Champion, please stay!

Chapter 277, Section 275: Making the Cake Bigger

The resounding victory over Greece was a crushing triumph, a result that even Yi Shui, who was very optimistic about the World Championships, had not anticipated.

After returning to the hotel after the match, Yi Shui browsed the news online and saw the shock European fans felt towards his performance, which made him realize what had happened.

American and domestic fans often watch his games and have witnessed his growth step by step, so they are already used to his playing style.

Similarly, NBA players have grown up alongside him on the court and have become accustomed to his playing style.

However, it has been two years since he last played in a major international tournament. In those two years, his physique and playing style have changed completely. He can be described as a player who has suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Most of his opponents have never encountered a player with his playing style before.

That's why European fans were so shocked, and why the Greek team was so chaotic in the first half.

If Greece weren't their first opponent, and we watched two of their games up close, given the defense they showed in the third quarter, they wouldn't have lost so badly even if they weren't their match. They might have played with the same intensity as in the third quarter.

However, since we've already defeated Greece, we don't need to worry about this opponent for now.

In the later stages of the group stage, there is only one opponent left to worry about.

It wasn't the traditional European powerhouse, Russia, but the Turkish team.

The Russian team has had a run of bad luck in the last two years. Many of their top players in the league have been injured, as have those who went to play in other countries. Last year, they only finished seventh in the European Championship and lost in the quarterfinals. They didn't even qualify directly for the World Championship and had to go through the qualifying rounds. They relied entirely on Mozgov's rim protection, while Yao Ming completely dominated the opposing team.

Turkey is not even as good as the unlucky Russian team. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals of last year's European Championship and suffered two consecutive defeats in ranking tournaments, losing head-on to a Russian team led only by Mozgov. They finished eighth, but…

Yi Shui's impression of this World Championships is already very vague; he only remembers two things.

The first thing – Durant's performance in world-class competitions was a game-changer.

Another thing – home-field advantage.

This "home advantage" refers only to the biased refereeing given to the host team, Turkey, which resulted in Turkey winning nine consecutive matches, eliminating Serbia in the semi-finals, and advancing directly to the finals, ultimately securing second place in the world.

However, if the schoolbag could dominate the Turkish team, Yi Shui thought, it shouldn't be too difficult for him, right?
...

The next morning, Yi Shui arrived at the Super Arena with the team to prepare for the match against Ivory Coast at 1 p.m.

The coaching staff explained the tactics and conducted a 20-minute tactical positioning drill, and that was it.

It's really difficult for Jonas to make thorough preparations for this opponent, because the opponent is too weak. Even if Yi Shui, Yao Ming, and Yi Jianlian can't compete, and Wang Zhizhi and Sun Yue lead the team, their strength is not inferior.

After training, the whole team went to the rest area together.

Turkey may have a unique national character, but it's true that it's very concerned about saving face. Even if it's not what it seems, it's willing to put on a show. The opening ceremony performance cost over 20 million euros, the accommodation arrangements were top-notch, and the facilities in the renovated stadium, apart from the stadium being a bit small and having limited seating, were on par with the 2008 Olympics. For example, the rest areas and physiotherapy rooms are things that Wukesong has, and the Super Arena also has them.

Yi Shui and the Guangdong group gathered together to talk about yesterday's match and the first-round rankings compiled by AFP.

Yi Jianlian said, "Don't mention fourth place. Look at the little giant who plays billiards, he's not even on the list. I feel ashamed when you say that. Gasol and Turkoglu aren't on the list either. The US team has a bunch of All-Stars."

He's really not bothered by being ranked fourth. After playing in the NBA for three years, his mentality is much more mature than when he first entered the league. He and his team have accepted that he is just a functional center in the NBA.

Yi Shui patted Yi Jianlian on the shoulder and said, "In the NBA, Marc Gasol, Hedo Turkoglu, and those All-Stars are more impactful than you, but it's a different story on the international stage."

Even without Yao Ming and me helping you last night, you could still score over 20 points against Greece. When you turn and cut in from the sideline, no one can stop you. Looking at points alone, you're second to none. Last year in the Asian Championship final, you scored 45 points to come back and defeat Iran. Apart from Durant, no one on the Dream Team could rival you.”

Yi Jianlian: Really?

Yi Shui: "Really!"

Yi Jianlian: "I don't believe it."

"..."

Yi Shui was speechless. Why didn't Lian Mei believe it? They played so well last night, almost smashing the opponent's basket in the first half. That wasn't just because he and Yao Ming created space; Yi Jianlian completely dominated the opponent's forwards and wing players.

His impression of the men's basketball team in this World Championship in the original timeline was that only Yi Jianlian achieved an average of 20+10, the only player among all 24 teams to achieve 20+10, with a field goal percentage as high as 55%, and also won the rebounding title. He was called the best center in this World Championship, and his performance in the paint ranked second only to Scola.

Seeing Yi Shui's speechless expression, Yi Jianlian laughed and said, "Who in this world can score more points than you? Anyway, thanks for saying that, I have even more confidence in myself now."

Yi Shui was helpless, but it was alright. He just wanted to give Yi Jianlian more confidence. Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, and Chris Bosh were not playing. Apart from Scola and Yao Ming, no one had a better inside offense than Yi Jianlian.

...

After lunch, Yi Shui and his teammates finished warming up and entered the stadium, where they were greeted by a packed stadium!
Before the World Championships began, tickets for any of Ivory Coast's matches, except for the match against the host country, were not sold more than 30% in advance. The expected attendance for Ivory Coast's other four matches was less than 50%, and the only match with more than 25% pre-sales had nearly 2,000 tickets purchased by Chinese fans.

But after the match between China and Greece yesterday evening, pre-sales surged to over 50% that night. This morning, long queues formed outside the Super Arena, and by 1 p.m., all tickets for the match were sold out!
At 1 p.m., when the match between the Chinese team and the Ivory Coast team was about to start, the host country Türkiye held an emergency meeting.

Changing stadium posters, altering TV program content for match previews, modifying airport billboards... For the match between China and Ivory Coast, most of the ticket buyers were not local Turkish fans, but fans from China, other parts of Asia, and Europe. Turkey earned much more than just the ticket money; they started making money from the moment those fans boarded their planes.

At the match venue, the fans started wave after wave of celebrations shortly after the game began.

The Emperor has taken off!

Originally, Yi Shui didn't plan to go all out against the Ivory Coast team. It was a biennial international tournament, and he wanted to let his teammates get more statistics against a weaker opponent.

But the fans' cheers were so enthusiastic that after he defeated Ivory Coast striker Mohammed Kaun to win the jump ball, tens of thousands of fans at the scene, including those from Europe, joined the domestic fans in chanting "Brother Bi".

His teammates also took the initiative to pass him the ball and pull him away, and he didn't hesitate at all, he just took the ball and started swinging!

These fans came for him, and most of them may only have this one chance in their lives to see him play, so let him shine!
With 3 minutes and 16 seconds left in the final quarter, Yi Shui hit a three-pointer. Following instructions, Zhang Zhaoxu committed a foul, and Jonas substituted Yi Shui out.

With 18 points in the first quarter, 13 points in the second quarter, and 21 points in the third quarter, Yi Shui's score reached 9 points in the final quarter after this three-pointer.

In the first half, Ivory Coast attempted some defense. After halftime, they started to triple-team Yi Shui with three players and double-team him from the high post... but this only prevented Yi Shui from driving into the box. They still couldn't stop him. The scene was like a college student entering kindergarten...

After leading 49-29 in the first half, the Chinese team didn't defend much in the second half, but the Ivory Coast team still only managed to score 29 points.

At 2:47 PM, the match ended with China defeating Ivory Coast 91-58.

However, the headlines of the match reports from major media outlets read: "Emperor 61-58 Defeats Ivory Coast"

出战33分16秒，易水32投20中，其中三分球13中9，加上14中12的罚球，狂轰61分！
Nine three-pointers made, breaking the previous record of eight three-pointers made in a single game set by Russian player Bazarev in the 1994 World Championship!
He scored 61 points, breaking the previous record of 54 points set by South Korean player Heo Jae at the 1990 World Championships!
Back in Istanbul, Curry, after waking up from a nap, looked at the game report on his phone and complained to Durant beside him, "I didn't expect that even abroad, it would be like in New York, with my phone screen filled with big news every day."

Durant, who was also looking at his phone, replied, "Big is different from everyone else. He's like Chamberlain, Jordan, born to redefine basketball... It must be amazing to play with him, right?"

Curry was speechless for a moment, then replied, "It's really comfortable to be teammates with Big. He has absolute trust in his teammates within their capabilities."

But when his teammates encounter situations they can't handle, he always steps up. Regardless of whether he can do it or not, he won't leave the trouble to his teammates, but will take responsibility for the consequences himself... and he always manages to create miracles!
When we played the Celtics, we were down 2-3, and I was almost in despair. But in the next game, he was still at the forefront, leading us to crush the Celtics, come back to win the Finals, and take the championship.

Curry was speechless when he saw Durant's eyes light up.

They've known each other for many years, since they met at the Charlotte National Junior Basketball Championship when they were 10 years old. At that time, Curry's team was the North Carolina Seabirds junior team, and Durant's team was the Maryland Jaguars junior team. Durant led his team to the national championship, while he finished eighth.

Over the years, Durant has become the best scorer in the NBA Western Conference, outscoring Kobe and Anthony.

But Curry still felt the same as before, no different from that shut-in guy next door in Charlotte who spent all his time playing video games and smoking opium.

...

Yi Shui became a sensation in the international basketball world during the 08 Olympics.

But at that time, there were many other events in the Olympics, there were super sprinters like Bolt, there were many other popular sports stars with wonderful performances, and the Dream Team's aura over basketball... Yi Shui's silver medal win that time had a limited impact on the international sports world.

This time it was different. At the end of August, there were no other major sporting events in the world except for the Basketball World Championship. Although the World Championship's influence is not as great as the Olympics, Yi Shui stole the show!

He even managed to attract more viewers to Türkiye to watch the game and stay in front of the TV to watch the live broadcast.

The seemingly insignificant match between China and Ivory Coast was watched by over 200 million people worldwide, conservatively estimated, because of China's crushing victory over Greece the previous day. Although more than half of those viewers were from the Chinese market, it still set a new viewership record for the World Championship group stage, second only to the 1994 World Championship knockout stage match between the United States and China.

Moreover, FIBA ​​would love for the highest viewership in the Chinese market, as it is a newly emerging super market comparable to Europe and the United States.

Yi Shui's performance also boosted online search rates for the World Championships. Not only did the search rates and discussions about the Chinese team and Yi Shui increase, but also those about the Argentine team and Scola, the American team and Durant, the Serbian team and Milicic, and so on. All participating teams, players, organizers, and even the sport of basketball benefited from this.

So, on the Chinese team's side, internationally renowned players such as Yi Shui, Yao Ming, and Yi Jianlian, along with basketball association officials, had just returned to their hotel after finishing physiotherapy and interviews in the evening when they were invited by the organizers and FIBA ​​to the provincial council hall of Ankara Province at No. 1 Barshat Street to discuss cooperation matters... that is, to shoot a promotional video for the Chinese team, preferably immediately, hoping to broadcast it on television the next day.

I also want to collaborate on a tourism promotional video.

The Basketball Association really can't make that decision. They can control Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, but the main problem is with Yishui. Even for the national team's group advertisements, Yishui charges separately.

Capitalists are very adept at handling things. After understanding the situation, they took the initiative to discuss the price with Yi Shui. Both Bartelstein and Shen Zhiyu came to Ankara with the men's basketball team. Yi Shui called the two of them over to talk about tourism promotion. This was a business collaboration, and the Basketball Association would charge them money, so he would also charge them separately.

Seeing this, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian also called their teams over.

The new promotional video for the World Championships was originally intended to be free for the Chinese Basketball Association, which wanted to save face and contribute to the development of the basketball industry. However, due to Yi Shui's strong intervention, they still received an advertising fee, which added some income for all the players on the team.

Of course, we didn't ask for much, just a token amount, to let FIBA ​​know that the new generation of Chinese men's basketball team is not going to be taken advantage of.

There's no rush to make a tourism promotional video; the agents of Yi Shui, Yao Ming, and Yi Jianlian have plenty of time to discuss things with Tu Fang. As for the World Championship promotional video, after the meeting, Yi Shui and his national team teammates got busy working on it.

This time he was unusually serious, telling his teammates: "Some things need to be done by someone. Even if we don't get much money, we have become a team that broke into the mainstream in this World Championship, and we have the conditions to expand the influence of basketball. We have a responsibility to do what we should do... The bigger the pie, the more we can earn."

The teammates thought it made a lot of sense. After winning the silver medal at the Olympics two years ago, every player, from the starters to the water cooler, got an endorsement deal... Everyone put a lot of effort into filming the promotional video, but some of them were so eager to show off their non-existent good looks that they looked particularly greasy.

The promotional videos for the athletes were filmed quickly. Each player was filmed individually with several cameras set up. When filming together, there wasn't much design required. They just used various parts of the Super Arena as a backdrop and said some polite words. It didn't take the Chinese team much time.

Late at night, when Yi Shui and his teammates returned to the hotel, the promotional materials had already been posted online by FIBA.

The next day, the 31st, was the morning of the Ankara team's rest day. When Yi Shui got up and turned on the TV, he saw a promotional video that FIBA ​​had edited overnight.

He watched it carefully, then called the agents from both China and the US who were there. They had received the promotional video in advance and had studied it with their teams. There was no content that would affect his or the men's basketball team's image, so the matter was temporarily put on hold. The team would then be responsible for discussing the tourism ambassador with Turkey.

If the cake is made big, the amount of cake for each person will definitely be different.

The men's basketball team was involved in filming a tourism promotional video, but Tu Fang separately invited Yi Shui to be the tourism ambassador for Istanbul, offering him an additional and higher income.

He didn't hide this from Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian. He would be happy for his two teammates if their own teams could negotiate more income, but he didn't care if they didn't.

On the morning of their rest day, Yi Shui rested. In the afternoon, he and the team arrived at the stadium at Ankara University, a separate training ground that Turkey had temporarily arranged for the Chinese men's basketball team the night before, for their preparations...

Whether it's an individual or a team, once their value is different, their treatment will also be different.

Previously, after the start of the World Championships, only the United States and Turkey had their own training facilities.

Other teams train at the training grounds in the competition venues, which is inconvenient. For example, the Ankara Super Arena has new facilities, but the arena is too small. There are only two large independent training courts, which are only used by the teams that are about to play a game. After the game, other teams use them. If you want to practice more, you have to go to the 'private rooms' that are usually rented out, which only have one court. Even shooting practice has to be done in rotation.

The Chinese team now has its own training venue.

Yi Shui didn't have any particular feelings about this. Whether in college or in the NBA, the better he played, the better treatment he received. For example, whenever his parents went to New York or wanted to travel, Walsh would ask the owner to lend them a private jet.

But his teammates felt completely different. Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi had participated in almost every major international competition since the beginning of the new century. Apart from the Olympics held in their own country, the treatment they received was indescribable. They never expected that such a day would come!
In the eyes of his teammates, all these benefits were brought about by the Yi River!

...

After a rest day, September 1st marked the third day of matches in Group C. At 3:30 PM, the Chinese team and the Puerto Rican team entered the stadium.

The stadium, which can accommodate 10,000 people, was packed again. Most of the people came for the Yishui River. The Puerto Rican players were chatting and complaining that they never expected to feel like they were playing an away game when they were playing an international match in Europe.

The competition began at 4 p.m.

The Puerto Rican team's short duo, Barea and Arroyo, are a beautiful sight at this World Championships, displaying both skill and accuracy!

Two days ago, Puerto Rico narrowly lost to Greece 80-83. If Arroyo's buzzer-beating three-pointer hadn't missed the rim, Puerto Rico, who led 50-33 in the second half, could have pulled off an upset.

In that game, Barea scored 27 points in total, including 19 points in the second half, while Arroyo scored 26 points in total, including 14 points in the second half.

Today, the short guy with two guns went on fire again! Sun Yue, Liu Wei, Wang Shipeng and others were beaten pretty badly.

Fortunately, the defense under the basket, guarded by Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Wang Zhizhi, Zhou Peng, and others, and the mid-range defense, protected by Yi Shui, were very effective.

Puerto Rico's star center, Pete Ramos, was shut down by Yi Shui-Yao Ming's defense. He played 26 minutes, making only 2 of 9 shots and scoring just 6 points. Puerto Rico's team scored only 25 points in close-range shots and a mere 8 points from mid-range shots. Even with a total of 40 points from the top of the arc, high post, and wings, their total score was only 73 points.

中国队这边，易水出场28分钟，11投6中，其中三分球4中2，加上3中3的罚球，拿到17分8板5助攻1抢断3盖帽；

姚明打了29分钟，7投5中，加上4中4的罚球，拿到14分5板2助攻2盖帽；

易建联出场32分钟，15投9中，其中三分球1中1，加上8中6的罚球，拿到全队最高的25分，外加12板1抢断1盖帽，率领中国队以85比73力克波多黎各队！
Tonight, they stuck to their established offensive strategy: after Yi Shui and Yao Ming created threats, Yi Jianlian would become the primary finisher.

However, compared to the steps planned before the World Championships began, one step was missing – the process of Yi Shui and Yao Ming creating a threat was omitted.

At 3:30 pm on the 2nd, Yi Shui and his teammates arrived at the Super Arena again. Today's opponent was the Russian team.

When Yi Shui greeted Mozgov, his eyes were filled with sympathy.

Russia started the group stage with two consecutive wins, but lost to Turkey 56-62 last night. Russia led Turkey 50-40 after three quarters, but was overturned in the final quarter.

In the final quarter, when Turkish players were shooting, even a slight touch from a Russian player would be a foul, but the Turkish players even touched the wrists of Russian players while defending their shots, and the referees didn't care. Turkey pulled off a remarkable 22-6 comeback in the quarter.

Before the World Championships began, the media predicted that the Chinese team, which is known for its violence on the international stage, might clash with the most violent team in Europe, Greece.

Surprisingly, there was no conflict between China and Greece, but the Slavs and Turks almost came to blows.

The match between the Chinese team and the Russian team began at 4 pm.

China's starting lineup remains unchanged.

Russia's starting lineup: Sergei Bikov, Vikta Felisson, Viktor Hpalia, Alexander Konnikov, Timofe Mozgov.

Of the starting lineup of the team that won the European Championship in 07, only Mozgov remains. Even of the 12 members of the Russian team that won the European Championship, only 3 will participate in this World Championship. It's not that the others are old or retired; most of them are in their prime, but they are all absent due to injuries.

The Russian team's lineup is quite strong, given the country's overall basketball prowess. Their second unit is also top-tier on the international stage. They defeated Puerto Rico 75-69, despite their backcourt duo not going on a rampage. They also slaughtered Ivory Coast 92-66 and won three quarters against Türkiye.

But facing the Chinese team with its "Big Three" in the frontcourt, the Russian team was completely outmatched.

Tonight, Yi Jianlian scored less than 20 points for the first time, shooting 5-for-12 from the field, including 1-for-3 from three-point range, plus 4-for-5 from the free-throw line, for a total of 15 points and 11 rebounds. However, his tactical runs and drives to the basket successfully compressed the opponent's defense, creating many opportunities for Yao Ming to receive the ball and shoot.

姚明13投9中，加上4中4的罚球，拿到本届世锦赛开始以来个人最高的22分，外加8板1助攻1盖帽。

Led by the twin towers, the Chinese team steadily defeated the Russian team 73-62, achieving their fourth consecutive victory in the group stage!

Most of the fans at the scene came for Yi Shui to score, and they weren't disappointed when they didn't see Yi Shui score a lot of points.

Just like in the last game, Yi Shui focused on defense. Tonight, their wing shooters were inaccurate due to the intense physical contact of the opponents, and their scoring relied on the twin towers. This made it even harder for the opponents to score when they cut into the basket.

29分钟出场时间里，他11投5中，其中三分球1中1，加上3中3的罚球，拿到14分10板4助攻1抢断6盖帽！

With Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi guarding the paint, it was easier for Yi Shui to block shots than to swat mosquitoes. In the second half, as long as he went inside, the opposing team didn't dare to attack the paint!

...

September 4th marked the final day of the group stage.

Today, each group has a highly anticipated matchup.

Group A: Argentina vs. Serbia; Group B: USA vs. Slovenia; Group D: Spain vs. Lithuania.

All three matches are highly anticipated.

Argentina vs. Serbia: International superstars Scola and Milicic face off.

Slovenia vs. USA: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and others withdrew from last year's FIBA ​​Americas Cup and informed the NBA in advance that they would not participate in the World Championship. After the draw in December last year, Slovenia, with international stars such as Goran Dragic, Sacramento Vujacic, Andrea Brezek, and Lakovic, was considered the team most likely to defeat the Dream Team IX. Fans hoped that they could replicate the performance of Puerto Rico in the past.

Yesterday, in the fourth round of Group B, the US team almost got upset by the Brazilian team. Only thanks to Durant's key shot and Brazil missing their last two free throws did they manage a narrow 70-68 comeback victory.

This has raised expectations for the Slovenian team, who defeated Brazil.

Spain and Lithuania are fierce rivals. The former represents 'romantic basketball,' while the latter is a model of traditional European iron-blooded competition. Every match between the two teams is a must-see.

But today, the match that fans are most interested in is the Group C game between China and Turkey.

Two years ago, the Chinese team won the silver medal at the Olympics. Their four consecutive wins in the group stage secured them a place in the top 16, which was not surprising.

However, the Turkish team also won four consecutive games and, with the advantage of a better point differential, surpassed the Chinese team, which has the 'world's strongest attacking lineup,' to rank first in the group, making a big splash and dazzling the fans.

This kind of attention, not for a good reputation, has led to them being called 'South Korea in West Asia'.

Yesterday's game in which Turkey defeated Greece 75-68 almost turned into a fight. Not only did the players get tangled up, but the assistant coaches from both sides also joined in, pushing and shoving each other. Fortunately, neither of the two head coaches is Greek or Turkish, so they didn't get involved... The Turkish head coach was even criticized by Turkish netizens.

It's one thing for them to stop being biased on the field, but online, the Turks, one of the "Internet Five," are also incredibly arrogant.

They completely ignored the issue of biased refereeing and directly confronted fans from various countries, stating, "You have the ability to host such a grand event as well."

This really stumped the other fans, and in the end it could only escalate into personal attacks and verbal battles.

By 7:30 p.m., half an hour before the game was to start, the 10400 seats in the Super Arena were already full of fans.

China's matches were sold out for the fifth consecutive time, the only one in the group stage!

Even the host team Türkiye's match against Ivory Coast had an attendance rate of just over 60%.

The Turkish team entered the stadium first, and a comical scene unfolded: as the host nation, they were booed in their own capital!

(End of this chapter)