Chapter 1 Aftermath of Warm-up Games

After finishing the warm-up games and completing the roster cuts, the Chinese men's basketball team boarded the plane to Tokyo.

On the plane, the players were discussing the list that the Japanese media had just released.

"I thought the Japanese were pretty humble, but now it seems they're just like those Koreans next door."

"And ranking us fourth is hilarious. We're here to take down the Americans. Australia and Spain aren't even worth mentioning."

Lin Yi kept complaining.

Tang Tian, sitting behind him, shook his head helplessly as he listened.

After spending time with the national team during this training camp, Tang Tian noticed two things about Lin Yi.

He was incredibly vocal with trash talk on the court, and a chatterbox off the court.

That was the complete opposite of him. He acted when he was unhappy on the court, and was calm and collected off the court.

The two of them together gave off a feeling of ice and fire.

"They think Tang-ge is washed up."

Ding Yan Yuhang said from the side.

His words were immediately met with laughter on the plane.

There was a reason why Li Chunjiang didn't let Tang Tian play much in the warm-up games.

On the one hand, Tang Tian hadn't played professionally in a while and needed a gradual process to adapt to high-intensity games.

On the other hand, it was naturally a smokescreen.

This year's Olympic grouping was truly a group of death, especially with the first game against Australia. Putting up a smokescreen was very necessary.

Take the World Cup for example, when they played Australia in the quarterfinals, they were able to advance easily because the latter underestimated them.

The other players laughed simply because they knew how much Tang Tian's strength had recovered. Even if it wasn't 100%, it was at least 90%.

Professional players, especially a superstar like Tang Tian who had a cheat-like ability, and had only been out of the game for a year, recovered very quickly.

Sure enough, Ding Yan Yuhang looked at Lin Yi as if he was a monster.

Although he was more open-minded now, that was only because Kuzma and the others had influenced him. Lin Yi was just born with it?

"Ahem, should we bring back some local specialties?"

Lin Yi noticed Ding Yan Yuhang's gaze and realized that he had been a bit too unrestrained. Then he changed the subject.

Tang Tian nodded. Japan had quite a few local specialties, especially food, which Olsen had specifically told him about.

Tang Tian reached out and flicked him on the forehead.

What was this guy thinking about all day!

The other players laughed as well. They realized that with a chatterbox like Lin Yi around, this trip to the Tokyo Olympics would be much more interesting.

The plane roared as it landed at Tokyo International Airport, and they disembarked one after another.

"It's actually kind of hot."

Just as they left the airport, Ding Yan Yuhang couldn't help but say.

This time Tang Tian nodded. He could already feel his body sweating.

Japan is an island nation, and most of its cities are concentrated in a few plains areas, especially Tokyo.

Just imagine that more than half of it is mountains, with an area of only 300,000 square kilometers, but it has to accommodate a population of more than 100 million. You can imagine how dense the population is.

Many people, many houses, many air conditioning units, many cars, plus global warming, the temperature in Tokyo is very high now, and it is a humid heat that is prone to heat stroke.

According to previous reports, since entering late July, more than 2,000 people in Japan have been hospitalized due to high temperatures, and more than 60 people have died.

It really is very hot.

Fortunately, they only waited outside the airport for a while. After the bus came, they got on the bus and headed to the Olympic Village.

Even before arriving at the Olympic Village, the traffic was already very congested, with large crowds and Olympic slogans everywhere.

Although the weather was hot, the Japanese people's enthusiasm for the Olympics was not diminished at all.

The last time Japan hosted the Olympics was back in 1964. Now, after nearly 60 years, hosting the Olympics again, the scene is imaginable.

After entering the Olympic Village, you could also feel the difference between here and Rio.

Rio originally saved on all kinds of facilities, from the inside to the outside, but Japan's investment in the Olympics was still very large.

After all, it is a developed country.

This also saved them a lot of trouble. Otherwise, big guys like Lin Yi and Zhou Qi wouldn't be able to fit in, and they would have to rent hotels outside again.

Tang Tian's appearance in the Olympic Village also caused a huge sensation.

Athletes from various events all turned into fanboys and fangirls, almost surrounding him.

Although he had been retired for more than a year, his influence had not diminished at all.

Under the management of Tang Tian and Tatum, basketball is now the second largest sport in the world, second only to football. It is not surprising that it has such a reaction.

"Now I hope the Japanese can make it to the quarterfinals."

After coming out of the crowd with Tang Tian, the chatterbox Lin Yi started talking again.

"Why?"

Ding Yan Yuhang was full of curiosity.

"Because that way we will have the opportunity to meet the Japanese. At that time, I want to see if Tang-ge's popularity is higher, or that Hachimura's is."

Lin Yi said very seriously.

After he finished speaking, the other team members nodded one after another.

Tang Tian was famous in the NBA as a machine for turning away fans in away games, the kind that could turn away games into home games.

Now that he has reappeared after a year, it is really hard to say who the fans at the scene will support.

If the Japanese fans were turned away and supported them instead, that scene would be very interesting.

After all, the Japanese are of good quality, and they may not blindly support their own country.

And there is also an uncertainty, Japan is next to China, and it is also a curious place to see how many Chinese people will appear on the scene.

Lin Yi's rare seriousness this time really brought up a very interesting topic.

After resting in the Olympic Village for a few days, they also participated in the opening ceremony with the national team on the evening of the 24th.

It is worth mentioning that although he has been retired for more than a year, Tang Tian has still become the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.

In terms of influence, no one can compare with him now.

When Tang Tian appeared as the flag bearer, the cheers at the scene reached a climax.

This is personal influence.

It is worth mentioning that when the Japanese team appeared later, the flag bearer was Rui Hachimura.

It can be seen that the Japanese people's expectations for basketball have been written on their faces.