Li Feng's astonishing goal not only widened the point gap but also shattered Croatia's confidence.
The Croatian head coach stared at Li Feng, shaking his head repeatedly. As the head coach, he still had to continue his efforts, but in his heart, he had already given up.
With a superstar like Li Feng on the opposing side, what was the point of continuing the game?
For the next few minutes, Li Feng continued to direct his teammates, applying pressure on both offense and defense.
The score gradually widened. By the 6 minutes and 21 seconds mark of the fourth quarter, the score was 83:67, with China leading by sixteen points.
At this point, the Croatian head coach called another timeout.
Younes also substituted Li Feng out. Li Feng had not rested for a single minute since the third quarter, playing a continuous sixteen minutes.
Furthermore, Li Feng had to exert effort on both offense and defense.
Even with his golden finger protecting him, Li Feng's stamina was greatly depleted, and he needed to rest.
As Li Feng was substituted off the court, the entire stadium rose to applaud again, paying tribute to Li Feng's brilliant performance.
Li Feng waved to the audience to express his gratitude. The home crowd of Chinese fans was one of the factors that stimulated Li Feng's potential.
He was also a player who was somewhat emotional, being young after all.
The louder the crowd cheered, the more excited Li Feng became, and the better he played!
After Li Feng left the court, Chen Jianghua and Wang Zhizhi continued to lead the team.
Croatia seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack.
However, the morale of the Chinese players had been ignited, and everyone was fighting with all their might.
Younes had already told them that Li Feng had played for so long, and they needed to give him a chance to rest. He left it to them to handle it!
Despite Croatia's desperate attempts to catch up, the Chinese players withstood the pressure.
With only 2 minutes and 42 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the score was 88:74, a difference of 14 points.
The Croatian team's head coach had already given up and substituted his star players.
The Chinese fans in the stadium began their celebrations. Someone took the lead and started singing the national anthem!
As the solemn melody filled the stadium, everyone stood up, placed their hands over their hearts, and was deeply moved by this exciting moment.
Finally, the entire match ended. The Chinese team defeated Croatia with a score of 92:80, creating history once again and advancing to the finals!
The moment the referee's whistle blew, all the Chinese players embraced each other, and most of them shed tears of excitement.
Younes also shed tears. During his coaching tenure, he had been criticized many times.
Therefore, the pressure on him was immense.
There was pressure from the Chinese Basketball Association above and the expectations of the fans below.
At this moment, he finally savored the joy of victory.
In this game, Li Feng played for 37 minutes, scoring 35 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing out 12 assists.
It was another spectacular triple-double with luxurious statistics.
Simultaneously, Li Feng was undoubtedly awarded the MVP of this game!
It was no exaggeration to say that through his dominant individual performance, Li Feng had once again pulled China back from the brink!
Today, Li Feng was interviewed by "Big Sister of Women's Basketball," Sui Feifei.
Sui Feifei walked quickly to Li Feng with a microphone.
They smiled at each other and high-fived, like old friends.
"Li Feng, your performance today was truly amazing. Honestly, I was already feeling quite desperate in the third quarter," Sui Feifei spoke her mind.
Li Feng nodded. Recalling the moment just now, he also felt a bit of lingering fear.
After all, after three quarters, Croatia was still leading by 2 points.
If they had truly faltered, they would have been eliminated.
"Thank you, Sister Feifei. I am honored that I did not disappoint you and the fans!"
"What were you thinking when Yao Ming got injured and left the court today?" Sui Feifei asked.
As Sui Feifei was a retired star player from the national team, she understood the psychology of the players on the court very well.
When a team's absolute core player gets injured, the psychological impact on the other teammates is significant.
"Sister Feifei, we were a bit flustered at that moment. But since things had reached this point, we could only give our all and fight for it."
"We've already reached the semifinals, so there's no pressure. Every step forward is a new piece of history, so we don't have any burdens."
Sui Feifei nodded approvingly, greatly admiring Li Feng's strong mental fortitude.
"By the way, I haven't interviewed your team leader yet. Can you give me some insight into Yao Ming's injury?"
Li Feng replied affirmatively, "It's nothing serious. Brother Yao just sustained a minor impact injury. He'll be fine after a day of rest. He is very important for our finals."
Sui Feifei asked again, "I heard that many NBA team scouts were present at the scene. How many teams do you think will select you?"
Li Feng shrugged, "I haven't thought about that yet. After the Olympics, we still have the NCAA. I hope we can achieve good results."
Seeing Li Feng's composure, Sui Feifei felt a little surprised.
After all, Li Feng was only an 18-year-old young man, and entering the NBA was equivalent to becoming instantly rich.
No one could remain so indifferent to such temptation.
But Li Feng seemed not to care much about the draft, focusing only on the current game.
It seemed Li Feng was a pure basketball player.
In a league that was becoming increasingly commercialized, some things had lost their original meaning.
If Li Feng could always maintain his original intention, it would be truly rare and precious.
"Li Feng, your opponent in the finals has been decided. It's the USA's Dream Team. What are your expectations for this game?"
Li Feng had thought a lot about this topic.
So when Sui Feifei asked about it, Li Feng answered without hesitation, "Our Chinese men's basketball team has come this far. Whether we win or lose is no longer important. The USA's Dream Team, as the strongest team in world basketball, is already a victory just to stand on the same stage as them!"
Li Feng had a great mindset, without the burden of fear of losing.
Sui Feifei gave him a thumbs-up again, praising, "Your mindset is truly excellent and mature. I believe you will play well in the finals!"
"Thank you, Sister Feifei. I dare not say how well I will play, but I will give it my all. That's the only thing I can control!"
...
After the interview, Li Feng returned to the locker room and celebrated wildly with his teammates again.
After the revelry, Yao Ming and Li Feng had a deep conversation.
Having played in the NBA for many years, Yao Ming had interacted with many superstars. In this regard, Younes actually had less experience than Yao Ming.
Therefore, to perform well in the finals, Yao Ming not only had to serve as a core player but also as a coach.
Yao Ming explained the characteristics of the US team to Li Feng, and Li Feng was well-informed.
Of course, the US team was full of superstars, while in the Chinese team, only Li Feng and Yao Ming could match them. Therefore, the Chinese team had to play high-quality team basketball to contend with them.