Chapter 28 The Last Round of the Rematch

After two days of rest, the rematch ushered in the final round of matches.

As before, this round of matches would be held over two days, with Group I and Group J starting first.

The Chinese team would also face Cameroon at 7 p.m.

Cameroon boasted Embiid and Siakam, possessing the strongest inside presence in this World Cup, and remained undefeated.

The Chinese team's inside game, on the other hand, was visibly weak.

For the Chinese team, this would be the most difficult match they'd faced since the start of the World Cup.

Moreover, with the competition reaching the final round, how to qualify for the group stage became the biggest concern for the outside world.

The Chinese team currently had 9 points, ranking third in the group. Whether they could reach the top eight would depend on the results of the afternoon's match between Greece and Argentina.

This led to several possible scenarios.

Scenario 1: Greece wins against Argentina, and China loses against Cameroon.

In this case, Cameroon would advance with 6 wins and 0 losses, totaling 12 points. Greece, Argentina, and China would all have a record of 4 wins and 2 losses, and the tie would be broken by net points.

This was the familiar scoring calculation that Chinese soccer fans knew all too well.

Net points, so to speak, are the sum of a team's point difference against the other two teams.

For example, the Chinese team lost to Argentina by 15 points but then beat Greece by 25 points, giving them a net point total of +10.

Based on this, Greece, with a previous point difference of -25, would need to beat Argentina by 36 points to achieve a net point total of +11 and advance.

As for Argentina, with a previous point difference of +15, they would need to keep their loss to 4 points or less to achieve a net point total of +11 and advance.

Scenario 2: Greece loses to Argentina, and China loses to Cameroon.

In this case, Cameroon would still advance as the group leader with 12 points.

Greece, with 3 wins and 3 losses, totaling 9 points, would be directly eliminated.

Argentina and China would both have 10 points, but because Argentina previously defeated China, Argentina would advance, and China would be eliminated.

Scenario 3: Greece wins against Argentina, and China wins against Cameroon.

China and Cameroon would both have 5 wins and 1 loss, totaling 11 points, and would advance together, with China as the group leader and Cameroon as the group runner-up.

Greece and Argentina would both have 4 wins and 2 losses, totaling 10 points, and would both be eliminated.

Scenario 4: Greece loses to Argentina, and China wins against Cameroon.

This was the most complicated scenario.

First, Greece, with 3 wins and 3 losses, would be directly eliminated, and the point difference in this match would not affect subsequent scoring calculations.

China, Cameroon, and Argentina would all have a record of 5 wins and 1 loss, and like Scenario 2, the tie would be broken by points.

China currently had -15, Cameroon +5, and Argentina +10.

China was in the most unfavorable position among the three teams.

They would need to beat Cameroon by at least 10 points to advance, and at least 25 points to become the Group I leader.

To sum up the four scenarios for China:

If China loses to Cameroon or wins by less than 10 points, they would have to rely on the results of other matches;

If they win against Cameroon by 10 points or more, they would definitely advance.

Tang Tian's absence caused China to lose to Argentina by as many as 15 points, and this small point difference carried over to the final do-or-die battle.

This put immense pressure and challenge on the Chinese team.

However, during the morning training session, from the coaching staff to Tang Tian and all the members of the Chinese team, they all showed sufficient confidence.

Yao Ming, chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, also appeared at the team's training ground.

He also accepted an interview with reporters on the sidelines.

"Are you clear about how China needs to calculate points to win?"

Various posts about point calculations were circulating on forums, and various topics were trending on Weibo, so it was natural for reporters to throw this question at him.

"My math isn't good, but I know that winning the game gives us the initiative."

Yao Ming shook his head.

"Then do you think China can win?"

The reporter pressed.

"Of course."

Yao Ming's answer was also very simple.

After the Chinese team finished training, the Cameroon men's basketball team arrived at the venue.

As the two teams met, Tang Tian stopped to chat with Siakam for a while.

Reporters also watched the Cameroon men's basketball team train.

Their training was mainly focused on inside offense and outside shooting, which was consistent with their previous game style.

After the training, Embiid was interviewed by reporters on the sidelines.

The reporter also posed the same question to Embiid.

"Do you know that if Cameroon loses to China by more than 10 points tonight, they will be eliminated in terms of small points?"

The reporter asked.

"No, I don't know. We don't calculate small points; we only look at the big picture."

Embiid was quite confident.

The only possibility for Cameroon to be eliminated was to lose to China by more than 10 points. If they win, they will definitely advance, which is why he said they were looking at the big picture.

"Then what do you think is Cameroon's advantage?"

The reporter continued to ask.

"The inside game. Pascal and I both have an advantage in matchups, and we will make good use of that."

Embiid didn't hold back at all. In fact, there was nothing to hold back.

The World Cup's strongest inside team against one of the weakest, that advantage was obvious to everyone.

That afternoon, the match between Greece and Argentina started first.

For these two teams, this was also a do-or-die battle.

Greece would have a glimmer of hope if they won, while Argentina would advance to the top eight as long as they won.

Neither China nor Cameroon came to the venue because they were unlikely to play each other again, so they were focusing more on mental adjustments before the game.

However, on the online forums, Chinese fans were paying unprecedented attention to this match.

It was simple: if Greece could beat Argentina, and win by a score between 5 and 35 points, then China would directly lie their way into the top 8.

After the match started, the number of Greek fans on the online forums surged.

The match was also extremely tense.

Argentina continued to play their free-flowing basketball, with their offense flowing like quicksilver.

However, Greece seemed to have regained their outside touch since the last game, and their inside-outside combination was equally effective.

The two teams fought fiercely until the final moments of the fourth quarter.

With 1 minute left in the game, Greece even tied the score at 86-86.

However, at the most critical moment, Argentina's 39-year-old veteran Scola stepped up, hitting two three-pointers over Printezis and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

These two three-pointers allowed Argentina to ultimately defeat Greece 92-88 and advance to the top eight.

After the match, Ginobili, who came to watch the game, excitedly ran onto the court to embrace Scola, and Scola excitedly reached out to touch Ginobili's head.

The former golden generation of Argentina had only Scola still fighting, but he successfully led this Argentine team into the World Cup quarterfinals.

The fans on the forums were incredibly disappointed.

The Greek brothers couldn't be relied on; now they could only rely on China themselves.