There were still over ten days before the World Cup started, and it couldn't just start on a whim.

However, as the World Cup approached, the number of warm-up matches around the world did increase.

Many national teams even came to China in advance to play games, taking the opportunity to adapt to the Chinese competition environment.

After playing two games with the Japanese team, the Chinese team moved to Wuhan to participate in a four-nation tournament.

The quality of this four-nation tournament was very high. In addition to the Chinese team, the remaining three teams were France, Brazil, and Canada.

This was also a signal of the Chinese team's improved strength.

As the defending Olympic champion, with Tang Tian present, and considering the FIBA ​​rankings, other countries were willing to play against a strong team like the Chinese team, especially when that strong team was the host.

The World Cup teams had already been drawn, and apart from Group A, the other groups were:

Group B: Greece, Venezuela, South Korea, Cameroon

Group C: Australia, Iran, Brazil, Tunisia

Group D: Angola, Philippines, Italy, Serbia

Group E: Canada, Slovenia, USA, Japan

Group F: Russia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Montenegro

Group G: Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Jordan

Group H: Turkey, Senegal, Lithuania, Spain

According to the World Cup rules, the top two teams in each group would advance to the second round, the top 16 teams of the World Cup.

Then, Groups AB, Cd, ef, and gh would be reorganized into new groups i, j, k, and L.

The top two teams in groups i, j, k, and L would advance to the quarterfinals, the top eight.

Brazil, France, and Canada were in Groups C, e, and g, respectively.

According to this rule, the earliest they could meet each other would be in the quarterfinals, so they were all very good warm-up opponents for each other.

This four-nation tournament was drawn into a group stage and a final stage.

In the group stage, the Chinese team was drawn into a group with France, and the Canadian team was in a group with Brazil.

The winners of the two groups would enter the final to compete for the championship and runner-up, while the losers would enter the losers' bracket to compete for third and fourth place, and then the prize money would be distributed.

The prize money wasn't much, but more important than the money was the opportunity to play against each other.

For the four teams, this was a very high-quality warm-up match before the World Cup, and they all attached great importance to it.

Take the Canadian team as an example. This year, an unprecedented number of NBA players chose to play for their country.

Wiggins, Jamal Murray, Tristan Thompson, and Tang Tian's Pelicans teammate Alexander were all well-known.

In addition, Cory Joseph, Dillon Brooks, and Dwight Powell were also on the team's roster.

Including this year's third overall pick, Tang Tian's fan RJ Barrett, was also on the list.

This was also why FIBA ​​put the Canadian team ahead of strong teams like China, Serbia, Australia, and France on the power rankings.

In terms of overall strength alone, it was no exaggeration to say that this Canadian team was the strongest outside of the American team.

Of course, the French team was also strong. Although Parker had long since retired from the national team, they had Fournier on the outside, Batum on the wing, and Gobert in the paint, ranking sixth in the power rankings.

Including the Brazilian team, which also sent its full lineup, this four-nation tournament attracted considerable attention domestically.

The venue for this four-nation tournament was the Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium.

It is worth mentioning that the 2011 Wuhan Asian Championships were also held in this stadium.

At that time, the enthusiasm of Wuhan fans was well-known throughout the country, and it was a beautiful sight to behold.

This competition was the same. Tickets for the four-nation tournament sold out early, and the scalper market continued to be hot.

The game between Brazil and Canada was held in the afternoon.

The Chinese team watched from the sidelines.

After warming up, the starting lineups of the two teams took to the court one after another.

For the Canadian team, the backcourt consisted of Alexander and Murray, the forwards were Wiggins and Dwight Powell, and the center was Tristan Thompson.

All five players were NBA starters, even All-Star level players. Canada was truly star-studded.

Compared to Canada, the Brazilian team seemed to be in a period of transition.

The backcourt consisted of "Lightning" Barbosa and Marcelo Huertas, the forwards were Garcia and Caboclo, and the center was Varejao.

Three of the five starters were veterans, and they were no longer playing in the NBA. The only one playing in the NBA, "Brazilian Durant" Caboclo, was also not living up to his name.

Compared to the other three teams, the Brazilian team was the weakest.

However, there was a good reason why they were invited to the four-nation tournament. Brazil and Argentina were both strong South American teams with similar styles.

Moreover, both teams were facing the same situation of a generational transition.

Playing against World Cup title contenders like France and Canada was certainly good for training.

In case they didn't perform well, playing against the Brazilian team would also be valuable.

The game started quickly, and unexpectedly, the Brazilian team suppressed the Canadian team from the start.

Murray was taught a lesson by Barbosa, who made him doubt his life with his drives.

On the other hand, Canada had talent, but failed to unleash their full potential.

After the first quarter, the Brazilian team led the Canadian team 21-15.

The game process was shocking.

Even Li Chunjiang, the head coach of the Chinese team, frowned and pondered, obviously looking for the reason why all this happened.

Tang Tian didn't seem very surprised.

To say that many people call Canada an "affiliated country" of the United States, there's a lot of truth to that.

To say nothing else, just look at the national team, Canada also did what the Dream Team did and trained very late.

As a result, these players had individual strength, but they had never played for their country before, and they had poor chemistry with each other. They looked like a weakened version of the Dream Team.

On the other hand, the Brazilian team was so familiar with each other that they had excellent chemistry on both ends of the court.

And he also knew that in history, the seemingly transitional Brazilian and Argentinian teams had outstanding performances in the World Cup.

Especially the Argentinian team, which eliminated the United States and France all the way to the World Cup final.

The two teams remained deadlocked, and Brazil led 68-64 after three quarters.

In the last quarter, the Brazilian team had too many veterans and their stamina became a problem. The Canadian team, led by Murray, launched a wave to win the game.

At the end of the game, the Canadian team finally defeated the Brazilian team 85-75.

However, after the game, the Canadian coach Nick Nurse looked grave.

In terms of roster strength alone, this Canadian team was stronger than the Raptors team he coached in the NBA, but playing like this obviously didn't meet his expectations.

"There are no weak teams in the World Cup!"

In the stands, Li Chunjiang couldn't help but sigh after watching the entire game.

You know, FIBA previously ranked Brazil at 13th, and for the 13th-ranked team to play like this against the 2nd-ranked team, it really surprised him.

In fact, not only Li Chunjiang, but also the players of the men's basketball team had surprised expressions on their faces.

Seeing their reaction, Tang Tian felt that it was worth watching this game tonight.

What he feared wasn't that the fans thought the Chinese team was in a favorable group, but that the players also thought so and became careless during the games.