After winning the semifinals, the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team successfully entered the finals.
The team that entered the finals with them was the Australian men's basketball team from the Oceania Division.
The Australian men's basketball team made it all the way through the group stage before. They easily entered the quarterfinals with a complete victory record. Even if they encountered the stronger Iranian team in the semifinals, they still did not expend too much energy.
Therefore, although the Chinese men's basketball team entered the finals and won all the games, the outside world's perception of the two teams has not changed.
"There is no way the Chinese men's basketball team can beat the Australian men's basketball team..."
"Zhao Feiyang is the only player in the Chinese men's basketball team who is an NBA player, but none of the others are. Originally, there was Yi Jianlian who could maintain the inside advantage, but now even Yi Jianlian is gone... On the other hand, in the Australian men's basketball team, the opponent has 6 They are all NBA players, and some are either playing in local leagues or playing in Europe..."
"Everyone doesn't know what level the CBA is? If it competes with the European leagues and Australian leagues, there will definitely be a gap in physical confrontation alone...how can the Chinese men's basketball team defeat its opponents like this?"
The outside world is not optimistic about it.
First, foreign fans thought it would be difficult for the Chinese men's basketball team to win, and then domestic fans expressed concerns about this game.
Therefore, the Chinese men's basketball team seemed to have lost before the game even started!
off day.
Head coach Xu Lei gathered everyone together, and after the training, he took the players outside for a dinner.
When everyone saw various delicacies being served in the box, the players were somewhat surprised.
"what's the situation?"
"Are you going to have a celebration banquet now?"
When the players were confused, head coach Xu Lei also stood up and explained.
"This is not a celebration party, but the team did quite well to reach the finals this time. Anyway, we have already obtained the quota. Overall, our performance this time is okay..."
"This meal is the intention of the Basketball Association. The main reason is that everyone has been working too hard recently, so they specially improved the food for everyone..."
The players looked at each other, then became excited.
Obviously, no one expected this to be the case.
Some people couldn't help but wonder, "What about the game? Aren't we still going to play the Australian men's basketball team? Is it possible that we won't play?"
As soon as he finished asking, someone else opened his mouth to answer.
"You still want to play against the Australian men's basketball team? Frankly speaking, can we beat it? Their starting lineup is all NBA-level, and our strength is really not enough..."
"That's right, the Iranian team is strong enough! There will definitely not be too much difference between them and us, because both sides are about the same strength... But how will they fare against the Australian men's basketball team? The point difference has been widened. It opened more than 20 points..."
"If the Australian men's basketball team didn't want to play in the end, I'm afraid the point difference would have been more than 20 points..."
The teammates were talking all over the place.
Obviously, the impression that the Australian men's basketball team is very strong has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. It's no wonder that they have a very good record.
Basketball is not football. Generally speaking, it is difficult to have that kind of upset.
Even the "Black Eight Miracle" in the NBA is very rare. In most cases, low-ranked teams just can't beat high-ranked teams.
Hard power has a huge impact on basketball.
Head coach Xu Lei did not stop the discussion among the players. Instead, he chatted with everyone while eating, "I am very happy to be able to cooperate with you this time. Being able to have so many young people together is very important for a veteran like me." It’s definitely a fun thing to do guys…”
"We have played all the games we should play, and the remaining games look difficult to win. In this case, there is no need to compete..."
"I would never say this anywhere else, but I said it in front of you... I don't want you to do useless work, waste your career and risk injury. To win a game...that's not a good idea..."
Although the words of head coach Xu Lei are somewhat "not quite correct", they are actually quite authentic.
After he said these words, many players couldn't help but applaud, especially those in the domestic league. Some people know very well where the peak of their abilities is, so naturally they are not interested in such invincible opponents.
"Well said, coach! Cheers..."
"That's right, let's go..."
"Let's just talk about these things behind closed doors. I won't remember anything after we leave the house..."
Everyone soon became happy.
After Zhao Feiyang drank with everyone for a while, he sat in front of the window and drank alone.
He will not hinder his teammates' choices. After all, this is their confidence. Everyone has his own position and decision, and you cannot let everyone listen to him just because he is an NBA star.
Respect is sometimes a way to maintain relationships with teammates.
However, Zhao Feiyang will inevitably feel a little regretful in his heart.
"If they are the Chinese men's basketball players of the 2008 class, then the Australian men's basketball team will definitely not be our opponent this time..."
Zhao Feiyang sighed while his thoughts returned to the situation at that time.
The performance of the men's basketball team at that Olympics can be said to be the best in the past two decades, bar none.
At that time, the Chinese men's basketball team had top centers like Yao Ming, as well as NBA rookies like Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue. Both of them were at their peak at that time, and their abilities were at their strongest.
In addition, there are Wang Zhizhi, Battelle, Zhu Fangyu and Chen Jianghua, the best local players in the country. Their presence has also added a lot to the Chinese men's basketball team in some aspects.
At least, compared to the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team after Yao Ming retired, the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team at that time can be said to have a very strong lineup.
If you add yourself to that lineup, it will be no problem to beat an Australian team.
Unfortunately, times have changed, and by the time Zhao Feiyang became famous, the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team had completely fallen to the bottom. Not only is each session not as good as the last, but the performance has gone from being stretched to being even more stretched, and leading figures are also missing.
This is really frustrating.
After this banquet, less than two days later, the final of the Asian Cup qualifiers finally arrived.
The two sides appeared in the largest local arena in Beirut. The morale of the Australian men's basketball team was high and they seemed determined to win this game.
The Chinese Men's Basketball Team is also different. They have no fear or worries. Everything seems to not matter. The role players seemed very happy, the main players were not under any pressure, and even the assistant coaching team were talking and laughing.
Zhao Feiyang was the only one who didn't look very happy.
However, he alone cannot interfere with the entire team, so the indifference of the Chinese Men's Basketball Team is almost written on his face.
