In the third round of the group stage, the Chinese men's basketball team defeated Venezuela with a group score of 1:2, successfully retaining the possibility of qualifying.
On the other hand, the results of the other two games in the third round have also been announced.
As Wang Feng remembered, both the United States and France narrowly defeated their opponents by small margins.
"It's stable now!"
Gong Luming couldn't hide his excitement on his face.
"Now, like Serbia, we are both 1:2. Their opponent in the next round is the United States, and the probability of winning is extremely small. According to this plan, even if we lose to Australia in the fourth round, we can win in the last round.
A direct confrontation with Serbia to compete for the right to qualify from the group!"
"It's just..." the leader of the men's basketball team said with some worry. "Are you sure you have to hide your clumsiness in the game against Australia? This plan is still somewhat risky. If we fail to defeat Serbia..."
Hearing this, Gong Luming shook his head.
"It makes no difference whether we win against Australia or not. Suppose we win against Australia but lose to Serbia in the last round, then the record will be 2:3. With the same points, the difference in points will be absolute.
Even though we are at a disadvantage, we still cannot advance out of the group.”
"Therefore, defeating Serbia and taking the lead in the group points is the key to successfully qualifying! Wang Feng has to continue to hide his strength in the game against Australia and bet everything on the last game!"
…
August 11, the fourth round of Group A.
This game starts at 1:15 am Beijing time.
But even so, many people still stayed up late to watch this live game.
The victory against Venezuela rekindled the hope of many fans. As long as they can win one more game, it is very possible to qualify from the group!
However, the Chinese fans who stayed up all night were disappointed again.
68:93.
The Chinese men's basketball team lost to the Australian men's basketball team by 25 points.
Arab League scored 20 points and 9 rebounds, and Guo Ailun had 11 points and 5 assists. However, Wang Feng's performance was once again poor and he only scored 5 points in 15 minutes of playing time.
As a result, the score of the Chinese men's basketball team in the group stage became 1:3.
What makes Chinese fans even more desperate is that Serbia, the opponent of the Chinese men's basketball team in the last round of the group stage, fought fiercely to the last minute in the match with the United States, almost overturning the United States team, shocking the United States team and the Chinese team.
The national men's basketball team was all in a cold sweat.
The former did not expect their opponent to be so tenacious, while the latter was afraid that the United States team would really capsize in the gutter. With Serbia 2:2, the previous plans of Wang Feng and Gong Luming became a joke.
In the eyes of the majority of Chinese fans, Serbia was actually able to score 91:94 with the American team. It is conceivable that the Chinese men's basketball team is so strong. How could the Chinese men's basketball team be an opponent?
However, regardless of whether they are opponents or not, whether they can qualify or not depends on the final round of the group stage.
The Chinese men's basketball team and Serbia, whose group points are both 1:3, will face off directly in this final round, fighting each other to get the last qualifying spot!
…
August 15th, the final round of Group A.
China Men's Basketball Team VS Serbia.
The remaining four teams have all finished this round.
The United States narrowly defeated France 100:97.
Australia defeated Venezuela 81:56.
As a result, the United States, Australia, and France have all determined to qualify from the group, ranking among the top three in the group stage.
The last qualifying spot is the winner between the Chinese men's basketball team and Serbia.
Serbia plays standard team basketball. Unlike France and Australia, which have many active NBA players, only two of Serbia's 12-man roster are active NBA players, and that is Nuggets center Nikolay Yo.
Kitchen and Nets' Bojan Bogdanovic.
Jokic, who just entered the NBA as a second-round pick last season, averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in the 2015-16 season, and was selected to the All-Rookie Team. However, at this time, he is far from the same player who won two consecutive awards a few years later.
Regular season MVP winner.
Team-oriented Serbia has no player with particularly outstanding scoring average per game, but with exquisite teamwork, the players have performed well on the court and have extremely rich experience in regional zone defense. Even the American team has difficulty in taking advantage of Serbia's zone defense.
Tear open the defense line.
The advantage of the Chinese men's basketball team in the interior is not obvious in front of Serbia.
"The key to winning the game really depends on me..."
Before the game started, Wang Feng looked at Serbia warming up on the other side and thought to himself.
It's the last game. Even if Wang Feng wants to hide his weakness, it's impossible. The real strength gap between the two teams is huge. If Wang Feng doesn't intervene, the Chinese men's basketball team will definitely lose by a huge score.
“Success or failure depends on this!”
The game begins and players from both teams appear.
For the Huaguo men's basketball team, the starting lineup has changed significantly compared to the previous game. Wang Feng returned to the starting lineup, and Wang Zhelin replaced Zhou Qi in the starting lineup.
Serbia's starting five are Jokic, Bosevic, Kalenic, Markovic and Bogdanovic.
The two teams jumped the ball, and Wang Zhelin moved the basketball to his side first.
Guo Ailun dribbled the ball past half court and passed the ball directly to Wang Feng without a moment's delay.
Wang Feng, holding the ball in both hands, stood at the top of the three-point line and looked at the defender in front of him.
The person responsible for guarding Wang Feng is Bojan Bogdanovic, the only NBA player in the Serbian team who is 2.03 meters tall and plays the role of small forward.
Bogdanovic's future achievements will be slightly worse than Jokic's, but he also averaged 18+4 per game during his peak period, which is pretty good in the NBA.
But like Jokic, 2016 was only his second year in the NBA, and at this time his level was far from what it would be in the future.
Staring at Bogdanovich, Wang Feng raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Aren't you going to press forward and defend me? Do you want to maintain a good zone defense formation with other teammates?"
Indeed, based on Wang Feng's performance in previous games, it seems that it is not necessary, but! This game is different.
From Bogdanovic's perspective, Wang Feng, who received the pass, stood one step away from the top of the three-point line. He didn't even make a three-threat gesture. The next second, he took off on the spot and jumped high into the air.
, raise your hand to shoot.
"Are you taking action from this position? So decisive?"
He was stunned for a moment, but he immediately reacted and rushed forward to defend. However, due to his position at the back, he was still half a beat too late.
"brush!"
The basketball flew through the sky and then hit the net.
Three points are valid!
Wang Feng got off to a good start with a pull-up three-pointer from the very beginning!
Serbia served from the baseline and sent the ball across the half court. The defender used the pick-and-roll to rush to the basket, attract the defense and pass the ball to the outside.
But at this moment, a figure suddenly shot out of the air, intercepted the pass, and directly controlled the ball and ran towards the frontcourt.
Interceptor badge activated!
Bogdanovich immediately chased Wang Feng, but during the run, he was shocked to find that he could not catch up with Wang Feng!
Wang Feng, who went straight to the basket, made a pull-up layup to avoid the block of the chasing player behind him, and easily put the basketball into the basket.
5:0!
Wang Feng, who had been holding back for a long time in the first four games, finally showed his sharp teeth!