China's next game in the men's basketball tournament was against the host team, Great Britain.

Great Britain was in an even worse situation than China, having lost all three of their previous games. As the host country, they desperately needed a win against China.

Before the game, Tang Tian gave a pep talk to the Chinese team members.

This game was China's best chance to win, and it was also the most crucial game in determining their chances of advancing.

The Olympic basketball arena was packed.

Although basketball isn't a mainstream sport in Great Britain, as one of the three major ball sports, the Olympics still drew a considerable crowd.

After the game started, China had the upper hand initially, but soon, Great Britain's Luol Deng began to explode.

Deng, known as "British Jordan," played as a swingman between the small forward and power forward positions. Tang Tian couldn't match up with him, and the rest of the Chinese team couldn't stop him either.

Moreover, the referee's calls clearly favored the British team. Chen Jianghua and Sun Yue both picked up two fouls early and had to sit out.

The young player Guo Ailun, who came off the bench for China, had some brilliant moments, scoring several times on fast breaks after receiving passes from Tang Tian.

China managed to keep the score close.

In the final quarter, Tang Tian's consecutive steals helped China take the lead at one point, but the referee once again dominated the game.

After two highly controversial calls, China ultimately lost a close game 71-74.

The loss was a big blow to China, but they did have some gains.

Young Guo Ailun scored 13 points and had 2 assists in the game, putting on an impressive performance.

After losing this game, China's record was 1 win and 3 losses, the same as Great Britain and Brazil.

Great Britain's last game was against Spain, giving them very little chance of winning.

China and Brazil would face each other directly.

This meant that there was only one way for China to advance to the top 8: defeat Brazil.

The Brazilian men's basketball team was strong. They had won the World Championship twice and the Olympic bronze medal three times in the last century.

They brought all four of their NBA players to this year's Olympics, aiming for a breakthrough.

However, they had been unlucky in the first few games of the group stage, losing to Australia and Russia in consecutive buzzer-beaters.

For them, the only way to advance was to defeat China.

In other words, this was a life-or-death battle: the loser would be eliminated, and the winner would advance to the top 8.

The do-or-die game against Brazil stirred up excitement among fans in China.

"I was at the game 2 years ago. Zhu Ba's iron fists were so powerful, he made those Brazilian guys run all over the court. Zhou Peng's Foshan Shadowless Kick was also a highlight."

"That was the most badass fight I've ever seen the men's basketball team get into."

"I heard that the warm-up game also caused quite a stir in Brazil, and the Brazilian Basketball Association even protested to us."

"Protest what? They played so dirty in that game, Zhang Qingpeng was almost killed when they slammed him to the ground by the neck."

"Yeah, the conflict wasn't that big at first, but when two Brazilian players made mocking faces at our bench as they left the court, it triggered the second large-scale conflict."

"They look down on the Chinese team in their bones, and they were only the second team back then."

"It's normal to look down on you if you're stronger than you, isn't it? Even their second team beat you."

"This time is perfect, let's win them properly on the court. Didn't they forfeit the game and go home last time? This time, let's send them home!"

…

On the day of the game between the two sides, the Brazilian team was doing warm-up training in the auxiliary hall next to the main hall.

Many reporters also came to the scene.

This men's basketball team has a number of NBA players, including Nene, Varejao, Splitter, and Barbosa. Although their performance has not been good so far, their attention is high.

After the training, Barbosa, the core outside player of the Brazilian team, was interviewed by reporters on the sidelines.

"What do you think of your opponent, the Chinese team, tonight?" a local Spanish reporter asked.

"They are a barbaric team." To the surprise of the reporter, Barbosa used a very bad adjective.

"What?"

"Our second team players encountered very uncivilized behavior from them when they played against them two years ago."

Barbosa seemed very concerned.

The reporter still didn't understand why Barbosa would care so much about a warm-up game, and it was still the second team.

But this is also normal. Few people know that Paulo, the number 9 player who was beaten black and blue by Zhu Fangyu in that game, is Barbosa's cousin.

The reporter didn't understand, didn't ask, but didn't stop asking questions.

"So are you confident of defeating your opponent tonight?"

"Of course, we will defeat our opponents in a basketball court manner and tell them what the real meaning of basketball is." Barbosa looked murderous.

The reporter was surprised by Barbosa's reaction.

It seems that this group qualifying battle between China and Brazil will be much more intense than imagined.

Before the game between China and Brazil, Deng Huade gave a passionate speech in the locker room.

This is a purely violent chicken soup.

"...I don't know why we have no reason to win tonight's game! Kick their asses hard! Kick them from here! London! Kick them straight back to their Rio!"

Deng Huade led the team in that fight two years ago, and he still looks as good as he did then.

Tang Tian didn't say anything at this time. Brazil's strength is much stronger than that of the United Kingdom, and it is also much stronger than that of China.

Moreover, in this kind of life-and-death battle, they can't be careless like Spain. This game will be very difficult for the Chinese team.

The team does need such chicken soup to boost morale.

At this time, there were also five or six thousand people sitting in the Olympic basketball hall.

This time, Chinese fans had an overwhelming advantage over Brazilian fans. In the huge basketball hall, there were nearly two thousand Chinese fans!

Occupying a full third of the stadium!

This is the Chinese team's life-and-death battle, and the fans are going all out!

In contrast, there were less than a hundred fans from the Brazilian team at the scene!

When the members of the men's basketball team walked to the stadium and saw the five-star red flags, they felt their whole bodies boiling with enthusiasm.

Tang Tian was also deeply touched.

Chinese fans are forcibly turning London into their home court!

Before the game, the players seemed very excited. Yi Jianlian even showed off a few dunks, which caused cheers from the Chinese fans on the sidelines.

"Tonight is the men's basketball team's life-and-death battle, and I am very proud to be able to see so many Chinese fans at the scene!" Yang Jian, who was on the commentary seat, was very excited.

"Yes, don't talk about how the men's basketball team is, but our fans' support for him has never changed." Zhang Weiping also said.

After the warm-up, the players on both sides were gradually introduced.

Along with it, the starting players of the two teams were also released.

China made a slight adjustment to the starting lineup in this game. The outside line is still Chen Jianghua and Sun Yue, the forward line has become Tang Tian and Yi Jianlian, and Zhang Zhaoxu is the starting center.

Brazil's side also sent out all the main players, the outside Marcelo Huertas and Barbosa, the forwards Marcelo Machado and Nene, and the center Varejao.

Yi Jianlian and Varejao jump ball.

Yi Jianlian showed his jumping advantage and pushed the ball back to China's half.

"The game has begun!"

Accompanied by Yang Jian's extremely familiar commentary, countless domestic fans also turned their attention to this game.

A life-or-death battle to qualify!

The Chinese team attacked to the frontcourt, and Tang Tian was organizing at the top of the circle.

Yi Jianlian cut into the basket after giving Sun Yue a pick-and-roll, containing Brazil's defense.

Sun Yue got a chance on the outside after running in the opposite direction.

Tang Tian gave the pass at the first time.

A very good open three-point opportunity.

Sun Yue's three-point shot after adjustment.

"Bang!"

This shot was obviously a bit heavy, and the ball bounced off the back edge of the basket.

Nene protected the defensive rebound.

The Brazilian team advanced to the frontcourt, and Barbosa found Nene with a pick-and-roll and then broke through Yi Jianlian. Before Yi Jianlian's block, he took a step into the paint and scored a layup.

The Chinese team attacked again in the frontcourt.

Tang Tian didn't organize the ball this time, but ran for a catch-and-shoot three-pointer himself.

The opportunity came, but Chen Jianghua's pass was too early and was directly intercepted by Barbosa.

Barbosa launched a counterattack after stealing the ball, dribbled behind his back to get past Sun Yue on the fast break, and scored another 2 points in the frontcourt.

"Brazilian Lightning" is still as fast as lightning, scoring 4 points in a row at the start.

Tang Tian signaled Yi Jianlian to go low to play against Varejao in the frontcourt.

The position of this ball is good, and Tang Tian gave the ball at the first time.

Varejao is good at defense while moving, and this kind of top-person defense is generally ineffective.

Yi Jianlian's opportunity, he chose to shoot after turning around, but his shooting action was a bit tight.

The ball slipped out of the basket, and the rebound was taken by Varejao.

The Brazilian team attacked to the frontcourt, and Huertas sent a second pass, and Machado made a three-pointer from the outside.

7 to 0!

Tang Tian passed the ball to Yi Jianlian again in the frontcourt. Yi Jianlian was in a very deep position and wanted to dunk directly after turning around.

But this ball was a bit too strong, and Varejao fell out of the field.

Before Yi Jianlian could pull up, the baseline referee gave an offensive foul.

The Brazilian team attacked again in the frontcourt. Barbosa broke through Nene again this time, and Nene scored with a one-handed dunk after shaking off Ding Jinhui while moving.

9 to 0!

The Brazilian team's offensive was like a tide at the start!

Deng Huade reached out and called a timeout.

Barbosa roared at the Chinese fans on the sidelines as he left the court.

He looked extremely excited.

The Chinese fans on the sidelines were in a commotion.

Although they knew that there was a gap in strength between the Chinese team and the Brazilian team, no one thought that it would be like this at the beginning.

"Our players' bodies are too tight."

Zhang Weiping has a keen eye and saw the problem on the court at a glance.

Yes, the body is too tight.

Tang Tian also felt it.

When playing against Spain, the Chinese team shot 12 of 20 from the outside, with a hit rate of 60%.

The reason why they felt so good was largely because they let go and didn't have any psychological baggage. Anyway, it's normal not to win, and it's a big profit to win.

As a result, after a few shots at the start, the hands really got hot and the shots became more and more accurate.

But this time, the Chinese team must win, and the players also want to win too much. After wanting to win too much, their bodies are very tight.

Sun Yue's three-pointer, Yi Jianlian's two consecutive strong attacks, and even Chen Jianghua's pass all reflected this problem.

"Listen to me, everyone, don't worry, we don't feel good now, but we can start from defense, defend it, and play a defensive counterattack. We did it when we played against Spain."

Tang Tian said directly to the starting players before Deng Huade started speaking.

The players nodded one after another.

After Yao Ming retired, Yi Jianlian naturally became the leader of the men's basketball team.

However, Yi Jianlian's personality is not suitable for being a leader, and the men's basketball team is actually a masterless team.

But after winning Spain under the leadership of Tang Tian in the first game, coupled with Deng Huade's trust in Tang Tian and his resume of winning the NBA championship, Tang Tian is actually the team leader.

At this time, the players listened to what he said.

"Bob, let Dapeng go up and stabilize the score."

Tang Tian then said to Deng Huade.

Deng Huade nodded and turned to signal Wang Shipeng to get up.

"This substitution is right. We now need a big-hearted player like Wang Shipeng to stabilize the situation."

Zhang Weiping immediately gave a positive evaluation after seeing the Chinese people's substitution.

This also made the audience in front of the domestic TV slightly relieved.

Tang Tian continued to hold the ball at the arc to coordinate.

Wang Shipeng ran a three-pointer with Yi Jianlian's cover.

The Brazilian team's defense was very good. Whether it was Wang Shipeng who ran out or Yi Jianlian who went to the basket, they were all taken care of.

But at this moment, what made everyone unresponsive was that Tang Tian threw the three-pointer from the top of the arc directly by himself.

Machado on the opposite side was also a little surprised. You must know that Tang Tian has been organizing the offense since the start.

"Shua!"

The basketball went into the net!

Tang Tian showed his big heart ability and hit a cold three-pointer!

"Beautiful!"

Yang Jian on the commentary seat shouted out loud.

"I said, Tang Tian is the top three-point shooter in the NBA, if he really wants to shoot, he can score if he shoots!"

Zhang Weiping also echoed with a smile on his face.

Cheers rang out from the Chinese fans on the sidelines.

This three-pointer came too crucially and too quenchingly!

If the Chinese team doesn't score again, this game will collapse directly at the start!

In Brazil's offense, Huertas was organizing on the outside, and Barbosa cut into the basket with Nene's pick-and-roll.

Huertas showed excellent passing vision and directly made a beautiful through-the-body through ball.

"Pa!"

However, Tang Tian judged this ball, he rushed out in advance, and directly intercepted Huertas' pass!

Sun Yue launched a fast break at the first time, and Tang Tian made a long pass from the backcourt.

Sun Yue took the ball for a fast break and dunked the ball into the basket directly before Huertas could retreat!

The cheers of the Chinese fans on the sidelines rose again.

After the timeout, the Chinese team returned a wave of 5-0 to the Brazilian team!

In this wave of counterattacks, Tang Tian contributed 3 points, 1 steal and 1 assist, and his role as a leader was obvious!

"Defense! Defense!"

This continuous offense also mobilized the emotions of the Chinese fans on the sidelines, and they began to cheer for the Chinese team in unison.

China's "home court" began to exert its power.

The Chinese team's pressing was very fierce. Nene's pass after being double-teamed by Sun Yue in the paint was directly passed into Sun Yue's hands!

This time, Sun Yue returned the favor and passed the ball to Tang Tian, who was fast-breaking. Tang Tian made a beautiful behind-the-back pass back to Wang Shipeng, who was following up.

Wang Shipeng's three-pointer on the right wing.

"Shua!"

Wang Shipeng showed his big heart ability and also made a three-pointer!

Wang Shipeng was very excited after scoring the goal, pounding his chest and looking up and roaring.

The Chinese team fought back with an 8-0 against the Brazilian team!

After this wave of counterattacks, the team's entire momentum was completely up!

The Brazilian team made a mistake in their busy schedule. Huertas and Barbosa made a mistake in their cooperation and directly passed the ball out of bounds.

Brazilian coach Magnano quickly reached out and called a timeout.

When Tang Tian came off the court, he received extremely enthusiastic cheers from his teammates.

After Yao Ming, they finally found a team leader who could lead the Chinese team forward in words and actions!