Champion, please stay!

Chapter 89, Section 87: A Deadly Weapon on the International Stage!
After the final whistle blew, Yi Shui and his teammates hugged and celebrated, then went to the sidelines to thank the fans who had come to the stadium.

Post-match interviews... Yi Shui was the last one.

Although impressed, Zhang Weiping also had to consider his job. He decided to interview the others first, and it didn't matter what 'outrageous' remarks Yi Shui might make, since the live broadcast was already coming to an end.

However, Yi Shui's answer this time was very 'normal,' praising all the good things his teammates did tonight.

He was genuinely happy, partly because of the victory, and also because he could sense the changes in his teammates!
他24投10中，其中三分球11中4，加上6中4的罚球，拿了28分8板3助攻2抢断4盖帽。

姚明17投9中，加上6中6的罚球，拿了24分10板2助攻5盖帽。

易建联8投5中，加上6中4的罚球，拿到14分12板。

Of the team's 84 points, these three accounted for 67 points; of the team's 49 rebounds, these three also accounted for over 6%.

But that doesn't mean the teammates' 17 points and 19 rebounds were useless! They fought tooth and nail for those points! Losing even one point might have been unsustainable!
Compared to the US team, it would be more difficult for Yi Shui and Yao Ming to score individual points against the Spanish team, as they have a true zone defense and their help defense and double-teams always come very quickly.

Fortunately, his teammates were always decisive in catching and shooting, preventing them from getting bogged down.

Yi Jianlian's five offensive rebounds tonight were also crucial.

And his teammates made huge contributions in hand-to-hand combat...

The teammates played very hard the night before last, but tonight, the teammates gave Yi Shui a slightly different feeling!
...

After achieving the smallest margin of victory in history against the United States, domestic fans' expectations for this men's basketball team soared. Their defeat of the world's number one ranked team, Spain, sent domestic fans into a frenzy.

The basketball craze has swept across the entire land of China.

After another day of rest, on August 14th, the Chinese team faced off against Angola.

In this game, Yao Ming played a total of 10 minutes in the first half and didn't play after that.

易建联和易水带队，分别拿到18分10板和13分5板7助攻1抢断3盖帽，率领中国队以92比69轻取安哥拉队。

In this game, his teammates on the wings had better shooting opportunities, and Yi Shui passed the ball whenever he could, which his teammates capitalized on.

Based on past Olympic experience, winning two group stage matches is enough to advance to the quarterfinals. As reported by domestic media after the match, the Chinese men's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals two rounds early.

On the 16th, during prime time, the Chinese team faced their fourth group stage match against Germany, a team featuring NBA superstar Dirk Nowitzki.

Before the game, when Yao Ming was chatting with Nowitzki, Nowitzki tried to grab the referee's whistle and eject him!
That smile is so smug and wicked!
Yao Ming also wanted to restrain himself, as he felt he was being too 'smug' at that moment.

But there was nothing he could do! For the first time in his life, his teammate was better than Nowitzki!

When Nowitzki greeted Yi Shui, he felt even more bitter.

Yao Ming's teammate, the newly crowned number one draft pick, is tall and handsome, and looks thin, yet he can actually go toe-to-toe with LeBron James!
He's fast, can lead the point guard in fast breaks, and excels in rebounding and blocking shots, allowing the interior players to safely protect the rim.

Silver Horn King: Back in the day, I had some great teammates on the national team, and we could beat Spain back then! Although the Spanish team wasn't as strong as they are now... but I have a World Championship bronze medal!
Time is merciless. The players of the golden age of German basketball in the 90s, after reaching their historical peak in 02, exhausted their remaining energy and left the basketball world one after another.

Of the German players who stood on the podium together in 02, only Dirk Nowitzki, who joined the team at the tail end of the 'golden era', remains...

At 8 p.m., amid cheers from the fans in the stadium, the match between the Chinese team and the German team began.

Nowitzki went all out from the start, using every trick in the book on offense: one-on-one plays, positioning to draw defenders, and receiving passes for shots.

Yao Ming was the complete opposite. Offensively, aside from necessary low-post isolation plays, he would spread out to the sides of the free-throw line to receive shots, or help screen when teammates ran over, and occasionally pass the ball.

All attention was focused on the rim protection, plus keeping a close eye on Kaman!

Kaman is Nowitzki's best teammate right now. In the 07-08 NBA season, he averaged 15.7 points and 12.7 rebounds per game, showing considerable skill and All-Star potential.

However, his shooting ability has not yet been developed. In the 2007-08 season, he averaged only 2.4 points per game outside of close range, with more than 80% of his points coming from within close range.

He mainly relies on low-post post-up play, but his footwork is average. He often uses his strength and height to launch high-post attacks and uses his strong body to preemptively lock down positions for second-chance points.

Yao Ming is exactly good at dealing with this type of inside player!

In the NBA, Yao Ming would sometimes have to go out with Kaman, even if the opponent couldn't shoot.

But in the Olympics, he stayed under the basket and didn't come out. If Kaman really went out to receive the ball and shoot... he had Yi Shui!
At 9:52 PM, Kaman cut to the left side of the basket to receive a pass from Nowitzki and attempted a floater behind Wang Zhizhi... but was slapped onto the backboard by Yi Shui, who had just come in.

A few seconds later, the countdown ended, and the competition came to a close.

Germany ultimately failed to narrow the gap to within 20 points, finishing 53-74.

Facing the relentless defense of Yi Shui and Yi Jianlian, Nowitzki made 9 of 21 shots, including 2 of 6 three-pointers, plus 3 of 4 free throws, for a total of 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 assists. He had done his best.

Seeing Kaman make 2 of 10 shots, plus 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 6 points and grabbing 6 rebounds, and blocking 5 shots by Yi Shui, Yao Ming, and Yi Jianlian... Nowitzki once again felt that this young teammate was not capable of succeeding him as the next leader of German basketball.

This wasn't the first time he'd felt this way at this Olympics. When playing against Spain, Kaman was completely shut down by Marc Gasol, who hadn't even officially entered the NBA yet but had just signed a contract. That's when he started thinking like this.

Moreover, Kaman is not young anymore; he's 26, and you can see his end from the beginning.

He was thinking that he should spend more time helping the national team develop players, just like his idol Detlef Schremf did when he switched from tennis to basketball.

21分7板3助攻1抢断3盖帽，易水率领中国队拿下3连胜！

...

After the game against Germany, Yi Shui did not leave, but stayed at the Wukesong Arena with Yao Ming and Nowitzki to watch the last game of the night between Spain and the United States.

Playing against Germany is a little more tiring than playing against Angola, but not by much. Not having extra training on the '7th day' won't affect preparations for the next day. He's more concerned about the result of the final match.

Although the chances are slim, what if it happens?

With a record of 3 wins and 1 loss, the Chinese team has essentially secured second place in the group, and players like Yi Shui will naturally have more ideas to consider.

Unfortunately, there are no ifs. The US team thrashed the Spanish team 123-100, dominating them for the entire game and giving them almost no chance!
The US team's performance tonight reminded Yi Shui and others of the terrifying second half on the night of the 10th.

No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't shake the American team in the slightest.

The Spanish team tonight is the same...

Yi Shui and Yao Ming looked at Nowitzki with pity in their eyes. Nowitzki chuckled, seemingly indifferent to the fickleness of the world.

With a record of 1 win and 3 losses, Germany must win their final match to advance to the quarterfinals. Even if they do win, their final result will depend on the outcome of the match between China and Greece, where they have a record of 2 wins and 2 losses.

But Germany's final opponent is the United States, who have shown invincibility tonight.

Yi Shui and Yao Ming were marveling at the strength of the American team, unaware of the resentful glances that Spanish coach Hernandez kept giving them...

After a day of rest on the 17th, the Chinese men's basketball team faced their final group stage opponent, the Greek men's basketball team, at 2 pm on the 18th, the last day of the group stage.

With a record of 3 wins and 1 loss, and a net score of 41 points, the Chinese team has essentially secured second place in the group.

With a record of 2 wins and 2 losses, the Greek team defeated Germany and Angola by a total of 33 points. However, they lost to the United States by 35 points on the 12th and were reversed by Spain by more than 10 points on the 10th. To surpass the Chinese team in the rankings, they would need to beat the Chinese team by at least 58 points, which even the Greek team themselves think is impossible.

But when you're on the field, you're there to win!

The two teams started with a physical battle.

The Chinese team had engaged in physical battles with Spain before, so they had some experience and were not as unaccustomed to the tough, physical style of European teams they had encountered in previous world tournaments.

However, there are differences between different kinds of physical combat. The Spanish team's physical combat was relatively 'civilized,' while the Greek team's was like a brawl.

But coincidentally, this generation of Chinese men's basketball team has never lost a fight!
If the opponent throws a punch, they'll throw an arm; if the opponent kicks, they'll kick!

The Guangdong team displayed their prowess in this game, not in how many goals they scored, but in that they committed even more ruthless fouls than the Greek team!

The fans at the scene were so excited they wanted to grab a chair and join the fray!

最终，靠着打了21分钟5犯离场的拿到15分的姚明、打了27分钟拿到16分的易水、还有王治郅的11分……中国队以52比45险胜希腊队，赢下了这场多人挂彩的恶战！

Many players from other teams came to watch the game.

Many players were amazed – so this is what the Chinese team players are like?

Yao Ming was fouled, but he retaliated by slapping the opposing "Little Shark" Shortsanitis, and also received a technical foul.

Yi Shui was defending when his opponent elbowed him while he was trying to lay up. He turned around and elbowed the opponent in the chest, forcing his way to the basket and drawing an offensive foul.

After the match on the afternoon of the 14th, the Spanish team complained repeatedly that the Chinese team's actions were too rough and that the referee didn't call any fouls.

After witnessing the match between the Chinese team and the Greek team, a notorious European hooligan team, they felt that the Chinese team had been quite gentle that day, only their physical actions were a bit too exaggerated and their dirty tricks a bit too frequent...

...

In the evening, Yi Shui, Robinson, and Curry returned to the Wukesong Arena. The other friends weren't interested in the game, which was a foregone conclusion, so only Robinson and Curry, who wanted to watch the US team play, came along.

No miracle occurred. From the second half of Game 1, the US team entered an 'invincible' state, avenging their loss to Greece by 35 points, slaughtering Spain by more than 20 points, and crushing Angola by 55 points...

Previously in this Olympics, the team that limited the opponent's minimum score was Russia, which held Iran to only 49 points. However, in the afternoon's game between China and Greece, Russia surpassed that record, with Greece scoring only 45 points.

Just six hours later, this data was broken again, and at the same time, the largest point difference in the men's basketball tournament at this Olympic Games was also broken.

The US team thrashed Germany 98-40, setting new records for both the lowest and largest point differential against their opponents!
Unlike Robinson and Curry, who were marveling at Kobe's difficult shots, Anthony's effortless scoring, and Wade's various drives to the basket and pull-up jumpers, Yi Shui's attention was on James.

He noticed it the night before last: James was playing...very well! Even better tonight!

What James did tonight was simple: forcefully penetrate the opponent's zone defense, wear down Kaman, collapse the defense on the wings to help double-team, and score on the fast break.

Something just feels off...

After watching the game and saying goodbye to Robinson and Curry, Yi Shui returned to his dormitory in the Olympic Village and browsed the news online for a while.

I came across a news article praising LeBron James' performance.

Selfless, actively taking on the dirty and tiring work, doing the hardest but most inconspicuous tasks, carrying the entire dream team from the bottom up... truly a leader!

Yi Shui read the news twice, and he really couldn't find anything wrong with what it said.

Judging from their performance in the game, that's certainly true, but...

He hasn't had time to check the news these past few days, but he searched for reports from the previous days and found that this viewpoint appeared as early as the 11th.

Yi Shui truly hadn't expected that the dignified young emperor would choose to establish such a persona and take this path to deal with the situation...

...

With Russia losing to Argentina 79-91, the group stage of the men's basketball tournament has come to an end.

B组方面，美国队5胜0负第一、中国队4胜1负第二、西班牙队3胜2负第三、希腊队2胜3负第四。

Germany, with one win and four losses, and Angola, with five losses in five matches, failed to qualify for the finals.

A组方面，立陶宛队4胜1负第一、阿根廷队4胜1负第二、克罗地亚队3胜2负第三、澳大利亚队3胜2负第四。

Russia, with a record of 1 win and 4 losses, and Iran, with a record of 0 wins and 5 losses, failed to qualify for the finals.

The quarterfinal matchups are: USA vs. Australia, China vs. Croatia, Spain vs. Argentina, and Greece vs. Lithuania.

After the group stage ended, news from major media outlets mainly fell into two categories: a review of the group stage and a look ahead to the finals.

The US team averaged a net win of 35.4 points in 5 games, and except for the game against China, the other 4 games saw a net win of 42 points, leading major media outlets to haile the "Dream Team's return".

In the championship prediction list, the US team is ranked in a league of its own.

In terms of individual player performance, Yi Shui, Pau Gasol, and Carmelo Anthony stole the show and were hailed as 'deadly weapons on the international stage'.

Pau Gasol had already made a name for himself on the international stage, and Carmelo Anthony had consistently performed well internationally. This time, they finally played their due role, but neither of them were particularly impressive.

唯有易水，初出茅庐，5场比赛场均21.6分7.8板3.8助攻1.6抢断4盖帽！

(End of this chapter)