So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 293 We are the gold medal!

How would you describe the start of this game?
Let's put it this way, Meng Lang fought alone against the "Dream Team". At the end of the first quarter, the score between the two sides was 30 to 33. Meng Lang scored 20 points and 3 assists in a single quarter. In other words, out of the 30 points of the Chinese men's basketball team, only 4 points had nothing to do with him.

Everything else is related to him.

In addition to being very efficient today, there is another point...

The people from the "Dream Team" that came this time were no match for him.

Kidd and Gary Payton are both absolute defensive stalwarts at the point guard position, but their size is just a gift to Meng Lang.

There was no way to launch any effective attack on Meng Lang.

And Grant Hill and his teammates on the forward line are not defensive stalwarts either.

To defend Meng Lang, they had to double-team him, which gave Meng Lang the opportunity to play the game. To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the other players on the Chinese men's basketball team lost their accuracy in this game, Meng Lang would not have only gotten 3 assists in the first quarter.

Maybe it will be the Chinese men's basketball team that takes the lead into the next quarter.

In the following games, Tomjanovich became more and more frightened. He thought that the most difficult person to deal with must be Meng Lang, but the American men's basketball team still used inertia when selecting players and formed a team with a large group of superstars.

Because in the past, it was this talented "Dream Team" that crushed its opponents one after another.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any unexpected events in "Dream 4".

but now……

Look at this game. All the members of the “Dream Team 4” combined couldn’t beat Meng Lang alone.

This situation continued into the second quarter of the game.

Meng Lang continued to "kill anyone who stands in his way, and kill anyone who stands in his way". At the end of the first half, his total score in this game had reached 35 points. Fortunately, in the second half, the other players of the Chinese men's basketball team were also tired, giving them more energy to double-team Meng Lang.

At 8 minutes and 34 seconds in the fourth quarter, the "Dream Team" had established a 10-point advantage.

In the end, Meng Lang scored 58 points, but still failed to lead the Chinese men's basketball team to win the first victory in the opening game.

However, foreign media were still stunned.

Because under his leadership, the Chinese men's basketball team lost to the "Dream Team 90" 99-. This was the first time in the Olympics that the final lead of the "Dream Team" did not exceed double digits.

For Meng Lang and the Chinese men's basketball team, they made history.

Of course, there was no excitement on Meng Lang's face.

What's there to be happy about when you lose to a bunch of "losers" even if you break the historical record?

and……

This match was only the first in the group stage, and everyone was still adapting. He believed that his teammates would be in better shape the next time they met the "Dream Team". And what he had to do was to play better than this match, and maybe he could prevent the "Dream Team" from losing in the Olympics earlier.

The American media did not know that Meng Lang was already planning to defeat the "Dream Team". They breathed a sigh of relief. For them, playing against the Chinese men's basketball team was like overcoming a major hurdle.

The next opponent will not be so difficult to deal with.

However, ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel.

Italy and New Zealand were easy to deal with, but the next one, Lithuania, made them feel again what "tricky" meant.

I thought it was 2002?

Wake up, it’s already the year 2000!

The new century has arrived, and it’s time to wake up from your dream of becoming a “basketball powerhouse”.

The gap between us is no longer as big as it was before...

So even though the "Dream Team" eventually ended their group stage journey with a perfect record, everyone could see that Tomjanovich's face was full of worry.

As for the Chinese men's basketball team, after losing to the "Dream Team", they won consecutive games all the way to the end and finally qualified as the second in the group.

Facing Spain in the quarterfinals, the Chinese men's basketball team defeated them by 8 to 99, a 87-point victory, breaking the best record of the Chinese men's basketball team in the Olympics.

In the semi-finals, they met Lithuania, who also gave them a 4-point victory.

On the other side, the "Dream Team" met the French men's basketball team in advance and finally won by only 6 points.

Just looking at the momentum of the two teams before the finals, there is no doubt that the Chinese men's basketball team looks more likely to win the championship.

In fact, at this point, the worst the Chinese men's basketball team could do was win a silver medal.

This time we can say that we have exceeded our target.

but……

The gold medal is right in front of you, who would be satisfied with a silver medal?

Moreover, Jiang Xingquan is also a head coach who is good at creating a good atmosphere. When he was coaching before, his words "If we lose, it's my fault, and if we achieve success, it's yours" made everyone excited.

Before the game started, he also said directly: "The opportunity to make history is right in front of us. If we win, you will be the eternal legend of the Chinese men's basketball team!"

These are a group of old guys who have represented the Chinese men's basketball team in several international competitions.

What they want is actually a perfect ending.

So Chiang's words made them extremely excited.

On the other side, the "Dream Team" gritted their teeth when they saw that they were facing the Chinese men's basketball team again.

The stalemate with the French team has made them look very solemn.

On one hand, I felt like I was full of energy, while on the other hand, I had all kinds of thoughts in my mind.

This was fully reflected in the following opening.

At 6 minutes and 45 seconds into the first quarter, the Chinese men's basketball team was leading with a score of 13 to 8. In this game, Meng Lang changed his style of play, focusing on personal containment and allowing his teammates to improve their condition as much as possible.

In the last game when he faced the American men's basketball team, his personal destructive power was too strong, so the "Dream Team" focused on keeping a close eye on Meng Lang from the beginning.

This gave the Chinese men's basketball team an opportunity. The other players did not play well at the start of the previous game, but in this game when the defense was not so tight, they broke out into excellent form.

Hu Weidong and Xiao Yao, one in the inside and the other on the outside, made the "Dream Team"'s defense a little "not caring about the head but the butt".

Tomjanovich had no choice but to call a timeout.

Rearrange tactics.

But now he was a little hesitant...

Because he felt that this time the opponent would definitely let Meng Lang take the lead in the attack.

But what if, it’s not?

Damn, these guys who play tactics are so dirty!

He expressed deep contempt.

It's more tiring than having a girlfriend.

In the end, he chose to defend others. As expected, Meng Lang took back the ball at this time and started the "one-on-one battle" alone.

At the end of the first quarter, the Chinese men's basketball team was still in the lead, with a lead of 10 points.

Well, a new record was created. This is the first time that a team leads the "Dream Team" by so many points.

Of course, at this point, what's the point of just breaking such insignificant little records?

If you're going to do it, do it big!
For example, defeating the "Dream Team 4"!
Everyone says that the "Dream Team 00" is weak, but in fact, the "Dream Team 4" in also has a group of players who have not yet proven themselves in the playoffs.

In this lineup, the best players are Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning, but one of them made it to the finals, and the other made it to the Western Conference finals. Neither of them has ever seen a real big scene.

Tomjanovich looked at Meng Lang and recalled the nightmare of the 94-95 season.

But as a legendary NBA head coach, he quickly adjusted his thinking and started thinking from scratch.

This was not the first time they had met the Chinese men's basketball team on such a stage. In the last game, they ultimately won because the other players on the Chinese men's basketball team had run out of energy, and the "Dream Team" resolutely double-teamed Meng Lang.

Ok……

That’s the idea.

The "Dream Team" decisively changed its formation and began to avoid Meng Lang and focus on other points in the following period of time.

The goal is to make the opponent tired by constant impact.

The effect was somewhat effective. At the end of the second quarter, they narrowed the score difference to single digits. In the third quarter, the effect became even more significant, and the 10-point difference was quickly reduced to only 3 points.

Lao Jiang called for a timeout several times, but it didn't have enough effect.

At 1 minute and 45 seconds into the fourth quarter, the "Dream Team" completed the reversal, and after this goal, one could see that these guys couldn't help but feel a little relieved.

On the domestic commentary platform, several commentators sighed with regret: "It is already remarkable enough to be ahead for such a long time, but the gap in our overall strength is still too big. Even with Da Meng, we can't withstand the opponent who are all All-Stars!"

In front of the Chinese men's basketball team's bench, Meng Lang looked at the players gasping for breath and asked, "How long can you hold on?"

No one spoke, because they themselves didn't know how long they could hold on with their physical strength.

"Well, you just need to pay attention to my position, catch my pass, and pass the ball to me when I pass by!"

His words were full of confidence, which stunned everyone. It was at this time that they realized that Meng Lang's eyes were frighteningly bright, as if he was full of confidence. They nodded. Although they still didn't know Meng Lang's fighting style, now that Meng Lang said so, they could only choose to believe it.

The game started again. Meng Lang looked at the "Buddha's Light Shining Everywhere" that lit up on the system screen, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved up.

Everyone is equal in front of the "hang", including the "Dream Team Four".

However, the opponent obviously did not expect Meng Lang to get the strongest buff, and they cheered each other on.

Now they no longer think about winning by more than 10 points and regaining their face.

The current situation is...

As long as we can win, it’s already the best result!
Anyway, the undefeated record of the "Dream Team" cannot be ruined by these people.

Otherwise, they might have to swim back from Sydney.

In the first ball after returning, Kevin Garnett used his mobility to single out Wang Zhizhi and scored, and the score difference came to 3 points.

Tomjanovich nodded slightly, now more stable.

Of course he thought so in his heart. He was not idle at all on the sidelines and immediately shouted to the court: "Hurry up and force the ball out of Dream's hands."

Gary Payton felt he had pounced hard enough.

only……

Before he could get close, Meng Lang made a three-pointer and evened the score difference.

Hardaway, who was sitting on the bench, and Grant Hill, who was on the court, looked at each other. They saw what they wanted to express in each other's eyes:
not……

Is that moment coming again?

"Don't let them shoot three-pointers, get out of here!" Meng Lang shouted.

Today he is going to teach these foreigners what “three points are always one more point than 2 points” means.

Ray Allen was on the court at this time. Facing the opponent's fierce defense, he took a three-point shot, but missed!

Fortunately, Kevin Garnett grabbed the rebound under the basket and passed it to Alonso on the other side. Alonso dunked the ball, but was directly knocked away by Yao Ming from behind.

Hu Weidong protected the rebound, dribbled to the frontcourt, and broke through with the ball, scaring the defender in front of him to quickly return to his defensive position.

But at this time, Hu Weidong walked back, Meng Lang went around him, took the ball in his hand, and shot another three-pointer at such a fast speed that his whole body didn't even feel stable.

But the ball seemed to have eyes and fell straight into the basket.

The Chinese men's basketball team re-established a 3-point lead.

At this time, all the places in the country that were watching the game burst into huge cheers.

The game continues in the following time...

The "Dream Team" panicked when they saw that they were falling behind again.

At this time, this "Dream Team" also exposed their problems. Several people on the field, including Meng Lang's good brother Grant Hill, did not have the ability to play key balls.

At the critical moment, each one was more lenient than the other.

Kevin Garnett missed the layup from close range.

The moment Yao Ming grabbed the rebound, the entire "Dream Team" panicked.

Mourning was anxious to grab the rebound and committed a foul.

At first he thought it was no big deal, because in his impression, giants like this who were 2 meters tall usually had poor touch.

but……

"Shh!"

"Shh!"

Yao Ming made two consecutive free throws to let Mourning know.

Nothing is easier to score than free throws.

The score difference came to 5 points.

All over the country where the game was being watched, there was a huge cheer.

Hold on for another 5 minutes, hold on for another 5 minutes!

Ray Allen stepped up this time and responded to the Chinese men's basketball team with a three-pointer, narrowing the score to 2 points.

However, no one smiled, they all looked for Meng Lang as soon as possible.

The game of "Eagle Catches Rabbit" was played on the field. The five "eagles" failed to catch the "rabbit" Meng Lang, and even used the "rabbit kicks the eagle" trick on him.

"Shh!"

With this ball, even the Chinese men's basketball team couldn't help but hold their heads.

Because when Meng Lang made his move, the center of gravity of his entire body was floating in the air.

After he threw the ball, he rolled all over.

But the ball still went in!

Ray Allen's three-pointer was responded.

The morale of the Chinese men's basketball team was greatly boosted by Meng Lang's magical "three-point performance". They suddenly forgot about their tiredness and became full of energy.

In the end, the score was 99 to 90, a difference of 9 points, and the Chinese men's basketball team eliminated the "Dream Team" in the finals.

We are the gold medal!

(End of this chapter)