Yu Jia said excitedly, "Coach Zhang, Li Feng's performance in these two games has been amazing. I heard that a documentary about him is about to be filmed. I'm really looking forward to it!"
Coach Zhang smiled and nodded, "I'm looking forward to it too. This young man is very good, he has fighting spirit, and he's young. His growth process should be recorded earlier, which will be very helpful for nurturing our young players!"
Yu Jia agreed with the elder's long-term vision, "Yes, Li Feng's sudden emergence must have shocked all young Chinese players. And his height is average, not as exceptionally gifted as Da Yao."
Coach Zhang continued, "Exactly, we Chinese point guards have never been particularly outstanding. Da Yao often had to carry the team alone, which was a pity. Now that we have Li Feng, we can really look forward to it!"
The discussion between the two resonated with countless fans, many of whom sent text messages to express their views.
Yu Jia began the segment of reading text messages.
"Next, I'll read a text message from a fan. He said: If Da Yao had a point guard like Li Feng a few years earlier, then Da Yao's achievements would have been even greater."
Coach Zhang strongly agreed with this fan's statement and nodded slightly.
"Okay, let me read another one: Coach Zhang, hello, do you think there are any similarities between Li Feng and Kobe?"
As soon as Kobe was mentioned, the elder's spirits became even more energetic. He laughed and replied, "Okay, let me talk about it. Kobe is of course a superstar, very outstanding. As a rookie, Li Feng has some qualities that are indeed similar to Kobe. For example, his explosive physical talent and his never-give-up spirit, both embody the Mamba Mentality."
From the text message segment, it was evident that Li Feng's fan base was rapidly increasing. Out of ten messages, seven or eight were about Li Feng.
...
The Chinese and Greek teams were warming up, and the game was about to begin.
The starting players from both sides gradually took the court.
The starting five for the Chinese men's basketball team were Li Feng, Sun Dasheng, Zhu Fangyu, Yi Jianlian, and Yao Ming!
This was Li Feng's first time starting, and the live audience erupted in cheers. They had long hoped for Li Feng to be in the starting lineup.
The starting five for the Greek men's basketball team were Papaloukas, Spanoulis, Vasilopoulos, Fotsis, and Bourousis.
Among them, Spanoulis was the ace player for the Greek team, and he had played in the NBA.
Although he didn't achieve much in the NBA, his ability was very strong, especially in the national team, where he was the absolute star of Greece.
Span had been a short-term teammate of Yao Ming on the Rockets and was known as the "cigar of Houston's victory" in the NBA, remaining largely unnoticed.
However, in the European Championship, he was an absolute king, thriving in FIBA-system basketball!
As long as there was a tactical system that suited him, Span would show you what the king of the European Championship was all about!
In pick-and-roll plays, even against the arrogant Dream Team, Span would make opponents troublesome with his unsolvable shooting!
Therefore, Span had always been known as the "European Kobe."
During a pre-game interview with reporters, Span directly called out Li Feng!
"Li Feng is playing well, but I want to challenge him to a one-on-one duel!"
The reporters, of course, did not miss this explosive news and immediately publicized it.
Many fans were sweating for Li Feng.
This was because Li Feng was making his starting debut and facing a formidable opponent, a king who had dominated the entire European circuit!
In fact, before the game, some enterprising reporters had conveyed Span's remarks to Li Feng, but Li Feng remained unconcerned.
In Li Feng's eyes, only top superstars were his worthy opponents. Span? Who cared?
Of course, while Li Feng thought this way, he didn't appear too arrogant on the surface. He just smiled.
"Span is a very capable player. I will accept his challenge. Let's see each other on the court!"
This was the mark of a strong person; trash talk was meaningless. Everything would be decided on the court!
...
In addition, this match also attracted the special attention of TNT television. Regular guests, "Sir Charles" Barkley and Kenny Smith, were commentating on the game.
Barkley and Smith took opposite stances, supporting Span and Li Feng respectively. This was their usual tradition.
This generated more viewership and sparked heated discussions among fans.
Barkley favored Span, his reasoning being that Span had been famous for a long time and had achieved impressive results in international competitions.
Under Span's leadership, Greece had defeated many strong teams.
Although Li Feng had performed well in the past two games, he had only played the role of a surprise player and had not even started.
Smith repeatedly shook his head and refuted Barkley's points.
Smith's reasoning was that although Li Feng hadn't shown outstanding performance before, it was due to limited playing opportunities in the NCAA.
Now that he had the chance, Li Feng had immediately excelled, proving his talent was at that level, but he just lacked playing time.
The two held their own opinions, representing different viewpoints, and argued heatedly.
Of course, this was also for the sake of the show. Fans enjoyed watching their red-faced, boisterous debates.
...
The referee's whistle blew, and the game officially started. Yao Ming and Bourousis stood at the center circle for the tip-off.
Yao Ming was 5 centimeters taller than his opponent and easily secured the first possession!
Yi Jianlian passed the ball to Li Feng, who would organize the offense.
Spanoulis intended to put pressure on Li Feng from the start, so he began to guard Li Feng in the backcourt.
Li Feng, of course, was well-prepared, so he calmly dribbled the ball towards the frontcourt, keeping his body sideways.
Span intended to use his strong physique to knock Li Feng off balance and then steal the ball.
But as soon as he collided, his shoulder felt a sharp pain, as if he had crashed into a truck and was thrown back.
Li Feng, however, remained unmoved, still dribbling the ball steadily.
Span was greatly surprised. He sized up Li Feng, only then realizing how robust Li Feng's physique was.
However, Span remained proud, believing that even if Li Feng had good physical qualities, basketball wasn't solely about talent.
He believed his skills and the entire Greek team's coordination would make the Chinese team struggle!
After crossing half-court, Li Feng saw Da Yao had already established a position in the paint and immediately passed the ball to him.
Yao Ming, as the anchor of China's interior, was the "Great Wall of China" when he was full of energy!
As expected, after receiving the ball, Yao Ming faced Bourousis's tight defense and faked a move, followed by an acrobatic turnaround jump shot.
This soft touch and realistic fake move were truly remarkable for a player of 2.26 meters.
Despite Bourousis's best efforts to defend him, and even committing a foul, Da Yao steadily made the first shot!
2:0!
Span watched this and sighed. He had been a teammate with Yao Ming and knew how formidable Da Yao was.
Therefore, he knew deeply that to defeat China, they had to exploit the Chinese men's basketball team on the perimeter!