"This is the most beautiful half I've ever seen; Deng Huade has made great progress this year."

During the halftime break, Yang Jian repeatedly exclaimed from the commentary booth.

"I think this might not necessarily be Deng Huade's idea. Look, this half emphasized defensive counterattacks and speeding up the pace, very similar to the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA, emphasizing defense and fast breaks."

"Are you suggesting this might be related to Tang Tian?" Yang Jian followed up.

"Yes~"

Zhang Weiping wore a "teachable child" expression.

Yang Jian thought for a moment and nodded.

Under Deng Huade's coaching, the men's basketball team had good defense and played tough, but his tactics were also the most criticized by fans.

Expecting Deng Huade to suddenly figure things out was a bit unrealistic; the most likely reason for the change was Tang Tian.

It seemed that Tang Tian's temporary addition to the national team was not only an NBA-level asset but also half a coach!

Looking at the 14-point difference, some older fans felt their hearts beating a little fast.

Back in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China's largest lead was also 14 points.

Although that was in the fourth quarter and this was at halftime, the score made them instinctively nervous.

However, some of the newer domestic fans and kids like Lin Yi didn't feel that way.

Their only feeling was, wow, the Chinese men's basketball team is so amazing! They can suppress the world's number two team, Spain!

Deep down, they felt proud and honored!

"Coach, we don't necessarily have to force the inside game; we can bring in Ibaka and focus more on penetration."

During the halftime break, Spain's starting point guard, Calderón, suggested to Scariolo.

Calderón's defense wasn't great in the NBA, but he was one of the league's best at controlling assist-to-turnover ratio, and his basketball IQ was very high.

Scariolo was a bit lost after the first half, and he calmed down after hearing what Calderón said.

China's defensive counterattack was indeed unexpected, but Spain was stronger than China not only inside but also outside.

Coming back from the halftime break, Spain made adjustments to their lineup.

They didn't use both Gasol brothers as starters; instead, they used Marc Gasol and Ibaka as their inside combination.

And on the outside, they replaced Llull with Navarro as the starter.

Spain attacked first.

Seeing that Tang Tian was guarding Navarro, Calderón signaled Navarro to settle in the left corner and then passed the ball to Fernández on the right.

Ibaka set a high pick-and-roll, and Fernández dribbled towards the inside, breaking past Ding Jinhui.

Ding Jinhui's defense was fierce, but he was still a power forward and was quickly squeezed past.

Yi Jianlian came over to help defend, and Fernández directly bounce-passed the ball to Marc Gasol under the basket.

Marc Gasol caught the ball and dunked with both hands.

The fans in the arena erupted in cheers.

"Spain's inside game wasn't effective in the first half; they're starting to play from the outside in the second half. Our perimeter players must pay attention to this."

Zhang Weiping's face tightened, and he spoke quickly.

His reaction wasn't just because of his commentary experience but also because it was the same situation in 2008.

At that time, the Chinese men's basketball team was leading by 14 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter; that was the fourth quarter, and the game was about to end in a few minutes.

But Spain opened fire inside and out, overwhelming China's defense and directly closing the gap with a scoring run.

Many people only remember Wang Zhizhi being substituted and Yao Ming's lack of stamina at the end, but they overlooked that the scoring run was the most critical.

After Marc Gasol's dunk, Spain retreated quickly, not giving China a chance to speed up their offense.

Tang Tian was heavily guarded in the frontcourt, and China's pick-and-roll wasn't effective. Sun Yue forced a drive but was blocked by Ibaka.

After Calderón got the ball, he wasn't in a hurry to fast break and signaled his team to slow down the pace.

In the frontcourt, seeing Tang Tian switch to defend Fernández, he passed the ball to Navarro, letting him initiate the offense on the other side.

Navarro shook off Sun Yue's close defense and took a step-back three-pointer.

"Swish!"

The ball drew a high arc and fell heavily into the net!

After a 5-0 run, Spain narrowed the gap to 9 points.

The Chinese fans at the arena stirred.

Domestic fans also felt a chill in their hearts; the thing they were worried about was slowly happening.

"We can't let them score like this! Sun Yue, block him!"

Zhang Weiping was also very nervous in the commentary booth at this time.

After Spain made tactical adjustments in the second half, the weaknesses of the Chinese players' individual abilities became apparent.

Yi Jianlian forced an attack on Marc Gasol in the frontcourt, drawing a defensive foul on the latter.

He made one of two free throws, helping China widen the gap to 10 points again.

But in the next possession, Navarro used a three-point pump fake to get Sun Yue in the air, then drove straight to the inside and floated a shot over Yi Jianlian's block.

"Boom!"

Navarro's floater passed over Yi Jianlian's fingertips and fell heavily into the basket!

His nickname was "Bomba," referring to his super-high-arc floater, even more consistent than Parker's.

The 14-point difference was now only 8 points in the blink of an eye!

The Spanish commentators at the arena spoke louder, their faces bright with excitement.

At this time, Tang Tian made a gesture to Deng Huade requesting a timeout.

Deng Huade signaled the timeout to the scorer's table.

"We can't run our fast breaks; let's play set offense. Put Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu in."

Tang Tian said directly to Deng Huade.

Deng Huade nodded.

Tang Tian was a core member of an NBA champion, and Deng Huade already had great respect for him.

After seeing how well China played in the first half, he was completely convinced.

When Tang Tian said this, he turned around and did as he was told.

After the timeout, China made substitutions, with Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu replacing Chen Jianghua and Ding Jinhui.

Sun Yue dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and then passed it to Tang Tian.

Tang Tian held the ball at the top of the arc, while Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu each used Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue for pick-and-rolls, making off-ball cuts on both sides.

Spain was serious in the second half and was playing good defense. Neither player could get open on the perimeter.

But at that moment, Tang Tian, who was looking at Wang Shipeng, suddenly flicked his wrist, and the ball flew straight into the hands of Yi Jianlian, who was turning towards the basket after setting the screen.

Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu's cuts drew Spain's defense, and more importantly, Tang Tian made a no-look pass!

By the time Spain reacted, Yi Jianlian's dunk drew a blocking foul on Marc Gasol!

Two free throw opportunities!

Scariolo's eyes widened; he didn't even notice how the ball was passed.

Calderón's eyes also lit up.

Tang Tian's pass was beautiful!

As a point guard, his sense of passing was definitely stronger than most people's.

Tang Tian's pass was a legitimate no-look pass in basketball.

You couldn't do that without good court vision.

It seemed that he had underestimated Tang Tian's passing ability.

The arena was filled with boos. Yi Jianlian made both free throws under pressure, widening the gap to 10 points again.

In Spain's offense, Calderón and Marc Gasol ran a pick-and-roll this time, and Marc Gasol caught the ball and dunked directly over Sun Yue.

The dunk was brutal, and the atmosphere in the arena was ignited.

The older domestic fans also felt a chill in their hearts; it was Marc Gasol who scored the quasi-game-winner against Yao Ming in 2008!

In terms of individual ability alone, Spain was really much stronger than China!

And Calderón was really smart.

He knew Tang Tian's defense was good, so he avoided Tang Tian and initiated the offense every time.

This made Tang Tian's good defensive ability useless.

"Defense! Defense!"

Some sporadic fans started chanting, and eventually almost the entire arena was chanting this.

And in the second half, because the game between the United States and France was about to start soon, even more fans came to the arena.

The momentum was quite strong after they started chanting.

"We must hold on! If we hold on, we have a chance."

Zhang Weiping was just short of taking off his clothes and getting on the court himself.

Yang Jian next to him felt the same way.

As a basketball pioneer who had been fighting in the commentary booth for so many years, Zhang Weiping, although not a player, really wanted to win even more than the players.

That was the goal and ideal of the older generation.

China's frontcourt offense was still Tang Tian passing from the top of the arc.

Spain was highly alert on defense this time.

But Tang Tian managed to seize the gap and made a long pass to Wang Shipeng in the corner.

Wang Shipeng caught the ball and shot it directly.

A crucial shot.

"Swish!"

Wang Shipeng showed his big-game ability and hit the three-pointer!

The difference returned to 13 points!

Divac was called the best-passing big man of the early 21st century, and his ability wasn't just reflected in his average assist numbers.

Because he didn't have strong personal offensive ability like Jokic or even Cousins in the future, his passing ability was relatively static.

The so-called static meant being able to pass the ball in time when a tactical scoring opportunity appeared, rather than passing the ball after drawing defenders with personal offensive ability.

This was also why the system added court vision in addition to passing stability.

Tang Tian's ball-handling and penetration were average, but his standing passing could maximize this ability.

Spain's inside and outside offense was spreading the scoring around.

But China was also playing well under Tang Tian's organization.

The difference was fluctuating, but Spain just couldn't close the gap any further!

"That's it, we have a chance!"

Zhang Weiping was already trembling with excitement.

If China could have kept scoring like this in 2008, they wouldn't have lost that 14-point lead!

After three quarters, the score was 69 to 61, with China still holding an 8-point lead.

There was one quarter left in the game. At this point, the players from the United States and France came to the sidelines early to watch the game.

Like in 2008, the US Basketball Association also attached great importance to this Olympics and sent a luxurious roster to form Dream Team X.

In the frontcourt, Tyson Chandler, who had just won Defensive Player of the Year, and top-five forwards Kevin Love and Blake Griffin were a configuration that wasn't weaker than Spain's.

The wing position was even more dominant, with LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony, all FIBA ​​killers, as well as Andre Iguodala, who was brought in to do the dirty work.

On the backcourt, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Kobe Bryant, no other country's backcourt could compare.

Twelve people, twelve mountains, just sitting there put a lot of pressure on people.

But their eyes were all on the court at this moment.

"Are these guys sandbagging in the group stage again?" Anthony couldn't help complaining as he looked at the score.

But this time, he didn't get a response from James or Durant; they both looked at the court with strange expressions.

Following their gaze, they saw Tang Tian wearing the number 31 jersey.

"No, they tried their best; they can't limit China's offense." Paul said at this time.

His observation was more careful than Anthony's.

After listening, Anthony watched for a while and couldn't help but let out a surprised "hmm."

Just as he was watching, Tang Tian made a quick pass to Yi Jianlian, who hit a three-pointer in the corner, helping China widen the gap to double digits again.

Durant and James didn't say anything, but they were both more shocked than the other.

Durant: I worked hard on my dribbling this summer and made some progress, but how did this guy suddenly learn how to pass the ball?!

James: I originally thought that signing Ray Allen would make this season much easier, but with this guy passing so well, this season will still be difficult.

The score on the court continued to fluctuate around 10 points.

Just as the game was about to be decided, Spain suddenly exploded.

Navarro and Pau Gasol hit consecutive three-pointers from the outside, narrowing the gap to 5 points.

"I told you! They have more than just that!" Anthony said at this time.

But before he finished speaking.

Tang Tian directly forced a steal from Navarro on the defensive end, then fast-breaked to the frontcourt and scored a layup.

And in the next possession, he stole a pass from Calderón and ran a two-on-one fast break with Sun Yue, catching the pass and hitting a pull-up three-pointer.

Consecutive steals, scoring 5 points in a row, stabilizing the situation on the court again.

James turned his head to look at Anthony at this time.

Young blood, you're still young.

He stole the ball from me in the Finals this year...

Cough, that doesn't seem like a good thing.

With little time left for Spain, they continued to force three-pointers but missed.

When Navarro's last long-range three-pointer missed, the score on the court was finally fixed at 87 to 77.

The Chinese men's basketball team withstood wave after wave of attacks from Spain and finally won the game!

For the first time in history, they defeated Spain on the world stage!

The moment the game ended, the Chinese players all rushed onto the court, shouting and cheering, their faces filled with excitement.

Head coach Deng Huade raised both hands and jumped up and down with excitement.

Fans far away in China were also raising their arms and cheering, screaming wildly.

In 2008, they were only one ball, one possession away from making history.

After that game, Yao Ming said that if he had another chance, he would break Marc Gasol's leg to defend him.

After that game, all Chinese fans felt uneasy and resentful.

Now Yao Ming has retired, and the strongest members of the 2008 men's basketball team are gradually aging.

But no one expected that they would actually win the game at the London Olympics, after gaining a similar 14-point lead!

This time, history did not repeat itself!

This time, they were the creators of history!