Don't talk trash to him.

Chapter 18 Breakthrough and Regret

The best result of the Puerto Rican men's basketball team in the Olympics was the "top four".

But that was in 1964, a full 40 years ago.

All the players on the current Puerto Rican men's basketball team were not born at that time.

They are eager to create a new "legend". The first defeat of the American "Dream Team" in the international competition is enough to make their names leave a strong mark in the history of FIBA.

But this is not enough!

There was desire in both parties' eyes.

The game was a fierce battle from the beginning.

Arroyo's role to Puerto Rico is like Yao Ming's to the Chinese men's basketball team.

He established a new offensive system for Puerto Rico, and his teammates were full of energy under his leadership.

The Chinese men's basketball team, which has always been as good as any team in the first quarter and can compete with the "Dream Team", fell behind by 7 points in the first quarter. At the end of the half, they were trailing by 13 points.

Arroyo played very well in the first half, scoring 7 points and 6 assists.

Del Harris shook his head slightly.

Even if it's Su Wan, it still won't work!

He had no intention of blaming Su Wan.

NBA star guards can't limit Arroyo, Suwan can't do it...

It’s actually quite normal.

Judging from the results in the first half, Suwan's defense did have a certain effect.

All of Arroyo's shots were interfered and he missed all five shots in the first half.

However, his low center of gravity, agile body shape, and extremely fast speed under his height of 1 meters make his breakthroughs difficult to defend. Su Wan often needs his teammates to help with defense or double-team him to limit his breakthroughs.

This gave him the opportunity to break through and pass the ball.

6 assists and only 1 turnover!
But just when Del Harris thought they were going to lose to Arroyo alone like the "Dream Team 6".

In the second half, Suwan suddenly became like a different person on the defensive end. His body became light and agile, and he perfectly followed Arroyo's small steps. He also repeatedly and accurately positioned himself, forcing Arroyo to "brake" when he was about to take a step, and successfully defended his breakthrough alone.

Arroyo's breakthroughs were no longer sharp, and his touch had not been there since the first half, and his personal offensive threat was reduced to the minimum. The Chinese men's basketball team did not need to double-team his breakthroughs, and his passing threat was also reduced to the minimum.

He was like Cheng Yaojin who had just used his "three tricks", and his presence on the court was completely different from that in the first half.

Suwan not only defended Arroyo on the defensive end, but also began to exert his strength on the offensive end, especially Yao Ming helped with the pick-and-roll, and his breakthrough dunks became a beautiful landscape on the court.

The score difference was only 4 points.

At this time, Yao Ming committed two fouls in a row. Together with the two fouls in the first half, with three minutes left in the third quarter, Yao Ming's foul count reached four.

FIFA basketball rules: A player will be sent off if he commits 5 fouls.

In order to ensure Yao Ming could continue to stay on the court in the fourth quarter, Del Harris had to replace him.

Yao Ming himself was also very upset. When he left the court, he took the towel handed to him by the staff and threw it hard on the bench. - Breaking the Olympic record of the Chinese men's basketball team was his dream, and he was really unwilling to let this opportunity be ruined in his hands.

He looked at Su Wan, who was standing on the court with his hands on his hips waiting for the game to resume, with an earnest look in his eyes:
You must hold on!
Not only him, but all the domestic fans in front of the TV also placed their hopes on Su Wan at this moment.

They had heard about Su Wan's stories in the summer league, but for Chinese fans, they always felt uneasy without Yao Ming on the court, even though Su Wan had just performed very well and it was he who blew the horn for this counter-attack.

The only one who was happy at the moment was probably Battelle, who had just come on as a substitute. When his big black bear-like body came on the court, his steps felt light and brisk. He was complaining in his heart:
Why are you so proud of me? Didn't you still make mistakes at the critical moment? You have never won a championship ring, but you think you are a big shot with some statistics? You still need me to save the situation?
This was the happiest moment for him after the conflict with Yao Ming that day. When the game resumed, he actively asked for the ball, hoping to become the "savior" and save the Chinese men's basketball team at this moment. Su Wan did not insist on playing by himself. If Battelle scored right at the start, the opponent would definitely continue to shrink the defense line, which would indeed make it easier for him to attack with the ball on the outside.

However, Battelle's threat under the basket is far inferior to Yao Ming's.

He was blocked on his first attack. Du Feng risked falling to the ground, grabbed the rebound and passed it back to Su Wan.

Battelle continued to ask for the ball. Su Wan saw his weakness and decided not to give him the ball. He asked him to go for a screen. But Battelle looked at him as if he had seen a ghost and did not come up for a screen.

Su Wan looked at the 4-point difference and the fact that Puerto Rico had obviously breathed a sigh of relief after the previous attack failed. He frowned slightly and simply called a timeout.

Del Harris didn't know what Suwan wanted to do, so he quickly approached Suwan, waiting for his thoughts.

After Su Wan came off the court, he waited on the sidelines, his eyes fixed on Bater coming to him.

"If you don't want to do pick-and-roll, don't want to play well, and don't want to win this game, then you can just put on the Spurs uniform and sit on the bench right now!" He said this with a cold face, shocking everyone, including Battelle.

He has never spoken to Su Wan since the men's basketball training camp, and I have the impression that he is not a talkative person. How dare he get angry at me now?
Does this guy know where he was when I played for the national team for the first time?

It’s all Yao Ming’s fault. If he hadn’t contradicted me in public, how could a newcomer dare to talk to me like this!
Battelle's face was calm and his eyes seemed to be filled with poison.

Su Wan waved directly at Mo Ke: "Brother Mo, come up!"

Now everyone's expression looked even more strange. However, after listening to the translation of the person next to him, Del Harris understood Suwan's request and actually asked Mo Ke to replace Battelle to cooperate with Suwan in pick-and-roll.

The Chinese men's basketball team's offense, which had been stagnant for a round, became smooth again, and before the end of the third quarter, they had tied the score difference to 12 points.

In the third quarter, Suwan not only locked down Arroyo, but also scored 14 points and 4 assists on the offensive end.

At 3 minutes and 14 seconds in the fourth quarter, Yao Ming returned to the court and the Chinese men's basketball team's momentum rose again. In the end, they defeated Puerto Rico by 78 points, 67 to 11.

A historic moment is born:

Chinese men's basketball team advances to the top four of the Olympics!
Su Wan, who scored 27 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the game, is definitely the "biggest contributor" to the Chinese men's basketball team's historical breakthrough.

As soon as the game ended, everyone on the bench of the Chinese men's basketball team rushed towards Su Wan, who was sitting on the ground, including Del Harris. Coaching the Chinese men's basketball team to the "top four" was such an fulfilling thing!
Except for Bater, everyone else's face was filled with complicated expressions.

Many people saw the scene where Su Wan yelled at him after calling a timeout. He was worried that reporters would ask him about this after the game and how he should maintain his self-esteem.

But it turns out that:
He thinks too much!

No one in the domestic media cared what Su Wan shouted to him. They were reporting this historic moment with ecstasy.

Yao Ming's laughter once again became an "emoticon".

Su Wan said to the media: "Thanks to Yao Ming for letting me go to the summer league to train, I was able to grow like this." - The original owner was able to successfully participate in the draft, thanks to Yao Ming's haggling with the Sharks, and was able to play in the summer league with the help of Yao Ming, plus the agent, although not the one Su Wan liked, but at least solved a lot of troubles for him. These favors were owed by the original owner, but as a beneficiary, he also had to repay them. Today happened to be an opportunity, and it was a matter of convenience.

Wade and LeBron were also watching the game. The "Dream Team" was kicked out, and they felt a certain amount of pressure to come and watch Suwan play at this time. So they didn't come forward to congratulate. - LeBron didn't want to come, but Wade felt that Suwan shared the same ideals with him. LeBron was worried about him coming alone.

-Uncle, this guy beat Allen Iverson and Stephen Marbury by himself, and you only let him score 2 points in the second half. That's awesome!

Wade sent a message to Suwan, his attention was on Suwan's performance on the court. LeBron had a broader vision, and he noticed Suwan yelling at his teammates, which made him feel uneasy.

It's a pity that the Chinese men's basketball team failed to go further. In the semi-finals, they met Italy again and lost to the opponent again. In the "bronze medal battle" facing the "stick group" of Lithuania, they also fell short and lost by 6 points, falling at the closest place to the medal.

Coach Zhang said: "Except for Xiaosu, physical fitness is the biggest problem of the men's basketball team. If this problem can be solved reasonably, this group of people is likely to win the first medal of the men's basketball team in the Olympics!"

He had one more thing to say, and he didn't dare to say it:
If Wang Zhizhi could return to the national team...

In the next Olympic Games, the Chinese men's basketball team will be the host.

The right time and place, only the right people are missing!
Suwan was somewhat surprised that after the game with Lithuania, he received a text message from Danny Ferry, general manager of the Cavaliers:
—Uncle, it’s a pity that we almost beat Lithuania, but it’s already great. In my opinion, you are the best performer in this Olympics, no doubt about it!

(End of this chapter)