September 6, Ankara National Stadium.
Tonight the knockout match between the Chinese team and the French team officially begins.
At this time, the stadium was already full. The enthusiastic Chinese fans suppressed their excitement and waited patiently for the game to start.
Not long after, players from both sides entered the competition venue one after another for pre-match warm-up activities.
After entering the stadium, Sun Yi paid special attention to the players of the French team and found that they were very relaxed and had no sense of urgency.
"I don't understand whether these guys are confident in handling the Chinese team, or whether they are completely ruined."
Sun Yi withdrew his gaze, shook his head slightly, and stopped thinking about it. The result will be known when the game starts.
After paying attention to his opponents, he looked around and found many players from other countries sitting on the sidelines.
Curry, Tyson Chandler, Durant, Billups and other Dream 9 players came to the scene to watch the game.
In addition, almost the entire Spanish team is here, because the team that advances tonight will be their opponent in the next round, and they have to pay attention to this knockout match.
Sun Yi quickly stepped forward to say hello to Curry and others, and then returned to the court to continue warm-up activities.
After a while, the warm-up activities ended and the players from both sides returned to the bench one after another.
At the same time, the starting lineups of both sides were displayed on the big screen.
The starting lineup of the Chinese team: Sun Yi, Zhu Fangyu, Wang Shipeng, A Lian, and Yu.
France team's starting lineup: Rodrigo Beaubois, Pietrus, Batum, Diaw, Mahinmi.
Judging from the lineup on paper, the French team's starting lineup is indeed much stronger than the Chinese team. These five players are all active NBA players and have strong personal strength.
But with such a luxurious lineup, it almost didn't make it to the knockout rounds, which is really puzzling.
Isn't it because of the lack of Tony Parker, a world-class defender, that the French team can no longer play, and the overall strength has dropped significantly.
It seems that having a good point guard to connect the team is very important.
The referee blew the whistle and signaled the players from both sides to come to the center circle and prepare for the jump ball.
After the starting players from both sides came to the center circle and were ready, the referee blew the whistle again and threw the ball into the air.
Amid the cheers and shouts of the fans in the audience, the knockout match officially began.
In the jump ball session, Mahinmi took off hard and hit the basketball first and moved back to the backcourt, giving the French team the first opportunity to attack.
Boubois received the pass and accelerated towards the frontcourt, but was intercepted by Sun Yi before he could take a few steps.
Faced with Sun Yi's pressing pressure, Boubowa was very confident that he could get past the big man in front of him, and immediately began to make breakthrough moves.
Sun Yike didn't give Bubova a chance to show off his breakthrough skills. With the bonus effect of the badge [Cut Ball Expert], he quickly took out the basketball from Bubova's hand.
After successfully stealing the ball, Sun Yi reached the three-point line as quickly as possible and chased for a three-pointer.
Bang!
The basketball bounced out of the frame and missed!
Although he missed the hit, Sun Yi rushed into the penalty area in time and jumped up to grab the offensive rebound.
After landing, he saw that the French team players had not retreated and returned, so he immediately flew for a layup.
2:0!
The audience burst into applause, and cheers and shouts resounded throughout the arena.
The ball is transferred and the French team attacks.
After receiving the baseline serve, Beaubois learned the lesson from last time and advanced steadily towards the front court.
This time Sun Yi did not press forward, but came outside the three-point line and waited for Boubois' arrival.
After Beaubois dribbled to the frontcourt, he passed the ball directly to Diaw, and then ran to the bottom corner.
Diaw is known as the "French Magician" and is the organizational brain of the French team. Through his command, the French team has achieved tactical coordination.
With the help of Mahinmi's off-ball screen, Batum quickly ran to the right side of the three-point line, just in time to receive a pass from Diaw, and hit a three-pointer.
2:3!
The tactical quality of European teams is indeed very high, and they cooperate very well.
The Chinese team sent a baseline kick, and Sun Yi quickly advanced towards the frontcourt after receiving the ball.
The players of the French team knew Sun Yi's strength and did not press forward.
Sun Yi successfully reached the top of the arc, observed the position of his teammates, found that there was no chance, and made a tactical gesture.
Ah Lian and Da Da, who were stationed inside, understood this and were ready to fight for offensive rebounds.
After everything was ready, Sun Yi suddenly started up, quickly made a large crossover, then pulled it up and threw the basketball in his hand.
Boubois is only 183 centimeters tall and weighs only 77 kilograms. It is very difficult to interfere with Sun Yi's pull-up jump shot.
Swish!
Hollow into the net!
5:3!
The audience suddenly burst into warm applause and cheers.
After scoring, the men's basketball team quickly returned to defense and did not give the French team a chance to play a fast break.
Beaubois dribbled to the outside of the three-point line, waved to his teammates, and made tactical gestures.
He was bullied continuously by Sun Yi. Everyone has a temper, so he decided to fight back.
Mahinmi quickly ran out and cooperated with the pick-and-roll.
Beaubois bypassed the screen and broke through to the mid-range on the right side. Seeing no one in front of him, he immediately took off and shot.
At this moment, Sun Yi, who was chasing after him, stretched out his arms and rushed over.
A big hand suddenly appeared above Bubova's head, covering the basketball he had just released.
After Sun Yi landed, he immediately took off twice to grab the basketball, and then passed it towards the frontcourt.
Wang Shipeng, who was on a fast break, received the pass, quickly rushed to the basket, and scored an easy layup.
7:3!
In the next round, Beaubois didn't dare to mess around anymore and passed the ball to Diaw.
In the high post area on the right, Diaw immediately raised his head high after receiving the pass, and then observed the position of his teammates.
Batum and Pietrus quickly moved without the ball to find open opportunities.
Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng followed closely and did not give these two guys a chance to catch and shoot.
Seeing this situation, Diaw could only pass the ball to Mahinmi to hit the inside.
Mahinmi received the pass in the low post area on the left and used his poor back-up technique to push roughly towards the penalty area.
Basically, he fought hard to resist, not giving an inch, not allowing Mahinmi to take a step forward.
Seeing this, Mahinmi leaned forward and then made a lame turn-over jump shot.
Roughly immediately come forward and extend your arms to interfere.
"when!"
The basketball bounced out of the frame and missed!
Under the basket, Arab League grabbed the defensive rebound, found Sun Yi immediately, and then passed the ball.
Sun Yi received the pass and was about to speed up, but saw the French team players quickly retreating back, so he could only dribble forward slowly.
When Sun Yi dribbled to the outside of the three-point line, he found that the opponent had switched defenses.
The player guarding him became Pietrus.
Pietrus moves at a good speed, and it does take some effort for Sun Yi to break through and escape.
However, Sun Yi did not intend to use fancy breakthrough techniques, but to directly confront the tough and solve the problem in the most violent way.
Seeing Sun Yi crashing into him like a truck, Pietrus panicked, worried that his small body would not be able to withstand Sun Yi's brutal collision, so he subconsciously moved out of the way.
Sun Yi didn't expect Pietrus to be so successful. He gave him a thumbs up in his heart, broke through to the mid-range area on the right, and hit a jumper with a stop.
9:3!
Back on the court, the French team players stepped forward to comfort Pietrus, telling him not to take what happened before to heart. This was just human nature and not his fault.
Pietrus nodded dejectedly, swearing in his heart that he would never give in if he encountered such a situation again.
It was the French team's turn to attack. In this round, they patiently passed the ball and did not rush to attack.
Diaw and Mahinmi played an inside-passing game.
Mahinmi received the pass and completed a two-handed slam dunk.
9:5!
Looking back, the Chinese team attacks.
Sun Yi cooperated with the pick-and-roll, broke through to the edge of the penalty area, attracted Diaw's defense, and threw the ball toward the basket.
UAE cut into the basket along the baseline and soared into the air, grabbing the basketball in the air with both hands and slamming it into the basket.
The audience was buzzing with excitement, and the atmosphere at the scene reached its peak.
This alley-oop dunk had a certain psychological impact on the French players, causing their attack to end hastily.
After one or two passes, Batum shot directly against Zhu Fangyu's defensive three-pointer.
Bang!
The basketball knocked out of the frame and bounced away!
The ball was a long rebound. Sun Yi jumped up to grab the basketball, and then threw a long pass forward.
Wang Shipeng, who was on a fast break, received the pass, broke through to the basket with the ball, and scored a layup.
13:5!
Seeing that the score was about to be extended, the French team's head coach Vincent Crete immediately requested a timeout and called the players back to the bench to adjust.
Not long after, the timeout ended and the game continued.
After returning, the French team played a tacit cooperation, and Pietrus scored 2 points with a mid-range jumper, breaking the scoring drought.
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
It was the Chinese team's turn to attack. Sun Yi dribbled to the outside of the three-point line. Just as he was about to break through, he was double-teamed.
Facing the double-teaming of Pietrus and Beaubois, Sun Yi felt that it did not have a big impact on him, and he could force a breakthrough at any time.
But he didn't do that. Instead, he found Wang Shipeng and passed the ball accurately.
Wang Shipeng received the pass comfortably and jumped to shoot before the French team's defensive players arrived.
Bang!
It's a pity that the goal came out but I couldn't make it when I had the opportunity.
European teams are very good at blocking positions and grabbing rebounds, so they did not give the Arab League and the generals a chance to rush for offensive rebounds.
After the French team protected the defensive rebound, they immediately launched a defensive counterattack, which is their best offense.
Beaubois dribbled the ball quickly and when his teammates had a chance, he immediately passed the ball.
Pietrus, who was on a fast break, received the pass and accelerated towards the penalty area.
At the same time, Sun Yi, who quickly returned to defense, rushed towards the basket at full speed.
Pietrus rushed into the penalty area and saw that there was no one guarding the basket. He relaxed his vigilance and made a very casual layup.
At this moment, Sun Yi rushed back, jumped up hard, straightened his arms and swatted the rising basketball.
Snap!
The basketball was slapped by Sun Yi and bounced off the backboard.
Beaubois, who followed up, picked up the rebound and immediately threw the ball towards the basket.
But he didn't expect that Sun Yi would come so quickly and be lucky enough to see the volleyball-style hat.
This time, the French team players failed to grab the basketball. Zhu Fangyu grabbed it and immediately passed it to his teammates on the fast break.
Ah Lian received the pass, quickly rushed into the penalty area, and after a physical confrontation with Batum who came to defend, he scored the ball forcefully.
This attack and defense dealt a huge blow to the French team. Not only did they fail to score the two points that they must score, but the Chinese team seized the opportunity and scored two points on a fast break. It was a huge loss.
The Chinese team gained momentum through this offense and defense, and performed more actively on both ends of the offense and defense.
Taking advantage of the fact that the French team had not recovered, under the leadership of Sun Yi, the Chinese team launched a 7-0 offensive climax, widening the point difference to double digits.
Afterwards, the French team regained some form through adjustments, and its outside touch improved somewhat. It hit two consecutive three-pointers and narrowed the point difference to less than ten points.
Just like that, the half game ended, and the score on the big screen was 48 to 40. The Chinese team led by 8 points entering the second half.
The short intermission ended and the second half of the game officially began.
As soon as the third quarter started, Sun Yi felt hot and hit three-pointers from the outside one after another, widening the point difference again.
Seeing Sun Yi killing everyone, the French team was forced to double-team outside the three-point line, giving other Chinese team players the opportunity to take open shots.
Wang Shipeng, Zhu Fangyu and others have already shown confidence in the first half. They are very decisive when opportunities arise and their efficiency is not bad.
Seeing this situation, France coach Venkrete was very depressed. He could only hope that the Chinese team's players would lose physical strength in the fourth quarter and take the opportunity to recover the point difference.
But French coach Crete didn't expect Sun Yi to be a variable.
Not long after the start of the fourth quarter, other Chinese team players had problems with excessive physical exertion, but Sun Yi was still lively and vigorous. It was impossible to tell that this guy played a high-intensity game for more than 30 minutes. His physical fitness was really abnormal.
Whenever the French team was about to get close to the score, Sun Yi stepped forward, forced a breakthrough and caused a foul to get a free throw, maintaining the lead.
Other Chinese team players can occasionally eat dumplings, which is the icing on the cake.
When the players of the French team saw how tenacious the Chinese team was, the fire in their hearts gradually extinguished, and they had no choice but to accept the defeat.
In this way, the Chinese team maintained a double-digit lead until the end of the game.
As the piercing buzzer sounded, the elimination round came to an end.
In the end, the Chinese team defeated the French team 89-76 and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Championships.
In terms of statistics, 4 players from the Chinese team scored in double figures.
Sun Yi's performance in this game was beyond doubt, and he deservedly won the honor of the best player of the game.
In the 35 minutes he played, he scored 30 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocks.
Arab League got a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds; Wang Shipeng got 13 points and 2 rebounds; roughly 12 points and 8 rebounds.
The most outstanding player of the French team is Batum.
In 36 minutes on the court, he scored 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
After the game, the scene turned into a sea of joy.
The fans at the scene and the players of the Chinese team celebrated this hard-won victory.
The Chinese team reached the quarterfinals of the World Championships again after 16 years.
This is not the end yet, the Chinese men's basketball team's journey to create the best record in history has officially begun!
