Chapter 1 The Start

That evening, the match between the Japanese and Chinese teams was held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Hu City.

Tang Tian and Abu Du would not be playing, but they still appeared at the game in their substitute uniforms.

Their appearance drew a lot of attention and cheers from the audience.

Especially during the warm-up, the fans in the stadium chanted Tang Tian's name.

Tang Tian catered to the fans' cheers, performing a few relatively easy windmills and 360° turns, instantly igniting the atmosphere.

The live broadcast and the live experience were two completely different things.

Most of them usually watched Tang Tian play through live broadcasts.

Seeing it live now, whether it was the visual experience or the feeling in their hearts, it was on a completely different level.

A Chinese player who could easily complete windmills and 360s in front of you was exciting enough.

So the basketball World Cup craze this year was also expected.

Since the 2008 Olympics, basketball fans hadn't experienced an international tournament at their doorstep.

Not to mention that the Chinese team, as the defending Olympic champion, was ranked third in this year's FIBA World Cup, second only to the United States and Canada.

In other words, this was an opportunity to witness the national team winning the championship at home!

So their excitement had been as hot as the outdoor weather since the summer arrived.

After the warm-up, the starting lineups of the two teams were released one after another.

For the Chinese team, it was Guo Ailun, Wu Qian, Zhou Peng, Yi Jianlian, and Wang Zhelin.

For the Japanese team, it was Yuki Togashi, Yuta Baba, Yuta Watanabe, Rui Hachimura, and Nick Fazekas.

Because Tang Tian, Ding Yanyuhang, and Abu Du weren't playing, the Japanese team's star power wasn't inferior to the Chinese team's.

In addition to the NBA-level trio of Yuta Baba, Yuta Watanabe, and Rui Hachimura on the wing, Nick Fazekas was a naturalized player, and Yuki Togashi also had experience in the NBA Development League.

Even Makoto Hiejima, who was sitting on the bench, had played in this year's Summer League.

On the Chinese team, only Yi Jianlian had NBA experience, and Guo Ailun had only played in the Summer League.

It was at this time that the fans noticed that Tang Tian and Abu Du were sitting at the very end of the bench in training uniforms, and it seemed that they wouldn't be playing tonight.

Although a little disappointed, the fans quickly focused their attention on the game itself.

Playing against the Japanese team, who were living a good life, always excited the fans, no matter the sport.

The game started quickly, and Yi Jianlian won the first offensive opportunity for the Chinese team.

The Chinese team started with a Horns offense.

Guo Ailun used Yi Jianlian's screen to break straight to the basket, turned around, and scored a layup in the face of Fazekas.

The goal was beautiful, and it drew cheers from the fans at the scene.

But in return, Hachimura made a mid-range jump shot under Yi Jianlian's defense with a step-back.

His playing style was very similar to Anthony, and his mid-range shot was really solid.

Guo Ailun's next breakthrough in the frontcourt was defended by Hachimura, and Guo Ailun didn't pass the ball out, and his forced shot hit the iron.

Fazekas grabbed the rebound, and the Japanese team directly launched a defensive counterattack.

Yuta Watanabe rushed to the frontcourt like the wind, and scored a fast break after receiving a pass from Yuki Togashi.

The Japanese team had a very good start.

Guo Ailun held the ball in the frontcourt again, and the Japanese team adjusted their defensive strategy at this time, and began to play a 2-3 zone defense.

This was clearly aimed at Guo Ailun's breakthrough style of play.

The Chinese team passed the ball around the outside without a chance, and Yi Jianlian finally received a甩锅 (shuaiguo) pass from Guo Ailun and didn't make the shot against Hachimura's defense.

Hachimura grabbed the long rebound and directly launched a counterattack, causing Yi Jianlian's defensive foul.

There was a commotion at the side of the court, and the Chinese team was suppressed by the Japanese team from the start.

During Hachimura's free throw opportunity, Li Chunjiang directly called Guo Ailun to the sidelines and started scolding him directly.

The Horns offense was a relatively common tactic in international competitions, and the No. 1 player who initiated the tactic was very important.

There was no problem with Guo Ailun's small-on-big selection in the opening goal, but the two times after that, he didn't pass the ball out once and didn't dare to shoot once, which was obviously not up to his requirements.

Tang Tian was watching at the end of the bench at this time.

Guo Ailun's playing style hadn't changed much in the past two years, and this was also a key factor preventing him from moving to a higher stage.

But Li Chunjiang was also a really ruthless person.

Seeing the unconvinced look on Guo Ailun's face, he turned around and called Zhao Jiwei up from behind him and directly replaced him.

Hachimura made a free throw, and Zhao Jiwei replaced Guo Ailun for the Chinese team.

Hachimura made the second free throw as well.

6 to 2, the Japanese team suppressed the Chinese team at the start.

There was a lot of commotion at the side of the court, as it was rare for the Chinese team to be so passive against the Japanese team at the start.

Japanese basketball had obviously improved in the past two years with mixed-race players and naturalization.

After replacing Guo Ailun, Li Chunjiang also made a new tactical gesture.

The Chinese team switched from Horns to Diamond.

The so-called Diamond was named because the formation after settling down looked like a diamond.

This was also one of the commonly used tactics in international competitions.

After Zhao Jiwei held the ball in the frontcourt, the other players settled down one after another.

Wu Qian stood under the basket, Zhou Peng stood outside the free-throw line, and Wang Zhelin and Yi Jianlian were on either side of the free-throw line.

Wu Qian used Yi Jianlian's screen to run outward, moving to 45 degrees outside the three-point line on the right.

At the same time, Zhou Peng moved to 45 degrees outside the three-point line on the left.

Wu Qian received the ball and passed it back to Zhao Jiwei, then used Yi Jianlian's screen to cut straight to the basket.

At this time, Zhou Peng moved up to the vicinity of the free-throw line again, and Wu Qian also used Wang Zhelin's screen to run to the 45-degree angle on the left.

After such a tactical run, Wu Qian ran an "8" shape, completely pulling the Japanese team's defense, and there were many mismatches on the court.

Yi Jianlian received a pass from Zhao Jiwei at this time, faked a shot outside the three-point line to fly Baba Yuta, and flew directly to the basket.

The Japanese team didn't have time to help defend and could only watch Yi Jianlian take off.

"Boom!"

Yi Jianlian's powerful one-handed dunk directly ignited the emotions of the audience.

Compared with the relatively stilted Horns offense at the beginning, this Diamond play was very successful.

This goal also inspired the morale of the Chinese team, and they successfully defended a wave of attacks from the Japanese team.

Attacking the frontcourt again, Zhao Jiwei and Yi Jianlian played a pick-and-roll. After the screen, Yi Jianlian received the ball and broke into the inside. After encountering a double-team, he passed it to Wu Qian in the corner in time.

Wu Qian received the ball and quickly took a three-pointer.

"Swish!"

A crisp sound.

Wu Qian's three-pointer went into the net.

Cheers erupted from the scene.

In this segment, the Chinese team scored a 5-0 run, instantly reversing the score!

Tang Tian also clapped his hands at this time.

There was still a gap between the CBA and the NBA.

Not to mention personal ability, just the details of handling the ball.

Guo Ailun's two previous ball-handling attempts were completely different from Yi Jianlian's two results.