The Japanese media and fans felt awkward, but the Chinese fans were excited. Surrounded by their own people, a sense of pride arose spontaneously.

Especially tonight, with the high probability of the Chinese team overwhelming the Japanese team, their emotions didn't need any priming at all.

When the Chinese team members emerged from the player tunnel, the cheers from the crowd were already unstoppable.

"Fuck!"

When Lin Yi raised his head and saw the black mass of Chinese fans around him, he couldn't help but swear.

He said when he came to Tokyo that he wanted to see if Tang Tian's popularity could surpass that of the home team.

Now it seemed the answer was already clear.

This wave of support from the Chinese fans was truly amazing!

It wasn't just Lin Yi who was excited; everyone on the Chinese team, including Tang Tian, seemed very excited.

This was Japan's home court, but the number of Chinese fans was almost double that of the home team's fans, which was unprecedented in Olympic history.

During the warm-up, Tang Tian showed off a few of his signature windmills and 360s, drawing cheers from the Chinese fans in attendance.

Although Tang Tian had scored high in the previous games, he clearly hadn't exerted himself much. His dunks were also much fewer compared to before his retirement.

This performance was a feast for their eyes and made them even more excited for the game about to start.

After the warm-up, the opening ceremony began.

The Chinese team was the first to be introduced, and when the "March of the Volunteers" sounded, the Chinese fans in the audience sang in unison.

The scene prompted some foreign fans to take photos and videos; this moment was destined for history.

After the Chinese team, the host team Japan followed. When the Japanese national anthem was played, the Japanese fans in attendance sang loudly.

But obviously, the numerical disadvantage could not be compensated for, and their momentum could not match that of the Chinese fans.

Some passionate young Japanese were flushed with anger after the opening ceremony, but they were helpless.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of the two teams were released one after another.

Neither team made any adjustments to their starting lineups.

For Japan, the guards were Yuki Togashi and Yudai Baba, the forwards were Yuta Watanabe and Rui Hachimura, and the center was Nick Fazekas.

For China, the guards were Tang Tian and Ding Yanyuhang, the forwards were Abudushalamu and Yi Jianlian, and the center was Lin Yi.

Amid the cheers of the fans, Lin Yi tipped the ball from above Fazekas' head back to his own half, winning the opportunity for the Chinese team to attack first.

Tang Tian broke through with the ball in the frontcourt, attracting a double-team, but he went straight through with a single bump.

The Japanese guards were far too physically inferior to Tang Tian.

Fazekas came over to help, and Tang Tian made a no-look pass straight to Lin Yi under the basket, who slammed it in with both hands to give China the first score.

Cheers erupted from the Chinese fans in the stands. The Japanese defense was really just for show.

However, Hachimura came back and faced off against Yi Jianlian, making a step-back mid-range shot.

Just like Yao Ming playing in the Beijing Olympics with injuries, Yi Jianlian was also suffering from the aftereffects of playing in the World Cup with injuries. Moreover, he was much older than Yao Ming was at the time. He missed many games with the Nets last year due to injury, and he was still playing with injuries in this Olympics. His footwork was obviously a little slow.

Tang Tian broke through again in the frontcourt, and the Japanese triple-teamed him. He passed the ball to Yi Jianlian, whose three-pointer missed, but Lin Yi directly scored on a put-back, overpowering Fazekas under the basket.

Back on the other end, Hachimura broke through Yi Jianlian to the basket and drew a foul, going to the free-throw line and making both shots despite the boos from the Chinese fans.

These first few possessions were a microcosm of the first quarter.

The Chinese team's offense was running smoothly, but they couldn't do much about Hachimura. Whether it was power forward Yi Jianlian or small forward Abudushalamu, neither could contain him.

Hachimura was second only to Williamson and RJ Barrett in the Rookie of the Year rankings, and his strength was now second only to Tang Tian in Asia.

After the first quarter, Hachimura scored 12 points in a single quarter, and Japan was only behind China by 5 points, 20-25.

During the bench rotation, Yuta Watanabe also showed his strength, helping Japan to keep the score close.

Seeing this, Li Chunjiang rested his chin in thought for a while, then called a timeout and spoke to Tang Tian for a few words.

When the timeout ended, both teams' starters returned to the court.

But at this moment, the fans in the stands noticed that the Chinese team had put out a very strange lineup.

Guo Ailun and Ding Yanyuhang at guard, Abudushalamu and Tang Tian at forward, and Lin Yi at center.

Yi Jianlian wasn't on the court!

And Tang Tian was playing power forward!

Those who didn't know better would have thought that Yi Jianlian couldn't play due to injury, but they saw Yi Jianlian just resting on the bench!

This strange formation had never been seen before, because Tang Tian had never played power forward before!

However, this lineup made both sides of the fans feel excited, because it meant that Tang Tian would directly match up against Hachimura.

The first possession for the Chinese team after the timeout.

The fans in the stands were eagerly waiting to see Tang Tian's strong attack, but Tang Tian just pulled Hachimura to the baseline, showing no intention of asking for the ball.

Just as they were wondering, Lin Yi asked for the ball in the low post, and Ding Yanyuhang passed the ball to him.

Lin Yi made a beautiful foot movement, shaking Fazekas open, and easily sent the ball into the basket.

A burst of cheers suddenly erupted in the stands.

Although they didn't see Tang Tian play against Hachimura, Lin Yi's footwork made them swoon.

Since Yao Ming, it was the first time they had seen a center who could use footwork so well under the basket.

And this was a stretch center.

Back on the other end, Hachimura held the ball with his back to the basket.

Hachimura was a swingman who could play both small forward and power forward. Like Tang Tian, he was 2.03 meters tall, but he weighed 105 kilograms.

If you were to put him in a template, he was exactly the same type as Anthony and Harris.

He also knew that his weight was an advantage, so he chose to post up.

But he couldn't budge Tang Tian even after two shoves. Tang Tian's resistance was much better than he expected.

Just as he was about to turn and step back.

"Pa!"

Tang Tian suddenly made a retreating motion, and then suddenly snatched from the side, directly stealing the ball from him!

There was a cheer in the stands. This retreat and steal was simply a textbook-style post defense.

After the steal, Tang Tian threw a long pass to the backcourt, and Guo Ailun scored with a fast layup after receiving the ball.

The cheers in the stands exploded.

Hachimura didn't believe it, and continued to ask for the ball in the frontcourt. This time he chose a face-up attack.

After being stolen once, he also knew that Tang Tian's steal threat was high, so he directly chose his signature step-back shot.

But he still underestimated Tang Tian's ability. Almost the instant he stepped back, Tang Tian also pounced out, and his ball had just left his hand.

"Pa!"

A head-on block, the ball was directly swatted out of bounds!

The Japanese team inbounds the ball again, Hachimura didn't dare to ask for the ball again, and the Japanese team's offense was unsuccessful.

Back on the other end, Tang Tian continued to pull to the baseline, Ding Yanyuhang and Lin Yi ran a pick-and-roll, and after it opened up, he suddenly passed to Lin Yi, who shot over the helping Yudai Baba.

"Swish!"

The three-pointer went in.

The cheers in the stands were completely unstoppable.

After the timeout, the Chinese team scored a 7-0 run against the Japanese team, instantly widening the point difference to double digits.

Moreover, it was with Tang Tian not being involved on the offensive end!