11 to 0!

With Fang Shuo's three three-pointers, the Chinese team stunned the Greek team right from the start.

Fang Shuo punched the air and roared after scoring, his emotions running high.

Thanassis called a timeout.

It wasn't just Fang Shuo's inspired three-pointers; the Greek team's offensive struggles since the beginning of the game needed to be addressed.

As the Chinese team walked off the court, Tang Tian patted Fang Shuo on the head, giving him the utmost recognition and encouragement for his performance.

He wasn't surprised by Yi Jianlian's explosion in the last game against Nigeria, but Fang Shuo's three-pointers against Greece were completely unexpected.

"Fang Super!"

Just then, a spectator in the front row couldn't help but shout at Fang Shuo.

He was genuinely excited.

Fang Shuo didn't look up, but gave a thumbs-up in the direction of the voice in response.

"Well done!"

Li Chunjiang also took the initiative to reach out and pat Fang Shuo's shoulder, then encouraged him with the most direct words.

Praise when you play well, scold when you play badly – Li Chunjiang's coaching style was straightforward and clear.

"With Fang Shuo making these three three-pointers, the Greek team's defense will definitely expand outwards. Abudushalamu, pull Antetokounmpo out, and we'll attack their inside."

Li Chunjiang's decibel level increased when he arranged tactics during the timeout.

Fang Shuo's magical performance helped the Chinese team get off to a perfect start, and it would be foolish not to seize such an opportunity!

When the timeout ended, the Greek team made extensive personnel changes.

Sloukas and Papanikolaou, who were not feeling it, were replaced by Papapetrou and Printezis.

Thanassis was forced into this situation; if this group of shooters wasn't working, he would just switch to another group of shooters.

However, his thinking was correct. Compared to arranging how to defend against the Chinese team's offense, it was more crucial for the Greek team to open up its own offense.

In the first offensive play after the timeout, the Greek team still chose to shoot from the outside against the Chinese team's zone defense.

Papapetrou took a three-pointer from the right side at a forty-five-degree angle.

"Swish!"

The ball went in!

The Greek team's bench erupted in cheers, and Thanassis couldn't help but clench his fist.

This three-pointer was crucial!

Not only did it help the Greek team break their scoring drought, but more importantly, it meant that the Greek team could make outside shots.

This would definitely force the Chinese team to expand their defense.

Tang Tian held the ball in the frontcourt, with Abudushalamu and Fang Shuo on the two baselines, Ding Yanyuhang on the left side at a forty-five-degree angle, and Tang Tian holding the ball on the right side at a forty-five-degree angle.

This was Tang Tian's No. 1 tactic with the Pelicans, and Li Chunjiang had also brought it over.

Yi Jianlian came up high to screen, and Tang Tian broke through with the ball.

The Greek team directly left Yi Jianlian open to double-team Tang Tian.

Tang Tian made a high lob pass while moving.

Yi Jianlian caught the ball and attacked the basket. Antetokounmpo returned to defend the basket, and he directly passed the ball to Abudushalamu at the baseline, who decisively shot a three-pointer.

Like Fang Shuo, after a series of games in the warm-up and group stages, Abudushalamu's confidence in his outside shots had also increased.

And the result of confidence was...

"Swish!"

Abudushalamu's three-pointer also went in!

The Chinese team made four three-pointers in a row to start the game!

14 to 3!

Li Chunjiang cursed, waving his fist excitedly.

Good form is contagious. With the Chinese team's outside firepower fully unleashed tonight, the Greek team would have a headache with their defense later on!

Back on defense, the Chinese team continued to play zone defense. This time, Printezis took a three-pointer from the outside.

"Swish!"

Printezis's outside three-pointer also went in!

After the timeout, the Greek team made two three-pointers in a row!

Obviously, the Greek gods were starting to exert their power, and Papapetrou and Printezis, who had been substituted in, were both feeling it!

This put a lot of pressure on the Chinese team's defense.

If the Greek team could make their outside shots, then continuing to play a 2-3 zone defense would be very stupid.

In the Chinese team's frontcourt position, Tang Tian continued to play a pick-and-roll with Yi Jianlian.

Wary of the Chinese team's outside shooting, the Greek team didn't dare to double-team easily again.

Tang Tian broke through to the basket, squeezed past Borousis, and easily scored the ball.

16 to 6!

The Chinese team still firmly controlled the situation on the court.

However, back on the other end, seeing the Chinese team switch back to man-to-man defense, Borousis pulled out to the arc, and Antetokounmpo asked for the ball in the low post and forced a shot over Yi Jianlian, also scoring two points.

With both sides feeling it from the outside, the space on the court was widened, and the inside defense was obviously weakened.

The game also began to turn from a one-sided affair at the beginning to an offensive battle.

This was very similar to the game between Cameroon and Argentina in the afternoon. Neither side could limit the other's scoring, so it depended on who could score more.

After the first quarter, the Chinese team led 24-16, thanks to the advantage they had gained at the start.

Both sides successively substituted their bench players.

And it was during this period that the Chinese team's bench ran into trouble.

Compared to the Greek team, the individual strength of the Chinese team, except for Tang Tian, Yi Jianlian, and Ding Yanyuhang, was obviously inferior to that of the Greek team.

In the past group matches, this stage was always transitioned through Ding Yanyuhang's performance.

However, Ding Yanyuhang wasn't feeling it today, and the Chinese team's scoring momentum suddenly declined.

On the Greek team's side, Sloukas and Papanikolaou, who had been substituted off early, returned to the court.

Knowing that they weren't feeling it from the outside, they used screens to take turns attacking the Chinese team's inside.

With Yi Jianlian resting on the bench, the substitute Wang Zhelin was obviously unable to cope.

The Greek team seized this opportunity and quickly closed the gap.

By the time both sides switched their starters back in, the Chinese team's lead had been eroded, and the two sides had tied at 28.

In the first offensive play after the starters returned, Yi Jianlian received a pass from Tang Tian and hit a three-pointer from the outside.

The Chinese team continued their outside touch from the first quarter!

However, back on the other end, Calathes also fired a three-pointer from the outside.

The Greek team also continued their outside touch from the first quarter!

On the Chinese team's side, Tang Tian frequently used his breakthroughs to create scoring opportunities for his teammates.

On the Greek team's side, the outside shooters also frequently fired and hit shots, taking advantage of Antetokounmpo's inside presence to draw defenders.

After experiencing the scoring chase at the beginning of the second quarter, the two sides began another scoring battle.

At the end of the first half, the two sides tied at 50.

The Chinese team had made 8 three-pointers, while the Greek team had made 9 after a slow start!

This was really a case of whoever scored more would win the game.

With a perfect start, but falling into a stalemate, the fans at the scene were extremely nervous at this time.

In this life-or-death battle, it all depended on whose touch would drop first in the second half, or who could continue their hot touch.

During the halftime break, the players from both teams were resting in the locker room.

"Tang Tian, I'll put on the defensive lineup in the second half, and you take more shots."

Li Chunjiang looked at the statistics for a long time, and finally threw the tactical board away and said directly to Tang Tian.

Neither team could guarantee that they could continue the hot touch of the first half in the second half.

If they could attack all the way to the final moments like Cameroon and Argentina, then the Chinese team would have Tang Tian and a better chance of winning.

But that was risky. On the contrary, a safer approach was to find an advantage on the defensive end.

It was just that there were very few Chinese team members who were all-around on both offense and defense. Substituting defensive players would definitely lead to a decline in offense, and at this time, Tang Tian could only be relied upon on the offensive end.