Chapter 103: The Quarterfinals

The US men's basketball team had just secured a big win when they heard that the Chinese team had won by 72 points.

Davis said, "How is that possible? Even we would have a hard time beating the AD men's basketball team by 72 points."

Kobe said, "With Wade Dong, the Chinese team is different."

James said, "I really want to know how many points Wade Dong scored in this game."

GOOGLE search TWKAN

Paul said, "Winning by forty points is enough. Winning by more than fifty points is meaningless."

Durant said, "That makes sense. I'll go on Twitter and complain a bit."

The US men's basketball team knew Wade Dong best. Too many people had played against Wade Dong, and except for Durant, everyone who had played against Wade Dong had lost to him. Durant's win was in the regular season, which didn't count. In the NBA, you only truly win if you beat someone in the playoffs.

James and the others were still guessing how many points Wade Dong had scored when someone told them that Wade Dong did not play in this game.

Kobe: "???"

James: "???"

Paul: "???"

When did the Chinese men's basketball team become so strong? They won by 72 points against the AD men's basketball team without Wade Dong playing? It seemed that the biggest opponent in this year's Olympics was the Chinese men's basketball team.

Only Kidd stroked his chin thoughtfully and asked, "Was Wade Dong standing on the sidelines giving tactical instructions the whole game?"

"Yes, only Coach Kidd understands Wade Dong."

Someone told Kidd, "In this game, the Chinese head coach Deng Hua sat on the bench the whole time. All the tactics were arranged by Wade Dong, including keeping the starters on the court during garbage time to score more points, which was also Wade Dong's arrangement."

"That explains it," Kidd nodded and left.

He couldn't stay and chat too much, or it would reveal that many of the tactics in the games against the Clippers, Lakers, and Heat were arranged by Wade Dong. How could he manage players like James then?

Paul and Durant couldn't contain their curiosity and found the video of the Chinese men's basketball team against the AD men's basketball team online when they returned to their rooms.

Seeing that they were leading by 40 points and still not taking out the starters, they understood why the Chinese team won by 72 points... Durant was really looking forward to having a coach like that, who would keep the starters on the court even with a big lead. Paul, on the other hand, had a dark expression throughout, especially when the score difference reached 58, Paul's eyes looked like they could kill.

....

No one doubted the strength of the Chinese men's basketball team anymore. Everyone was looking forward to the Chinese men's basketball team facing the US men's basketball team in the final.

There were two games left in the preliminary round.

As expected, the Chinese men's basketball team easily defeated the BZ men's basketball team and the host country E men's basketball team, advancing to the quarterfinals as the top team in Group B. In Group A, the top team was the US men's basketball team. The US men's basketball team, like the Chinese men's basketball team, won all five games in the preliminary round by large margins.

The quarterfinal matchups were announced.

August 8th, XB men's basketball team vs. LT men's basketball team.

August 8th, F men's basketball team vs. Chinese men's basketball team.

August 9th, EL men's basketball team vs. AG men's basketball team.

August 9th, BZ men's basketball team vs. US men's basketball team.

The semifinalists would come from these eight teams.

In the preliminary round, Wade Dong played four games and scored a total of 217 points, the highest among all male basketball players in this Olympics. The second-highest scorer was Durant, who scored 143 points in five games, 74 points less than Wade Dong.

....

August 8th.

The Chinese men's basketball team faced the F men's basketball team.

The F men's basketball team was also a strong opponent, with five players playing in the NBA, including Parker from the Spurs, who lost to Wade Dong's Suns in the first round of the playoffs.

In the Olympics, Wade Dong faced many familiar opponents who had lost to him in the playoffs.

In 2008, the Chinese men's basketball team also reached the Olympic quarterfinals. Four years later, they were back in the quarterfinals and had the potential to go even further. This was a moment for Chinese basketball fans.

Therefore, the viewership of this game in China was comparable to the NBA Finals.

Chinese Men's Basketball Starting Lineup: Wade Dong, Yi Nan, Wang Xin, Zhu Gui, Guo Yang.

F Men's Basketball Starting Lineup: Parker, Batum, Diaw, Turiaf, Noah.

In the last two games of the preliminary round, the young player Guo Yang performed well and began to stand out, so Coach Deng Hua put Guo Yang in the starting lineup for this game.

"Go China!"

"Go China!"

"Go China!"

Although the Olympics were held in Europe, which was like a home court for the F men's basketball team, the arena was filled with Chinese fans!

Red flags waved throughout the arena, cheering for the Chinese men's basketball team.

"Look at this," Wade Dong pointed to the fans who came to cheer, "We have to repay their support with a big win, right?"

"We must win big!"

Yi Nan and the others clenched their fists. Stopping at the quarterfinals was no longer their goal.

This year, the Chinese men's basketball team aimed to make history by reaching the semifinals... or even the final... to compete for the championship.

"Beep!!!"

As the referee blew the whistle, the game officially began.

Yi Nan and Turiaf jumped for the tip-off, and Yi Nan easily tipped the ball to Wade Dong.

Wade Dong dribbled to the frontcourt, and Parker and Noah came to double-team him. All the attention was on Wade Dong, but he didn't hesitate at all and passed the ball inside.

Wang Xin received the pass from Wade Dong and scored an easy layup.

2:0!

Because Wade Dong's scoring ability was so outstanding, many people forgot that he was also a master passer.

He took on the role of point guard for three games when Nash was injured, and just now, the F men's basketball team's attention was all on him. Wang Xin was open, and Wade Dong noticed it.

"Go China!"

"Go China!"

"Go China!"

The fans' enthusiasm grew even higher after the opening play.

Of course, the F men's basketball team was no pushover.

They combined the scoring style of the NBA with the precise teamwork of the European leagues, similar to the XB men's basketball team.

After Wade Dong and Wang Xin's play, the F men's basketball team responded in kind.

"Move, move!"

Wade Dong directed his teammates to move as he dribbled the ball. When the ball was in Wade Dong's hands, his teammates had a better chance of scoring easily, and he could pass the ball accurately to them.

Coach Deng Hua watched everything on the court with satisfaction!

Having a player like Wade Dong on the team made things much easier. For no reason, Deng Hua suddenly envied Kidd. He wondered if Kidd felt the same way when Wade Dong played for the Suns.

If the Chinese men's basketball team made it to the final,

Then he would have to face Kidd. They were both Wade Dong's coaches, and their confrontation on the sidelines would be very interesting.