Champion, please stay!

Chapter 88, Section 86: The Final Sprint in the Group Stage (Part 1)

Back in Yishui, I dragged my exhausted body back to the dormitory in the early hours of the morning. I had already adjusted my mindset, took a shower, and went straight to sleep.

James couldn't sleep all night...

9投2中，其中三分球3中0，外加4中2的罚球，只拿到6分3板3助攻1抢断。

Performance is actually secondary. James has put up similar numbers before in the national team. The key is that he played for 17 minutes and was matched up against Yi Shui the entire time!

They paid for articles to emphasize that Yi Shui didn't match up against him for 20 minutes, and that Yi Shui's 30 points couldn't be said to have been scored against him.

That won't do!

According to data cited by the media, Yi Shui's shooting percentage was higher when matched up against James than when matched up against Kobe and Prince.

When Wade switches on defense, he does a better job of limiting drives than James.

There were times when Wade's defense wasn't as good as James', such as when he was right in the face and Yi Shuiyan hit him with a long two-pointer, but nobody cared about that.

And what Yi Shui said after the match!
This echoes a widely accepted claim that has been repeatedly promoted after the last three playoffs: Cleveland is a small city, the Cavaliers are weak, and the Cavaliers' elimination is not James' fault.

James' team will have to work overtime again. The only good thing is that it's daytime in the US, so most of the team members don't have to stay up all night.

...

After a day of rest on the 11th, the Chinese men's basketball team faced their second group stage match at 4 pm on the 12th at the Wukesong Arena.

The effects of the game against the United States the night before last are evident – ​​the Spanish players showed no sign of carelessness or underestimation of their opponents!
Yi Shui felt that this was probably a 'negative' impact, but it also had a very positive impact—his teammates' fighting spirit was soaring!

Moreover, the entire team knew that the Spanish team was stronger than them overall.

With the mindset of minimizing losses, the Chinese team went all out on both offense and defense from the start of the match.

As for the Spanish team, they did not underestimate the Chinese team, whom they had easily defeated by 25 points four years ago.

However, in terms of form, after battling the Greek team for 40 minutes the day before yesterday, they started the game with a cold touch!

Upon realizing this, Yi Shui instructed his perimeter teammates to adjust their strategy—to continuously give Calderon and Navarro physical battles, regardless of whether it would affect their own shooting touch, and to prevent these two from having the opportunity to miss open shots and find their rhythm.

In terms of inside offense, after the first two rounds, Yi Shui had Yao Ming move up to the high post to conserve energy, either to facilitate play or to draw the attention of the opposing power forward.

Yi Shui and Yi Jianlian went to challenge Pau Gasol!
Yi Shui's on-court adjustments were very targeted. He and Yi Jianlian had enough impact and good luck. With 5 minutes and 48 seconds left in the first quarter, Yi Shui went around in front of Gabajosa to grab the offensive rebound, and made a putback. At the same time, he drew a foul from Pau Gasol, which was Gasol's second foul!
After the timeout, the Spanish team had no choice but to bring on Marc Gasol to replace Pau Gasol.

With Marc Gasol on the court, the Spanish team's interior strength and defensive toughness have improved, making it difficult for Yi Jianlian and Yi Shui to drive past them. But they still have Yao Ming!

Yao Ming, who had been "coasting" on offense for most of the first half of the quarter except for occasionally receiving shots and passing the ball, was now attacking fiercely under the basket!

On his first one-on-one against Gasol, Yao Ming completed a 2+1 dunk over him. On his second play, he turned around and dunked over Gasol again, forcing the Spanish team to collapse their flanks and double-team him.

When Yao Ming was double-teamed, he passed the ball out. Whether his teammates on the wing had a good shooting touch or not was secondary. Anyway, they shot decisively and didn't let the offense stop!

If they don't score, then Yi Shui and Yi Jianlian will go for the rebound!
If you can't grab it, retreat and continue the hand-to-hand combat!

Spain's offense was already hampered by a poor long-range shooting performance. Previously, they could rely on Gasol to score one-on-one in close range with his skills. However, with Gasol, who hasn't developed a mid-range shot and can only rely on his weight to score in the low post, their offense has become even worse.

Gasol could barely score against Yao Ming!
At the end of the first quarter, the Chinese team had scored 19 points, 5 of which came from Yao Ming's strong defense against Gasol. Yi Jianlian scored 6 points, including a three-pointer and a second-chance opportunity 2+1 play. Yi Jianlian also scored a fast break dunk and drew a foul from Gasol on a drive to the basket, making both free throws.

The others only scored 4 points.

But they held Spain to just 11 points!
Moreover, Spain's shooting touch didn't improve significantly in the second quarter!

The Chinese team stuck to this point, ignoring their own outside shooting and determined to fight tooth and nail with shooters like Calderon, Navarro, and substitutes Fernandez and Alex Amurou.

Such defense is easy to get past...

Yao Ming played 6 minutes in this quarter and got two blocks, while Yi Shui played 7 minutes and also got two blocks!
They have twin towers behind them!
In the second quarter, China's score dropped to 14 points, but they once again reduced Spain's score to 11 points.

At halftime, the Chinese team led the Spanish team 33-22 by 11 points!
...

After halftime, the two teams switched positions and began the third quarter.

The Chinese team's physical battles were not as effective as in the first half.

Calderon made a run and received the ball, hitting a three-pointer that ignited Spain's comeback! The Chinese team was already mentally prepared for this during halftime.

The opposing team is currently ranked number one in the world, the world champions two years ago. Even the Greek team couldn't shut down the Spanish team the day before yesterday, so they certainly can't maintain the defensive performance of the first half.

Their strategy is to fight!
Yao Ming spent most of the first half "coasting" on offense, while Yi Shui mainly focused on wing defense and simple drive-and-kick plays, which allowed them to get some rest... all for this moment!
Spain scored a whopping 25 points in the third quarter, more than they did in the first half combined.

But the Chinese team also started scoring, reaching a game-high 20 points in the quarter, and they were not defeated!
After three quarters, the Chinese team led the Spanish team 53-47 by 6 points!
In the fourth quarter, the Spanish team continued their counterattack.

With 4 minutes and 22 seconds left in the game, Fernandez received a pass from Gasol and hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc, tying the score at 61-61, with Spain tying China!

At the crucial moment, Yi Shui stepped up and, without any fancy moves, charged straight into the defense of 3D forward Alex Amuru like a tank!

Spain's zone defense came quickly, and Yi Shui headed straight for the basket. Under the double-team of Amurou, the collapsing power forward Felipe Reyes, and the rim protector Pau Gasol, he pushed the ball towards the backboard...

The ball hit the backboard and bounced into the basket, and the referee blew his whistle at the same time.

Pau Gasol committed a foul!

The replay on the big screen clearly showed that the instant Yi Shui lifted the ball and pushed it out, Pau Gasol's hand slapped Yi Shui's wrist!
Pau Gasol has committed his fourth foul!

Pau Gasol controlled his fouls well in the second and third quarters, only being fouled once by Wang Zhizhi at the end of the third quarter.

But his two fouls in the first quarter brought him to his fourth foul prematurely!
Pau Gasol's tackle was quite hard, and Yi Shui's free throw was clearly affected. The shot was straight, but it hit the rim.

Fortunately, Spain's next three-pointer missed, and Zhu Fangyu secured the rebound.

It's China's turn to attack again. Yao Ming calls for the ball in the low post and goes one-on-one against Pau Gasol!

Pau Gasol hesitated in his defensive move, not daring to reach out, but when Yao Ming took a step back, turned, and raised the ball, Gasol instinctively lunged forward and jumped to interfere... slapping Yao Ming's forearm!
Yao Ming was hit on the arm, but he didn't stop moving. He tried his best to control his aim and threw the ball towards the basket...

As the referee blew his whistle, the ball fell into the basket.

Yao Ming's goal stands, but he needs to take an additional penalty!
Meanwhile, Pau Gasol fouled out of the game with five fouls!

Spain calls a timeout!
Watching the Chinese players celebrate excitedly and hearing the wild cheers of the fans, Spain's head coach Hernandez covered his eyes with his hands, rubbing his eyes hard with his palms, unable to believe what he was seeing.

But when he opened his eyes again, the big screen showed the two consecutive offensive plays between Yi Shui and Yao Ming, which clearly showed that Pau Gasol had been scored on twice with a 2+1 play!

He could only replace Pau Gasol with Marc Gasol, who was completely outmatched by Yao Ming tonight.

After the timeout, Yao Ming made the free throw, making it 66-61, and China regained a 5-point lead!
Moreover, the Spanish team was thrown into disarray after the timeout, scoring only 1 goal in the next 5 rounds and only getting 3 points.

The Chinese team seized the opportunity and scored 7-3, extending their lead to 73-64, a total of 9 points!
However, Spain is, after all, a former world champion. After calling another timeout, they regained their composure and, led by Calderon, launched a final counterattack!

With 9 minutes and 30 seconds left in the final quarter, Navarro hit a three-pointer, bringing Spain within 3 points at 75-78!
In just over three minutes, the Spanish team scored an 11-5 run against the Chinese team!

The Spanish players became more and more excited as the game progressed. They could clearly feel that the Chinese team's defense was getting worse and worse, and that the Chinese team was engaging in physical battles with them, which was consuming more energy for them!
When it was China's turn to attack, the Spanish team defended very hard, defended the ball, made the crucial shot, and dragged the game into overtime. They were bound to win!
As for crucial plays... they have Navarro! They have Calderon!
Liu Wei advanced to the frontcourt, and with Calderon closely guarding him, he protected the ball with his body to the side, making it impossible for Yao Ming to pass the ball in under the basket.

In recent defensive possessions, Yao Ming has been standing under the basket and hardly moving his feet.

Yi Jianlian scored in double figures tonight, but missed both of his one-on-one shots against Flip Reyes.

Zhu Fangyu is not considering it; Liu Wei is waiting for Yi Shui to take the position.

Yi Shui was defended by Amuru at the right 45-degree angle. He did not exert force immediately. After Yao Ming moved to the left mid-range, Yi Jianlian reached the right baseline, and Zhu Fangyu reached the left corner, he turned and cut inside.

As Amur sprinted to catch up, Yi Shui suddenly turned around and returned to the three-point line, where Liu Wei, who was focused on waiting for a passing opportunity, delivered the ball in time.

Yi Shui received the ball and took a step back, then jumped to face Amur, who was turning and lunging forward again, and launched a three-pointer...

With a height advantage, he received the ball and shot directly against the defender without dribbling, triggering the "tower sniper" technique with a high probability of being in hot form!
Of course, the most important thing is that Yi Shui himself created enough space to jump completely and make a shooting motion without being affected!
As Amuru was making his defensive move, he saw Yi Shui throw the ball up and a smile began to spread across his face. As soon as he landed, he turned his head and saw the ball fall into the basket!

The fans in the stadium erupted in another frenzy of cheers!
The Spanish team's players and coaches on the sidelines all held their heads in their hands...

The Spanish players on the court, the spirit they had held onto throughout the entire game, even though they only scored 22 points in the first half, dissipated the moment the ball fell into the basket.

With Calderon's three-point attempt over Liu Wei missing... the game came to an end.

China narrowly defeated Spain 81-75, preventing a comeback!
(End of this chapter)