On September 2, the Chinese team got a valuable off-day.
The Chinese men's basketball team did not conduct daily training today, but held a pre-match meeting.
The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how to deal with the final group match.
At this stage, both the Turkish team and the Chinese team have won four games and are tied for first place in the group. Whoever wins will be first in Group C.
Assuming that the Chinese team chooses to take a break and recuperate to prepare for the knockout rounds, it will face the third place in other groups.
If the Chinese team and the Turkish team fight to the end, they may have to pay a heavy price to win the game, and then drag their exhausted bodies to face the fourth place in other groups in the knockout round.
Last night, head coach Deng Huade and members of the coaching staff had discussed an unclear result, but they still wanted to hear the players' opinions.
"Coach, you decide, we will go all out to implement it." As the captain of the men's basketball team, he expressed his opinion.
Head coach Deng Huade did not make an immediate decision after hearing this, and turned to ask Sun Yi.
Sun Yi's performance in this World Championship is obvious to all, and he has become the leader of the Chinese men's basketball team.
“Actually, there is no difference between us playing third and fourth in other groups, we both have an absolute advantage.
If we want to go further, we must consider the opponents we will encounter in the quarter-finals. I don’t think everyone wants to face the Dream Nine team in advance! "
Sun Yi expressed his opinion after thinking for a while.
In his view, the coaching staff and teammates only saw immediate benefits and did not consider long-term benefits.
Now that he has pointed out the crux of the problem, the coaching staff should be able to make a correct judgment.
Just as Sun Yi thought, the coaching team led by Deng Huade suddenly became enlightened after hearing this, and their ideas suddenly opened up.
At this stage, the first places in other groups are Serbia, the United States, and Lithuania.
If the Chinese team reaches the quarterfinals, they definitely don't want to encounter these three opponents in advance.
Moreover, the Spanish team did not send Gasol in this World Championship, and the Argentina team also did not send Ginobili. The overall strength of the two teams has declined.
If the Chinese team faces the second place in other groups, it will have a high chance of advancing.
Therefore, it is very necessary for the Chinese team to compete for first place in the group.
After some discussion, the coaching staff headed by Deng Huade made the final decision and planned to go all out to prepare for the final group match.
…
…
On September 3, the group match between the Chinese team and the Turkish team officially started at the Ankara National Stadium.
In this game, both sides did not give up, and went all out to win, which made the fans excited to watch.
At the beginning of the game, the Chinese team's play style was very clear, with Sun Yi as the core of the offense, and other players opening up the space and seizing the opportunity to catch the ball and shoot.
Facing the powerful attack of the Chinese team, the Turkish team quickly made adjustments, adopted double-teaming measures, deliberately let go of the Chinese team's role players, and targeted Sun Yi to defend.
But Sun Yi is not the only one in the Chinese team. Arab League performed at its peak in this World Championships.
After Sun Yi successfully attracted the defense, the United Arab Emirates took on the offensive responsibility and stirred up trouble inside the Turkish team.
The Turkish team did not expect the sudden outburst of the Arab League and was caught off guard. The Chinese team gradually opened up the score.
Afterwards, the Turkish team struggled to chase points under the leadership of Turkoglu, but was hit by Sun Yi.
Facing Sun Yi's strong defensive ability, the Turkish team's outside play was very uncomfortable.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the head coach of the Turkish team immediately changed his offensive tactics and asked the players to try to play hard inside.
But the inside line composed of the Arab League and the United Arab Emirates was not so easy to break, and the Turkish team's plan was shattered again.
In the subsequent games, Sun Yi steadily controlled the rhythm on the court, not giving the Turkish team a chance to overtake, and maintained the lead until the end.
In the end, the Chinese team defeated the Turkish team 84-76, achieving five consecutive victories and successfully qualifying as the first in the group.
In terms of statistics, Sun Yi once again won the honor of the best player of the game.
In 36 minutes on the court, he scored 24 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks.
Arab League also contributed a lot, scoring 26 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks.
For the Turkish team, the most outstanding player is Turkoglu.
In the 35 minutes he played, he scored 17 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
After the game, the Chinese players on the field and the fans in the audience celebrated the hard-won victory crazily.
This is a complete victory in the group stage, refreshing the Chinese team's best record in the World Championship group stage. This is a historic moment for the men's basketball team!
Domestic fans are extremely convinced that the Chinese men's basketball team will create history in this World Championship.
…
Not long after the Chinese team's game ended, the games of other groups ended one after another.
At this point, the group stages of this World Championship are all over.
The rankings based on record and net points are as follows:
In Group A, Serbia, Argentina, Australia, and Angola advanced to the knockout rounds.
In Group B, the United States, Slovenia, Brazil, and Croatia advanced to the knockout rounds.
In Group C, China, Türkiye, Greece, and Russia advanced to the knockout rounds.
In Group D, Lithuania, Spain, New Zealand, and France advanced to the knockout rounds.
The brackets for the quarter-finals knockout rounds have been released one after another.
Group A and Group B are divided into the same area, and Group C and Group D are divided into the same area.
In the first round of the knockout round, the first place in Group C will play against the fourth place in Group D, the second place in Group C will play against the third place in Group D, the third place in Group C will play against the second place in Group D, and the fourth place in Group C will play against the first place in Group D.
The Chinese team will face the French team on September 6.
After the knockout round schedule came out, the Chinese team immediately began to prepare for the upcoming knockout round.
Although the French team ranks fourth in Group D, its overall strength is still good.
Except for Tony Parker, who did not participate in this World Championship, several other players who play in the NBA, such as Pietrus, Batum, Diaw and Mahinmi, are here.
After Sun Yi saw the French team's lineup, he couldn't understand that they had so many NBA players but almost failed to reach the knockout round. It was so embarrassing.
Ridicule aside, Sun Yi still attaches great importance to the French team and does not take it lightly.
After all, in a game where victory or defeat is determined, there is no guarantee that the Chinese team will be able to win the final victory.
Therefore, the members of the Chinese men's basketball team felt the sense of tension and oppression and went all out to prepare for the knockout match with the French team.
Sun Yi was an exception. He did not feel nervous, but was very excited. He regained the feeling of playing in NCAA March Madness and was in excellent condition.
Time passed quickly. After several days of preparation, the knockout match between the Chinese team and the French team finally arrived!
