diskusbooks Chapter 702 Taking the Lead!
Chapter 702 Taking the Lead!
David Muoka reached out and snatched the ball, then handed it to Wang Xiucheng, who had already run over.
Wang Xiucheng slowed down, blocking Bogdan behind him, and then passed the basketball to Zhou Qi, who was already past half-court and standing at the top of the arc.
Wang Xiucheng accelerated again and rushed out, instantly leaving Bogdan, who had slowed down because of Wang Xiucheng, far behind.
Zhou Qi twisted his foot and turned around, handing the basketball to Wang Xiucheng with one hand. Then, Zhou Qi took a step to block the side, blocking Serbian center Petrushev and preventing him from getting close to Wang Xiucheng.
Wang Xiucheng received the ball and pulled up to shoot when he was still a step away from the three-point line.
Jokic was too late to get over and help defend, so he could only reach out and fan his head, seemingly trying to use the wind to disrupt the ball's trajectory.
Swish!
The sound of the basketball going through the net rang out.
Jokic turned around and saw the basketball slam into the floor with a thud.
The first goal went in!
All the Chinese fans in the stadium stood up and shouted.
Fan Chengcheng grabbed a national flag from some fan and started waving it, making it impossible for Fan Bing next to him to see anything.
Yao Ming clapped his hands, leaned forward slightly, and then clasped them together.
He was well aware that there was a significant gap in strength between China and Serbia.
Serbia managed to finish as runners-up in the World Cup even without Jokic.
Now, with Jokic on the team, the opponent will only be stronger.
The Chinese national team is essentially the same as the one that played in last year's World Cup; it's still the same players.
The only variable is that Wang Xiucheng seems to be even stronger.
The others are also more mature than last year, especially several players who have played in the NBA for a year. Their experience, information, and vision have all increased to varying degrees.
However, in terms of ability, Yao Ming does not actually believe that they will be like Wang Xiucheng, who can show improvement almost every month.
Therefore, the Chinese team must seize the initiative from the start!
If they get off to a good start, perhaps China will have a sliver of a chance.
A good start, plus Wang Xiucheng's four "Wang's Time" – that's why Yao Ming dared to think this way.
A soft snap suddenly reached Yao Ming's ears clearly.
As a former professional player, Yao Ming is all too familiar with this kind of voice.
He immediately looked up and saw Wang Xiucheng knocking the ball out of Bogdan's hand!
Then Wang Xiucheng took a big step and retrieved the ball from the sideline, then flicked the ball forward and sprinted off again.
Bogdan shouted at the referee, but the referee kept looking at Wang Xiucheng.
With one foot on the free-throw line, Wang Xiucheng raised the ball and flew towards the basket.
The fans who had just sat down in the stadium stood up again, and many of the female fans started screaming.
Even Yao Ming unconsciously stood up, placed his hands on the railing, and looked over.
With a loud bang, Wang Xiucheng made an ordinary free throw line dunk!
"what……"
Fan Chengcheng screamed, and the national flag above his head swayed even faster.
This shout startled Yao Ming, who was sitting in the front row.
Yao Ming clapped his hands and then sat down.
He usually doesn't stand up when watching a game; he knows his own limitations and doesn't want to inconvenience the people behind him.
But that ball was too important.
The Chinese team started the game with a three-pointer, followed by a powerful dunk from the free-throw line!
This is basically the perfect start Yao Ming could have imagined.
Fan Bing stood up excitedly, but when she saw her younger brother's expression, she calmed down.
But while she remained calm, the others could not.
Yang Mi, Liu Yifei, Liu Shishi, and Tang Yan all jumped up excitedly, just like the fans around them, and screamed loudly.
With a snap, Wang Xiucheng reached out and slapped David Muoka's hand.
Just now, it was David Muoka who suddenly came over and double-teamed Bogdan with Wang Xiucheng, which gave Wang Xiucheng the opportunity to steal the ball from Bogdan's hands.
It might be controversial to say that Wang Xiucheng is the best perimeter defender on the Chinese team.
After all, Wang Xiucheng's average of more than 4 steals per season is not fake.
However, there is another statistic: David Mouca is far superior to Wang Xiucheng.
That is the reserve requirement ratio cut.
This season with the Trail Blazers, David Muaka's three-point shooting percentage dropped to 14.1% in limited playing time.
This means that when opponents face David Muaca's defense, their three-point shooting percentage will drop by 14.1%.
That's definitely the efficiency of an elite defender.
However, David Muaka, who mostly plays during garbage time and has insufficient reference samples, is not recognized by league professionals.
Therefore, only the Trail Blazers themselves knew about David Mullaka, this potential defensive ace.
The Trail Blazers have offered David Mumoka a four-year contract, but Ma Xiaoxuan and the Trail Blazers still have disagreements on the contract amount, so both sides have decided to discuss it again after the Olympics.
It's easy to imagine that starting next season, David Muacos, who is locked into a long-term contract, will get more playing time and development with the Trail Blazers.
Jokic patted Bogdanovic on the shoulder, went to the baseline to inbound the ball, then received the ball back from Bogdanovic and dribbled it up the court.
Zhou Qi went to the outside to face Jokic, while Wang Xiucheng stayed with Bogdan.
This made Jokic realize that the Chinese team's tactics should focus on defending Bogdan.
Holding the ball in one hand, Jokic bumped Zhou Qi with his shoulder, then threw the ball to Petrushev, who had entered the paint.
David Muoka followed Petrushev, but Petrushev managed to squeeze through a gap and score.
After conceding two goals to China, Serbia finally scored their first goal.
Pešić, the 75-year-old white-haired, meritorious coach of Serbia, also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The old man immediately found it amusing that he had been frightened by a boy who was only in his early twenties.
The game settled into a normal rhythm, and Serbia's offense was quite efficient under Jokic's orchestration, scoring 17 points with three minutes left in the first quarter.
On the other hand, Wang Xiucheng of the Chinese team had a breakout performance in the first quarter, scoring 10 points and providing three assists, bringing the Chinese team to 19 points, two more than Serbia.
Both sides began rotating players after a timeout.
China's China team substituted in Yu Jiahao, who is known as the "Mammoth".
This nickname wasn't given by Chinese fans, but rather mentioned by some commentator from the United States during a commentary session.
And that's how the title came about.
Jokic dribbled the ball past half-court this time. Although Yu Jiahao is slow, Jokic is not fast either, so the two are evenly matched.
Seeing Yu Jiahao standing at the top of the key, Jokic dribbled the ball while squeezing inside.
Yu Jiahao covered his chest with both hands and collided hard with Jokic.
With a thud, the two were each thrown back a distance, seemingly indicating that neither side had gained an advantage in this confrontation.
Jokic was also somewhat surprised. He had faced this Chinese player in the NBA, and back then he didn't have this much strength.
Just as Jokic was gathering his strength to fight the mammoth again, a figure suddenly appeared from the side.
With a snap, just as Jokic spotted the figure, the person's hand slapped onto his.