Chapter 692 The Warm-Up Match Before the Olympics

With a 15-man roster, including Dudu's core, third-in-charge Holiday, and a number of good-quality role players, the Pelicans maintained their championship-contending strength.

As for whether they could successfully contend for the championship in the end, it would depend on their performance and luck next season.

Tang Tian wasn't a player, and like last season, that wasn't something he could control.

After settling the team's roster, his focus shifted from the Pelicans to the national team.

Regaining his form and finding his rhythm, that was what he had been doing.

With less than a month left before the start of the Olympics, the national team training camps of various countries had already begun, and warm-up matches were underway.

On the Chinese men's basketball team side, Zhou Qi, Yi Jianlian, Ding Yanyuhang, and Abudurexiti, who had finished their seasons one after another, had already returned to China.

Tang Tian was preparing to return home soon after.

Just as he was about to leave, he received a call from Lin Yi.

He was preparing to give up this year's Summer League and return to China with him.

Like Tang Tian, Lin Yi wasn't a player within the system; whether or not he played in the national team was entirely up to his personal will.

Especially since this was only the first year of his career, the Summer League was relatively important.

"It doesn't matter whether I play or not."

But what Lin Yi said when he saw Tang Tian made him laugh.

He almost forgot that Lin Yi, like him, was also operating with a cheat. Although he was just starting out, Summer League-level games really didn't matter whether he played or not.

When they arrived at the national team, the national team was playing a warm-up match against Lithuania.

According to the rules, there were a total of 12 teams in the Olympics: the host Japan, the seven teams with the best results in the seven continents produced by the World Cup, and the four teams that had been selected through the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The best teams in the seven continents had been determined a year ago: Spain and France from Europe, China from Asia, Australia from Australia, the United States from North America, Argentina from South America, and Cameroon from Africa.

The four teams that subsequently emerged from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament were Serbia, Slovenia, Lithuania, and Greece.

It is worth mentioning that after losing the World Cup, most NBA players from the Canadian team did not participate in the Qualifying Tournament.

This also meant that all four teams that qualified from the Qualifying Tournament came from Europe.

Counting the previous Spain and France, there were a total of 6 European teams in this Olympics, accounting for half of the participating teams.

This result also conformed to the purpose of the FIBA reform, which was not to let all continents participate as in the past, but to select the 12 strongest teams.

On this basis, this year's Olympic format has also undergone very significant changes compared to previous years.

Taking the Rio Olympics as an example, the 12 teams were divided into two groups, and the top four in each group played in the quarterfinals in an A1 vs. B4 format.

But this year, the 12 teams would be divided into 3 groups, and the top two in each group would advance to the top eight, with the remaining two spots going to the two group third-place finishers with the best records.

This format was a bit like the 100-meter preliminary round, which could prevent teams from being assigned to a group of death and missing the top eight, better ensuring fairness.

Moreover, after entering the quarterfinals, the matchups would no longer be based on group rankings as in the past, but would be determined by drawing lots.

The 3 group winners and the group runner-up with the best record from the previous stage (1 team) would be placed in one bracket (bracket D), while the other 2 group runners-up and 2 group third-place finishers would be placed in the other bracket (bracket E).

Then, the quarterfinals would be played in the order of D1 vs. E1.

Everything was done to ensure the fairness of the competition as much as possible.

According to the rules, teams in the same group in the group stage would not meet again in the 1/4 finals.

FIBA had also previously announced the group assignments for the 12 teams in the group stage.

Group A: China, Spain, Australia, France

Group B: United States, Cameroon, Serbia, Lithuania

Group C: Japan, Argentina, Slovenia, Greece

The grouping method was also decided by drawing lots like the previous World Cup. Except for the United States, China, and Japan as seeded teams, the other three teams in Group C were obviously weaker than the other groups.

The result was intriguing, but it wasn't too surprising. It was more like a routine for the Olympic host.

However, China was clearly being targeted a bit. The remaining two teams from the World Cup's top four were in their group, and France was also a team that qualified directly for the Olympics.

When the men's basketball team hadn't risen, they always called their group a group of death. This time in Tokyo, it was a genuine group of death.

Of course, the host Japan's grouping of China was also a sign of "respect" for the Chinese team. After all, the Chinese team was now a double champion of the Olympics and the World Cup.

Without the four NBA players, the Chinese team didn't beat Lithuania.

Although Chinese men's basketball has been very popular in recent years, it takes time from the bottom to the top of the pyramid. The current batch of players still relies more on the four NBA players.

Fans knew this too, and didn't care too much about the outcome of the game.

Tang Tian and the others immediately started practicing together after arriving at the team.

Tang Tian, Yi Jianlian, Ding Yanyuhang, and Abudurexiti were all veteran players and integrated quickly, but Zhou Qi, who didn't play last season, and newcomer Lin Yi, needed time to adapt.

Last year's World Cup Chinese team was called the strongest Chinese men's basketball team by fans, but this year's men's basketball team, with the addition of Zhou Qi and Lin Yi, was obviously even stronger.

The men's basketball team was playing their last warm-up matches with teams from other groups, and the players were constantly adapting in the games.

It was also during this period that *Guangrong Zhi Lu* (Road to Glory) completed its publicity and was officially released in theaters across the country.

After the film's release, it immediately ignited the domestic film market.

As the first sports film in China with basketball as its subject, it attracted the attention of a large number of fans.

Moreover, because the film itself was of high quality, word-of-mouth spread rapidly.

Just like the previously popular film *Wolf Warrior*, it didn't matter if you weren't a military or basketball fan, the wives, husbands, parents, and children of military and basketball fans all flocked to the cinema.

200 million, 500 million, 1 billion, 2 billion... the film spread rapidly in an explosive way.

"It's still more satisfying to watch our own people play, compared to the Miracle on Ice, this real buzzer-beater is even more exciting."

"Absolutely a great film across history, not just the subject matter, the quality is also excellent."

"Preparing for a second and third viewing, this kind of film definitely deserves a higher box office."

"I don't watch basketball, but the rhythm of the whole story is interspersed so well, I felt my blood boiling when they finally beat the United States."

"Speaking of which, when will the film about Rio be made? I can't wait!"

"Yeah, the Olympics are coming up soon, if we could see a film about the Rio Olympics, nothing else is needed, the box office is guaranteed!"

...

Film topics spread rapidly on Weibo and forums, and word-of-mouth continued to ferment.

At the start of the Olympics, this was a huge boost for the men's basketball players, and it also filled fans with expectations for the men's basketball team's performance at the Olympics.