 62 points, 86:24.

In this way, the Chinese team won all five games in the group stage and advanced to the knockout stage with the first place in Group A.

The four qualifying teams in Group A are China, Spain, Italy and Argentina.

As for the Dream Team 22, after defeating Australia, they lost to Lithuania on the nd, and defeated Angola in the last game. With a record of three wins and two losses, they barely advanced to the knockout stage as the fourth in Group B.

The four teams that advanced from Group B are Lithuania, Greece, Puerto Rico and the United States.

In the next knockout round, the first in Group A will play against the fourth in Group B, the second in Group A will play against the third in Group B, the third in Group A will play against the second in Group B, and the fourth in Group A will play against the first in Group B.

In other words, the first round of eliminations will be between China and the United States, Spain and Puerto Rico, Italy and Greece, and Argentina and Lithuania.

The 26th is the day of the quarter-finals between China and the United States.

This game is very crucial. If we win, we will advance to the semi-finals. If we lose, we can only compete for seventh or eighth place. The lowest goal for the men's basketball team is currently to enter the top four.

So this game had to be won. If we lost, everyone would be embarrassed. In order not to put pressure on the players, the top bosses refrained from coming.

No. 26, competition scene.

Sports stars from various countries gathered, and senior executives from the Chinese and American Olympic Committees, the International Olympic Committee, and the International Basketball Federation all arrived.

Chairman Yuan and Chairman Liu of the Yanjing Olympic Committee sat together and chatted in low voices about the game.

"Lao Yuan, we heard a few days ago that the men's basketball team was going for the gold medal, and everyone was very excited. Are you confident today?" Liu Qi said.

Chairman Yuan smiled and said, "Leader, it was He Zhongqiu who thought the Dream Team 6 was a paper tiger, so he thought they could go for the gold medal. Now looking at the situation in the group stage, the Dream Team 6 is indeed a paper tiger.

But the pressure is actually great, as teams like Argentina, Italy, and Lithuania appear to be stronger than the Dream Team 6."

Liu Qi nodded and said, "He Zhongqiu is a young man who has developed both in the arts and sports. He is now as well-known as Li Lianjie of Chenglong. He is a signboard for our country to expand its influence abroad!"

Chairman Yuan nodded. What the big leader said meant that He Zhongqiu had already entered the higher-ups’ sight, and the General Administration would definitely have to cooperate.

Liu Qi had another thing that was difficult to say. After all, there was a layer between Chenglong and Li Lianjie. He Zhongqiu was the only Chinese with a good family background, one of our own, and he had made two great contributions. Therefore, He Zhongqiu was the first spokesperson in the promotion of the Yanjing Olympic Games.

Of course, He Zhongqiu also has flaws, but those are problems from his youth, and his two great achievements are enough to show that his nature is good.

At this time, the men's basketball teams of the two countries came out of the locker room and met when they entered the court.

"Hey, Wolverine."

Seeing He Zhongqiu taking the lead, the Dream Team 6 led by Duncan and Iverson all greeted him, even Iverson greeted him.

"Tim, you don't even have a proper center, you're going to lose tonight."

He Zhongqiu nodded casually to the others and said to Duncan.

"Not necessarily."

Duncan was a little helpless, but this Dream Team VI did not play well, and the head coach did not make good use of all the players.

He Zhongqiu looked at the Little Overlord again. Last season, this talented guy could be compared with him, but now no media puts them on the same level.

He continued to walk out with his teammates. No one on the Dream Team 6 had the idea of ​​overtaking, so they all stopped and waited for the Chinese Team to go first.

"He looks so awesome." James' eyes were full of envy.

"We will also win the championship. The future will be our era. We are younger than him." Wade said confidently.

"Ahem, Dwayne, you're more than a year older than him," Anthony reminded.

"what?"

Wade was stunned. How is it possible? Wolverine has become so famous and he is one year younger than me. Are you kidding me?
James nodded and said seriously: "Wolverine once told me that the future is my time. I am younger than him."

Wade looked at James' serious face and thought to himself, LeBron, you believe what your opponent says, where's your head?

Anthony sighed and said, "I don't know if we will have a chance to play tonight. Coach Brown never trusts us."

James and Wade were stunned and shook their heads helplessly.

At eight o'clock, the competition officially begins.

China team starting lineup: He Zhongqiu, Yao Ming, Zhu Fangyu, Li Nan, Liu Wei
Team USA starting lineup: Duncan, Boozer, Richard Jefferson, Iverson, Marbury

"Not letting No. 1 pick James start? If he starts, no one on our perimeter can stop him." Yao Ming said in surprise when he came on the court.

He Zhongqiu said seriously: "If Liu Bulang goes up, will the referee give him face and not blow the whistle? If he blows the whistle 17 or 18 times in a game, the Dream Team 6 will have to kneel down at halftime.

Yao Ming, you underestimate Larry Brown, don't you? He must know Liu Bulang's problem, so he didn't send him up. "

Dayao was startled, then nodded and said, "Indeed, Zhongqiu, what you said makes a lot of sense."

Jump ball, He Zhongqiu stood over, the American team sent out Duncan, and then the Chinese team attacked.

It was still the double tower tactics of high and low positions. Yao Ming was in the high position, and this time he even directly landed at the top of the right arc, preparing to set a pick-and-roll for Liu Wei first, and He Zhongqiu ran to the basket.

Duncan is very familiar with this tactic. It is a copied Spurs tactic. He used to play this way with David Robinson.

However, the high-low double tower tactics of him and David Robinson did not have as good tactical effect as Wolverine and Yao Min.

Mainly because his mid-range shooting is not very good. Usually David Robinson plays in the high post, while Wolverine and Yao can both play in the high post, and Wolverine's ability to get to the basket is better than him and Robinson.

He followed He Zhongqiu and pushed against the inside, trying to prevent him from getting close to the basket.

But He Zhongqiu still used his strength to squeeze in and stood on the left front side of the basket, only about 1.5 meters away from the basket. He could turn around and take half a step to attack the basket directly.

The ball went into Yao Ming's hands and then passed in.

He Zhongqiu held Duncan behind him with his left hand, turned left the moment he received the ball with his right hand, and used his powerful strength to squeeze Duncan behind him. He stepped his right foot right in front of the basket and then jumped up.

"boom!"

With a one-handed slam dunk, the American team's basket was blown up.

"Beautiful! After catching the ball, he turned around and cut in one step for a slam dunk. Zhongqiu devoured the Stone Buddha Duncan alive under the basket." Sun Zhenping said excitedly.

"The power of Zhongqiu? Haha! In the past, the only one who could play over Duncan's head like this was the Big Shaq." Xu Jicheng sighed.

Sun Zhenping nodded and smiled: "The Shark used his weight to push away the defenders behind him, and even directly knocked away the defenders in the air after jumping.

Zhongqiu doesn’t have the tonnage of the Big Shark, so he had to use his strength to squeeze Duncan out of the way and gain space to cut into the basket.”

"Even the Sharks can't beat him. Who else in the future league can compete with him? We can only compete with the Knicks by building an outside advantage."

Larry Brown, who was on the sidelines, saw He Zhongqiu eating Duncan alive under the basket, and couldn't help but recall the scene in the Eastern Conference Finals where Ben Wallace was beaten by the Wolverines, and he gained something in his mind.

The American team attacks.

Duncan wanted to start fast, and the Dream Team 6 had a strong outside line, which was very suitable for fast breaks.

But He Zhongqiu stood in front of him, waving his hands continuously, preventing him from shooting quickly, and the others took the opportunity to return to the backcourt to defend.

Allen Iverson came down to receive the ball, then quickly broke through the middle, trying to make a fast break while the Wolverines were still behind.

Although Yao Min had returned to the basket, he was not worried about Yao Min's defense.

Liu Wei was facing Iverson, but he couldn't keep up with his speed and was soon left behind. Iverson rushed into the frontcourt, changed direction and bypassed Zhu Fangyu at the top of the arc, then followed an arc and went straight to the basket from the right elbow area.

He Zhongqiu chased after him at a fairly fast pace, but still fell behind Iverson.

Facing Iverson jumping in the air, Yao Ming had to jump to block the shot.

"Di!"

Iverson bumped directly into Yao Ming, then the whistle sounded, and the basketball hit the board and bounced into the basket.

"Oh, we were beaten two plus one, Iverson is really amazing!" Xu Jicheng sighed.

"The Dream Team 6 has no center, and the inside line is not strong enough, but the outside line is strong, and each player is extremely talented." Sun Zhenping said enviously.

Xu Jicheng thought, "Zhongqiu's defense is better, especially his one-on-one defense ability, so Zhongqiu shouldn't have been left behind just now. Yao Ming should have gone down to stop Duncan from making a fast move, and Zhongqiu should have returned to defend first."

Sun Zhenping nodded and said, "Wouldn't Zhongqiu be defending under the basket, so he's closer? If Yao Ming is in the low post, that's fine. It's not impossible for Yao Ming to play against Duncan."

Xu Jicheng said: "We can play a low-post double tower tactic, with both of them under the basket, Duncan and Boozer will definitely not be able to defend against them.

Then when the offense and defense change, Yao Ming stays behind and Zhong Qiu returns to the backcourt first, which can better suppress the fast break of the Dream Six team. "

(End of this chapter)