In fact, even Coach Sese couldn't figure it out, because the NBA head coaches didn't know either!
They racked their brains but couldn't come up with any effective solutions, and finally discovered that only going head-to-head could win.
But Sese wouldn't want to go that far.
Because compared to the Tang Tian that NBA coaches knew, the current Tang Tian had one more golden skill: [Death Assist].
Going head-to-head would only get them killed by China at the last moment, just like the Canadian team in the previous warm-up game.
In other words, to win the game, they had to completely overwhelm China in the first three quarters.
But with Tang Tian on the Chinese team, plus Ding Yanyuhang and Yi Jianlian, how easy would that be!
As a result, the third quarter completely became Tang Tian's personal ability show.
Pull-up jumpers, turnaround fadeaways, three-pointers in the face, breakthrough dunks, he displayed all eighteen weapons one by one.
The Greek team also tried double-teaming, even triple-teaming, but Tang Tian's exquisite passing quickly made them pay the price.
Although the Chinese team's lineup on the court was more defensively oriented, with Yi Jianlian and Ding Yanyuhang there, their ability to seize open opportunities was undeniable.
Conversely, after the Greek team's outside shooting touch declined, their scoring efficiency obviously decreased.
With just over 8 minutes left in the third quarter, the score on the court was 73 to 58.
The Chinese team had already expanded their lead to 15 points, and Tang Tian had already scored 15 points in a single quarter.
At this time, both sides made substitutions, and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tang Tian were both substituted to rest.
After Giannis Antetokounmpo came off the court and sat on the sidelines, he looked up at the score on the scoreboard and couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.
In FIBA games, being 15 points behind after three quarters meant that unless the Greek team could launch a counterattack wave at the start of the fourth quarter, the outcome was no longer in doubt.
In the last minute or so, the Greek team performed well, launching a 4-1 offensive wave and narrowing the point difference to 12 points.
This also allowed Giannis Antetokounmpo to see a glimmer of hope again.
During a brief break between quarters, the players from both sides returned to the court one after another.
After listening to the tactical arrangements, Giannis Antetokounmpo sat back on the bench to rest.
After he sat down, he instinctively turned his head to look at the Chinese team's side.
It was this look that made his whole mouth open wide in a daze.
The Chinese team's starting lineup for the fourth quarter included Tang Tian!
Tang Tian only rested for one minute before coming on!
Sese also saw it, but after hesitating for a moment, he still didn't let Giannis Antetokounmpo on.
Although a FIBA game has only 10 minutes per quarter, without the three-second rule the inside confrontation is very intense, and Giannis Antetokounmpo would suffer if he came on too early.
The lineups for both sides returned in the fourth quarter.
For the Greek team, it was Sloukas and Larentzakis on the outside, Papanikolaou and the elder Antetokounmpo brothers on the front line, and Papagiannis at center.
For the Chinese team, it was Tang Tian and Wu Qian on the outside, Kelanbaike and Ren Junfei on the front line, and Wang Zhelin at center.
China had possession to start.
Tang Tian dribbled the ball in the frontcourt, facing a double-team, and then encountered a three-man pocket.
He used a fake pass to trick the defender behind him, and then a turnaround fadeaway.
The ball shot towards the basket over Papanikolaou's hand.
"Swish!"
The ball went in!
Although he only rested for a little over a minute, for Tang Tian, who often played full games in the NBA, stamina was not a problem at all.
In the Greek team's offensive possession in the frontcourt, Papagiannis's strong attack under the basket was interfered with by Kelanbaike's help defense.
Although his individual ability was different from others, Kelanbaike's aggressiveness was very high, which was of great use on the defensive end.
This time, Wang Zhelin held his position and used his short arms to protect the defensive rebound.
Back on the other end, it was still Tang Tian, whose pull-up jumper in the double-team caused a shooting foul by the Greek team.
His shooting was too accurate, and the Greek team's players couldn't interfere at all without lunging, but once they lunged out, they couldn't take it back.
Tang Tian made both free throws.
The point difference instantly returned to 16 points!
Giannis Antetokounmpo watched from the sidelines and shook his head involuntarily again, and in the end, his eyes couldn't help but look at Tang Tian, who was retreating on defense.
This scene was also captured by reporters on the sidelines.
The elder Antetokounmpo brother completed a put-back dunk over Wang Zhelin in the frontcourt, finally breaking the Greek team's scoring drought.
But in the next possession, Tang Tian's pass after a breakthrough went to Wu Qian at the bottom corner, and Wu Qian's open three-pointer was a direct hit.
The point difference had reached 17 points.
Sese was forced to call a timeout.
After the timeout, Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the court.
He performed valiantly during this period, grabbing several offensive rebounds and scoring on second-chance opportunities.
But the Greek team still didn't have many ways to deal with Tang Tian on the defensive end.
The point difference between the two sides fluctuated around 15 points.
Until the last five minutes.
The Chinese team's outside shooters suddenly went wild, and even Zhai Xiaochuan scored a three-pointer from the outside.
The Chinese team directly used a one-wave attack to widen the score to more than 20 points, and the game suddenly lost its suspense.
Because they might enter the scoring phase, Li Chunjiang also kept the starters playing until the end.
In the end, the Chinese team, relying on Tang Tian's outstanding performance in the third quarter and the wild outburst in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, defeated the Greek team 100-75, taking their first victory in the second round.
On the Greek team's side, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points and 7 rebounds, but the Greek team's 11 three-pointers failed to help them win the game.
Five players on the Chinese team scored in double figures, with Tang Tian getting a game-high 25 points and also dishing out 12 assists, putting on a dominant performance.
After winning this game, the Chinese team's record came to 4 wins and 1 loss, accumulating 9 points, temporarily ranking third in Group I.
Who can emerge from Group I in the end will depend on the situation on the last match day.
The "group of death" was well-deserved.
Of course, after the game, fans put aside the qualifying situation for the time being and celebrated the victory wildly on Weibo and forums.
"Giannis Antetokounmpo stares at Tang Tian.jpg: Is this what you call the future?"
"This picture is really hilarious, Giannis Antetokounmpo must have a million mmp's he wants to say in his heart."
"Giannis Antetokounmpo: I endured until you retired in the NBA, but I didn't expect to meet you in FIBA!"
"Today, we must praise the Chinese team, from Fang Chaoju's opening three consecutive shots, to Yi Jianlian's finger pointing to the sky in the interior, to Li Chunjiang's troop deployment, and Tang Tian's invincibility, everything was done perfectly."
"With a Chinese team like this, who would dare to say that they don't have the strength to fight the American team?"
"That's right, we even beat the American team at Rio, why be cowardly now without even playing? Some people have been kneeling for too long and can't stand up anymore!"
"That's right, the American team's lineup wasn't bad at Rio either, Anthony and Durant were both there, and so were Irving and Cousins, not much worse than this year!"
"Speaking of which, it would be very interesting if the two teams really encountered each other, Little Shuai: I have to play against the team owner? If I play well, will I be transferred from the office to the assembly line?"
"Don't worry, Little Shuai will definitely go all out, although he went to the Pelicans, he still dreams of beating Tang Tian, this is his last chance."
"Come on, come on! I can't wait! The Chinese team will take down Cameroon tomorrow, and march all the way to the finals to fight the American team for 300 rounds!"
……