Spanish men's basketball.
Head coach Renesse's face is serious.
Although the Spanish team defeated the old rival Greece in the first round, they also exposed a lot of problems. The biggest problem is tactics.
Although Renesse is a well-known coach in Europe, he can't let the Spanish team complete the tactical run-in within one month. Fortunately, there are five games in the group stage. The Spanish team can also play the game while conducting tactical run-in.
"Our next opponent is the host team. They have Yao. This is also the strongest point of the Chinese team. The tactics of the Chinese team are played around Yao, so we must block Yao. As long as we can restrain him, the other players of the Chinese team are not a concern." Renesse looked at the material in his hand and then said, "Only Yi Jianlian can be regarded as good inside players. We follow the normal defensive system to deal with them."
"The Chinese team has a few shots on the outside, but physical confrontation is not their strength. The other is the point guard. This is the weakness of the Chinese team. We can strengthen the oppression at this point, especially when it comes to the key point which is to force their mistakes through this kind of oppression." Renesse then commented on Liu Wei, Sun Yue, Chen Jianghua and another national team outside players, but only did not mention Zhang Guan.
Finally, Gasol asked, "Coach, there is another Zhang Guan in the Chinese team, that track, and field Zhang Guan."
"Oh, Paul, I almost forgot him if you didn't mention him." Renesse said, "You don't need to care too much about this one, he can't even play."
"Can't even play? Injured?" Gasol asked puzzled.
"He's not injured, Zhang Guan is a track and field athlete after all, do you think a track and field athlete can play at the Olympic basketball game?" Renesse shook his head self-consciously and then said, "During the last game, you have also watched the video of the team's game. Eleven other Chinese players have played. Only Zhang Guan didn't play. He didn't even get a chance to play. The only explanation is that his strength is not enough to play in the field. In addition to talent, basketball also requires long-term training. Zhang Guan may be very talented, but he must not have participated in too much regular training because time is not allowed. Zhang Guan also has to participate in track and field competitions and play tennis, players need a lot of time to train, so for Zhang Guan, it is impossible to take care of another basketball!"
...
At 16,45 on August 12, in the Wukesong Basketball Stadium, the second round of the men's basketball group match, China officially started against Spain.
In the first quarter of the game, the first attack of both teams failed. Liu Wei hit a shot, but the Spanish team scored 5 points, overtaking the score. The UAE made a layup from the bottom line, 4-5. Liu Wei made 7 of 3 points. The Chinese team succeeded in steals and Yao dunked 9-9. Fernandes also scored a three-pointer, 10 to 11. The Chinese team failed to attack continuously. The Spanish team scored 7 points in a row. The Chinese team requested a timeout and successively replaced four generals. This substitution was also very fruitful. The Chinese team played an 8-3 shockwave, pushing the score to 18-20. This is also the final score of the first quarter, the Chinese team is only 2 points behind.
In the second quarter, Li Nan's three-pointer helped the Chinese team to overtake the score. Subsequently, the Chinese team's three major insiders took turns to put pressure on the opponent, and the outside team also fired repeatedly. In contrast, the Spanish team, the outside long shot missed many times. They also missed several times and were counter-attacked by the Chinese team several times. With the two-hand dunk by Yi Jianlian, the Chinese team led 11 points 44-33. Although facing the Spanish pressing after the Chinese team lost a few times, but before the halftime Liu Wei made a beautiful fast-break layup, the Chinese team ended the first half with a lead of 9 points, which was 46 to 37.
In the second half, the Chinese team once again sent the starting lineup. The Spanish team's consecutive offensive failed, the Chinese team hit three consecutive points, 52 to 37, the Chinese team led by 15 points. After several substitution adjustments, the Spanish team recovered their feel and hit a 5 to 1 shock wave to chase the score from 42 to 53. Yunas hurriedly requested a timeout. At this time, Yao fell physically and rested, but he was almost out of firepower. After taking 5 points, he scored a 2+1. The Spanish team launched a crazy counterattack at the end of the third quarter, but a technical foul and repeated shots failed. And one after another, the Spanish team continued to fall behind 47-61.
At this time in the game, everyone can see that Spain's tactics are a bit confusing, and there are a lot of errors. The score is based on the player's ability, not tactical cooperation.
Spanish coach Renesse wanted to try some new tactics in the game against the Chinese team, but the problem of the team's running in. The new tactics did not play out at all, so the Spanish team trailed the Chinese team by more than ten points in three quarters.
In the last quarter, the Spanish team let go and played a small climax of 14-3 under the leadership of Gasol, pushing the score to 61-64, only 3 points behind. The national team encountered physical problems, and the scoring began to become extremely difficult. Yao even fouled four times.
The rules of an international basketball game are different from those of the NBA. The NBA leaves six fouls, and the international rules leave five fouls. So as long as Yao fouls again, then he would have to leave the court.
At the critical moment, Liu Wei hit a three-pointer, roughly hitting the buzzer, the score came to 70-67, and then the Spanish team Navarro hit a three-pointer, and finally equalized the score, the Spanish team also filled 15 points pit.
With less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the game has entered into fierce heat. At this time, every attack and every defense has become extremely crucial.
On the sidelines, Zhang Guan stood up and walked to coach Yunas.
"Coach, let me play!" Zhang Guan said suddenly.
Coach Yunas froze for a moment, he was hesitating whether to expose Zhang Guan in this game. After all, this is only a group match, and the opponent is a powerful Spain. In the national team's plan, this game could not have been won.
When coach Yunas hesitated, he scored roughly two points again, and the score became 72-70. At this time, there were 1 minute and 08 seconds left.
These crucial two points made Yunas breathe out, and in the next attack, Navarro missed a shot, the Yi Jianlian grabbed the rebound. At this time, the Chinese team not only has a 2-point lead but also holds the offensive power. As long as the goal can score a 2-point, the national team will get a 4-point advantage, while the Spanish team needs at least two attacks to be able to overtake the score.
"Time-Out!" Coach Yunas suddenly called a pause at this moment, with 42 seconds left until the end of the game.
Coach Yunas turned his head and said to Zhang Guan, "Are you ready to play?"
Zhang Guan nodded, "I already been ready."
"Go, play, bring the victory back!" Yunas said excitedly.