The men's basketball game would kick off the next day at 2:15 PM local time.

China's first opponent was Brazil, with the game scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Brazil was playing at home, and as the host country, the game time was prime time.

The time difference between China and Brazil is 11 hours. 7:00 PM here is 6:00 AM back home, so fans don't have to stay up all night; they can catch the game early.

Because it was the opening game, it garnered attention from fans in both countries and unprecedented interest in China.

Putting aside the previous brawl between the two teams in the warm-up game, four years ago, Tang Tian led the Chinese men's basketball team to eliminate Brazil in a life-or-death battle, which was enough for Brazilian fans to hate him.

Of course, there was also Barbosa's trash talk to Tang Tian.

"I will beat you in Rio."

This is what Barbosa said to Tang Tian during the handshake after losing the game.

Now it was time for him to make good on his boast.

Although Brazil's strength has declined, they are not a weak team.

Nene and Varejao can still play, and this inside lineup is already a step ahead of most national teams.

On the Chinese side, only Yi Jianlian can match up.

In addition to Barbosa on the outside, there are also Huertas and Neto, who started playing in the NBA last season.

Even on the front line, there is also veteran Bahia.

All of these inside and outside players are NBA-level players. Although the Brazilian team is old, it is by no means weak.

In fact, apart from Asian and African teams, none of the teams that can make it to the Olympics are weak.

The game would start in the evening, and the Chinese team was actively preparing before the game.

The players were adjusting their condition and mentality during training.

No matter how stable their mentality was before, young players would inevitably be nervous as the game approached.

Tang Tian was sitting on the sidelines, resting.

Just then, he received a message.

The person who sent the message was someone he didn't expect.

Nash.

The person who sent it surprised him, and the content of the message surprised him even more.

"Beat the Brazilian team hard, especially Barbosa."

Barbosa had been teammates with Nash for six years in Phoenix, and they were both rotation players, so their relationship on and off the court should be good.

Especially Nash's personality, which is very approachable.

So it really seemed incredible.

But Tang Tian was a time-traveler, and he knew a lot about gossip news.

He also knew something about Nash and Barbosa.

Nash's current wife is not his original wife. His original wife, also known as his ex-wife, was named Alexandria.

Before their divorce, they had two daughters and a son. The two daughters were loved for attending press conferences with Nash.

But the problem lies with that son. The son was born black!

Nash and Alexandria are both white, and two white people cannot give birth to a black person!

After Nash did a paternity test, he divorced Alexandria in a flash.

It was later revealed that the child's father was Barbosa, who had previously been rumored to have an affair with Alexandria.

Wearing a green hat must have been the darkest experience in Nash's life.

No wonder Nash would send such a message.

"I will."

Tang Tian's answer was also concise.

Barbosa said such provocative words four years ago, and he was already prepared to teach the Brazilian team a lesson.

Now that Nash had privately contacted him again, he would make the lesson even more unforgettable.

That night, the game between the Chinese team and the Brazilian team kicked off at the Carioca Arena 1, and the arena that could accommodate 16,000 people was packed.

One reason was because it was the host country's Brazilian team, and the other was Tang Tian.

Because of Tang Tian, the Chinese team, which had not received much attention before, had become the most watched team besides Brazil and the United States.

During the pre-game warm-up, Tang Tian turned his head and looked at the Brazilian team's half.

As luck would have it, Barbosa was also turning his head to look at the Chinese team's half.

The two locked eyes.

Barbosa quickly turned his head away.

Four years ago, Tang Tian was just an ordinary role player in the NBA, and he had the confidence to yell at Tang Tian.

But now that Tang Tian had just won the championship and was a proper league number one, that kind of confidence had long since disappeared.

However, he had to continue the pretense that he put on himself four years ago, even with tears in his eyes.

After the warm-up, the players from the two teams were introduced one after another.

Unlike the NBA, FIBA games introduce the entire team, in ascending order by jersey number.

When Tang Tian, wearing jersey number 13, was introduced, the cheers from the scene were overwhelming, no less than those for the home team Brazil.

Domestic fans were even more excited on the spot. They knew about Tang Tian's jersey change and what this jersey meant to the Chinese national team!

After the player introductions, the starting players from the two teams entered the court one after another.

For the Chinese team, the guards were Zhao Jiwei and Tang Tian, the forwards were Zhai Xiaochuan and Yi Jianlian, and the center was Zhou Qi.

For the Brazilian team, the guards were Barbosa and Huertas, the forwards were Garcia and Nene, and the center was Varejao.

Amid the cheers of the home fans, Varejao won the jump ball against Yi Jianlian, giving Brazil the opportunity to attack first.

After Barbosa dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, he passed the ball to Varejao to post up Zhou Qi under the basket.

Zhou Qi was weak, and after Varejao bulldozed him twice, he turned around and put the ball into the basket.

For China's offense, Zhao Jiwei dribbled the ball across the half-court and passed the ball to Tang Tian, who dribbled the ball and broke through.

The entire Brazilian defense shrunk inside, with four players double-teaming Tang Tian.

Tang Tian passed the ball to Zhai Xiaochuan at the baseline, who shot a three-pointer.

"Clang!"

The shot was a bit off, hitting the rim directly.

Varejao boxed out Zhou Qi and grabbed the defensive rebound.

Brazil attacked to the frontcourt again, still Varejao's inside post-up.

Yi Jianlian quickly helped defend, and Varejao reacted quickly, turning around and bounce passing the ball to Nene.

Nene dribbled the ball three steps and slammed the ball into the basket after bumping Zhou Qi away.

In the NBA, Varejao is a defensive player with basically no offensive ability, but on the international stage, he can do everything from defense to scoring to passing. He is an all-around inside player.

4 to 0, Brazil, as the host, started off with a bang.

The cheers from the scene erupted instantly.

Four years ago, the Chinese team eliminated them in a life-or-death battle. Not only were the Brazilian players depressed, but the fans were even more depressed.

Now, in their own home, they can finally get revenge!

The Olympics are held once every four years, which is much longer than the NBA season, and the emotions they have accumulated in their hearts are even greater!

For China's offense, Tang Tian's breakthrough continued to be double-teamed. This time, he passed the ball to Zhao Jiwei at the arc.

Zhao Jiwei's arc three-pointer had a very straight trajectory, but the shot was a bit heavy and still hit the rim!

China got off to a scoring drought!

After all, this team is dominated by young people, and their mentality fluctuated greatly in the opening game, and mentality is the most important thing that affects shooting stability.

Seeing this, Barbosa's original low mood became high-pitched.

He definitely couldn't beat Tang Tian in a head-to-head match, but the other players on the Chinese team were too weak, so weak that they couldn't even make such wide-open three-pointers.

What he said back then was that he wanted to beat the Chinese team in Rio. According to the gap in strength between the two sides, the hope of successfully pulling off this brag was very high!