Although the "tough meat" period of Italian basketball wasn't easy to chew...

But when he thought about how he'd even trashed Michael Jordan's Eight Ways back in the day...

At that moment, Su Feng felt like he possessed infinite power.

What impact did "being dragged to slay the dragon as a rookie the moment I entered the league" actually have on Su Feng's later career?

Truth be told.

Over the years, whenever Su Feng encountered difficulties, as long as he remembered the "Old Rogue" from back then, no matter how great the difficulty, it wouldn't seem like much of a challenge to him.

…

Beijing time, 7 PM on August 19th, the Chinese men's basketball team officially welcomed their first opponent in this World Championship in Sapporo, Japan:

The Italian men's basketball team.

And as in Su Feng's memory, before the start of this game, the head coach of the Italian men's basketball team said in an interview that if he could, he would rather trade the entire Italian team for Yao Ming on the other side.

You need to know that as one of the traditional powerhouses in European basketball during this period, Italy not only had the most luxurious group of shooters in Europe at this time, but they had also reached third place in the 2003 European Championships.

If Su Feng remembered correctly, in the original 2006 World Championship, several of the main outside shooters of the Italian men's basketball team had good performances.

In particular, Luca Basile, the greatest legendary shooter in Italian basketball history, scored 27 points for the Italian men's basketball team in that game.

But even if Basile had an incredible performance in the game...

Facing the Chinese men's basketball team, whose guards made frequent mistakes and whose outside shooters were collectively silent in that game, the Italian men's basketball team didn't win easily in the end.

Because there was a man.

On that night, no matter what, the Italian men's basketball team couldn't defeat him.

And the next day, an interesting cartoon was published in the local Texas newspaper, *The Long River Morning Post*:

In the cartoon, Jonas, the then coach of the Chinese men's basketball team, was playing cards with two foreigners.

However, no matter what cards the opponent played, Jonas only ever had one card in his hand.

So, Foreigner A, unable to watch any longer, said to Jonas, "Buddy, why do you only ever have this one card?"

And Foreigner B explained to Foreigner A, "Don't worry, he only has this one trump card.

Because his other cards aren't worth anything!"

In Su Feng's previous life, for Chinese basketball fans who had the good fortune to experience the Yao Ming era, this was both a blessing and a sorrow.

Because having Yao Ming allowed the Chinese men's basketball team to have the right to speak directly to top European teams in major international competitions during the Yao Ming era.

But after losing Yao Ming...

Only those basketball fans who had experienced the Yao Ming era could understand.

What is lost, is lost.

Admittedly, in this World Championship, Wang Shipeng's buzzer-beater against Slovenia later had some luck...

But the overall strength of Slovenia in 2006 was definitely not as weak as the marketing accounts would later claim when touting the Slovenia led by Doncic.

Wake up!

If a Slovenia that has a group of NBA players such as Nesterovic, Nachbar, Brezec, and Udrih...

And also has star players playing for European league powerhouse clubs on the bench is called weak...

Then there might not have been many strong teams in the original 2006 World Championship.

"Brother Feng, are you sure that when we play the triangle offense tonight, I will be the main focus?" On the court, after warming up, Yao Ming looked at Su Feng, who took the tactical board from Zhang Bin...

Don't look at how humble Little Yao appeared on the surface at that time, but in his heart, this guy was actually thinking:

See, I really am better than O'Neal!

Because I can have Brother Feng as my co-pilot!

"Of course, you are our most reliable scorer tonight." Hearing this, Su Feng, who was deceived by Little Yao's honest face, also patted him on the back and said.

On the court, after the players of both teams finished warming up, the big screen in the Sapporo Arena immediately gave the starting lineups for both teams tonight.

Italian men's basketball team: Fabio Di Bella, Basile, Marco Belinelli, Luca Garri, Denis Marconato.

Chinese men's basketball team: Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Su Feng, Zhu Fangyu, Sun Yue.

Marconato, who currently plays for Barcelona in Spain, is known as the "Gasol of the Apennines" in Spain.

However, in the original game, Marconato, who scored a total of 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 steals, 0 blocks, and 1 assist for Italy, was completely hammered by Yao Ming in all aspects.

After the game, in an interview with Italian media, Marconato also said, "He is a monster.

Before the start of the game, I wanted to use my footwork to help the team on the offensive end.

But I never expected that he was not only taller than me, but also...

He's even faster than me in terms of speed."

In Su Feng's original timeline, after the Chinese men's basketball team's buzzer-beater against Slovenia, many people only remembered Wang Shipeng's buzzer-beater.

But they forgot that Yao Ming scored 36 points and 10 rebounds in that game, facing the encirclement and suppression of a group of NBA inside players such as Nesterovic and Brezec.

There is no doubt.

In FIBA games, Yao Ming is the Michael Jordan of the Chinese men's basketball team.

And this is also the main reason why Su Feng has always been full of confidence in the Chinese men's basketball team defeating the American men's basketball team in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Because at this moment...

In the world, apart from O'Neal, who can barely compete with Little Yao in the low post...

This Little Yao is already invincible!

In the center of the court, amid the cheers of the Chinese students and fans who came from China, Yao Ming jumped for the opening attack for the Chinese men's basketball team!

Su Feng was responsible for dribbling the ball past half court.

On the wing, Yi Jianlian pulled out from the inside, forming a triangle with Su Feng and Yao Ming on the right.

At this time, the American TV broadcaster also said, "As the 'Zen Master' of the East, the triangle offense is one of the offensive methods that Zhang and his disciples are best at in the game!"

As everyone knows, because FIBA games and NBA games are two completely different versions.

Therefore, the triangle offense played by the Chinese men's basketball team in FIBA games is also different from the triangle offense in the NBA.

In simple terms...

Because there is no defensive three-second rule in FIBA games, if you want to play a smooth triangle offense in FIBA games, the player responsible for posting up in the low post must have the ability to initiate offense from a farther position.

Otherwise, once trapped in the quagmire of the low post, the player responsible for posting up in the low post will easily encounter a double-team in a position where he cannot pass the ball outward.

So, after observing the Italian men's basketball team's defense, Little Yao took the initiative to move up to the free throw line to ask for the ball.

Seeing this, Su Feng also directly held the ball with both hands and threw it towards Little Yao's chest.

On the outside, because Belinelli, who was already preparing to participate in the NBA draft at this time, knew that Su Feng's range could not be viewed with ordinary eyes, he was always close to Su Feng, so he could not help Marconato with his rotation in the first time.

At the free throw line, after getting the ball, Little Yao didn't make any other extra feints.

He immediately shot the ball towards the basket in the instant he turned half-circle.

Swish!

2 to 0!

On the sidelines, on the Italian men's basketball team's bench, looking at the court, the Italian coach said with a speechless expression, "He received the ball at the free throw line, then turned around, and then... the ball went in.

Buddy, tell me, how should we defend against such a player?"

How should you defend against it?

Theoretically speaking, if you have a player who can jump to 350 centimeters in 0.5 seconds, then you can defend against Yao Ming.

But from a practical point of view...

Such a player.

Simply doesn't exist.

On the court, it was Italy's turn to attack.

Different from the three zone defenses they played in the warm-up games, tonight, because the Italian cannons were very accurate, under Su Feng's instruction, the Chinese men's basketball team put on a man-to-man defense at the start.

Moreover, in order to prevent Basile from going crazy, Su Feng also took out his attitude from when he defended Jordan, sticking to him on the court.

As the greatest shooter in Italian basketball history, although Basile never landed in the NBA in Su Feng's memory...

But at the peak of his career, Italian fans at this time had such a famous saying about him:

No matter when, no matter where, you can always trust Basile.

In the basketball world, the NBA is indeed the best league on the planet.

But this doesn't mean that the best players on the planet will all go to play in the NBA.

Whether it was Bodiroga back then, or Basile today...

If you underestimate them on the FIBA court, they will use their unique skills to tell you:

Americans don't represent the world.

On the court, after being tricked by Basile for a full 20 seconds, Su Feng could also understand...

Why the Chinese men's basketball team's outside line would be shot through by this guy in his memory.

In terms of speed, Basile is not considered fast.

And in terms of height, he is only 192 centimeters.

Judging by the height of the Chinese men's basketball team's outside line at this time, no matter how you look at it, Basile doesn't seem like the kind of existence that can break through the Chinese men's basketball team's defense on his own.

But in recent years, as Su Feng's understanding of the technique of off-ball movement has become more profound, at this moment, Basile's fast and slow movements are exactly the way Su Feng usually likes to show off to Little Zhan Zhan and them in the NBA.

Moreover, as the active historical three-point king in the NBA, after seeing Basile's movement route clearly, Su Feng felt even more that European basketball's tactical concept was indeed far ahead of the NBA at this time.

But...

On the court, when Basile was preparing to use Marconato and Garri's screen to move to the right wing, what he never expected was that Su Feng actually got on this "elevator" specially built for him by the Italian inside players with him!

Regarding Su Feng's name...

Of course, Basile had heard of it.

But...

At this moment, what Basile feared the most was...

Su Feng had actually predicted all of the Italian men's basketball team's offensive routes like a god!

On the right wing, before Bella's pass could reach Basile's hands, Su Feng had already taken a step in advance, completely blocking all of Italy's passing lines to this side!

At this time, in order to avoid this attack running out of 24 seconds, Bella had to choose to pull up and shoot in front of Sun Yue, who was a full 15 centimeters taller than him.

It's just...

No matter how much you criticize Sun Yue...

You can't choose to turn a blind eye to his talent in blocking shots.

Pa—!

On the court, accompanied by the on-site commentary Zhang's good shot, Sun Yue immediately strangled Bella's basketball dream!

At the same time, Zhu Fangyu and Su Feng also passed half court in an instant.

"This is the transition offense that Coach Qian Chenghai has been emphasizing!" On CCTV, at this moment, Zhang Weiping's eyes were already wet.

In the Sapporo Arena, the Italian men's basketball team's forwards could not catch up with Su Feng and Zhu Fangyu at the same time.

After grabbing the second landing point, Sun Yue immediately sent a long pass forward.

In the Italian men's basketball team's half court, looking at Su Feng, who caught the ball in the air with one arm, Belinelli, who retreated the fastest, was stunned.

Because...

This way of catching the ball...

Is it really something that humans can do?

Immediately afterwards, after receiving the basketball passed to him by Su Feng, Zhu Fangyu, who had extremely high EQ, also chose to directly smash the ball on the backboard.

Boom!

On the court, accompanied by a dragon's roar, Su Feng leaped into the air and slammed the ball into the basket with a one-armed tomahawk!

4 to 0!

On the sidelines, looking back at his assistant, the Italian men's basketball team's coach's face was already full of helplessness.

"Buddy, are you sure we really have a 20% chance of winning this game?" Looking back at his assistant, the Italian men's basketball team's coach said with a desperate expression.

Although this game had just started...

The Chinese men's basketball team's opening momentum had already completely overwhelmed Italy.

In the first quarter, the Chinese men's basketball team, which had practiced with the American men's basketball team for more than a month, not only far exceeded Italy in terms of game level and intensity of competition, but the most terrifying thing was...

Little Yao was like a killing god...

He scored 18 points for the Chinese men's basketball team in the first quarter alone!

In front of the TV, at this moment, whether O'Neal cried or not when he saw Su Feng willingly playing as an assistant for Little Yao...

Anyway, Big Ben had already started crying in advance.

Because what happened to the agreement that I would box out and you would grab the rebounds?

Why did it become you boxing out and Yao Ming grabbing the rebounds when it came to Yao Ming?

In Su Feng's original timeline, the Chinese men's basketball team's rebounds have always been one of the reasons why the Chinese men's basketball team could not go further in international competitions...

Even in this era with Yao Ming, it was still the same.

Because in modern basketball, grabbing rebounds is not just the job of inside players.

However, because the Chinese team's guards have always lacked awareness of protecting rebounds, so many times, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian could only watch helplessly as the long rebounds popped out and were taken away by their opponents...

But in this life, with Su Feng and Zhu Fangyu, two generations of boxing champions, boxing out for Yao Ming...

"Ah! Is this the feeling of being the boss of the Chinese men's basketball team?" In the first quarter, Little Yao thought with a happy expression on his face as he did whatever he wanted in the game.

In the Sapporo Arena, in the first quarter, the Chinese men's basketball team led 28 to 16.

In the second quarter, Yao Ming rested, and the Chinese men's basketball team changed its lineup to Wang Zhizhi, Du Feng, Su Feng, Zhang Jingsong, and Liu Wei.

At this time, looking at Su Feng, who was still active on the court in the second quarter...

The Italian men's basketball team's coach had already slammed the tactical board in his hand.

No...

This is just a small FIBA game, do you have to push Su Feng to death like you do in the NBA?

Does this mean that you, as the defending champions, have never won in the World Championships?

Despair!

Despair!

It's still despair!

At this moment, the Warriors fans in front of the TV discovered that when they were on the opposite side of Su Feng, they were not the only ones in this world who despaired.

On CCTV, Zhang also couldn't help but joke with Su Feng: "So that's why we should use Made in China products?

Because Made in China products are not only durable, but also very resistant to wear and tear."

Yu Jia echoed on the side: "Yes, so this is also why the American Basketball Association is now so headache.

Because no matter how many stars your American team has, if they are unwilling to play for the country, there's nothing you can do about it!"

What a joke!

Usually, even if Su Feng only plays a small game like the NBA, he has to play the whole game...

Therefore, when fighting for the country, how could he possibly rest?

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

In the second quarter, facing Su Feng's all-round and no-dead-angle pull-up jumpers, the Italian men's basketball team's substitutes on the bench even wanted to fast forward to the after-game to eat Italian noodles and prepare for the next game.

In terms of tactical literacy and overall strength, once the outside line of this Italian men's basketball team can't be opened, the gap between them and top powerhouses like the Spanish men's basketball team becomes apparent.

In the Sapporo Arena, at the end of the first half, the Chinese men's basketball team led 52 to 35.

After the halftime break, in the third quarter, the Italian players, who wouldn't surrender like the French, tried to break the deadlock with three-pointers led by Basile.

However...

Under Su Feng's death entanglement, let alone Basile being able to get out to receive the ball...

Even if he received the ball, his hasty shot would be difficult to hit the target.

But on the other hand...

After resting for a whole quarter, Little Yao, who proclaimed himself the "Boss of the Chinese Men's Basketball Team," was the problem that the Italian men's basketball team could never solve.

In basketball, there is a professional term called "the waxing and waning of opposing forces."

In simple terms...

As long as I keep scoring, and you can't guarantee scoring, then you can never catch up with the score in the game.

In the last quarter, in order to ensure that the team could successfully advance from this group of death in the next game, Italy withdrew all of its main players early.

At this time, Chen Jianghua and others also ushered in valuable leveling time.

In the Chinese men's basketball team's opening game of this World Championship, all 12 players ushered in the opportunity to appear on the court.

In the end, the score of this game was 97 to 80.

Relying on the efforts of the substitutes in the final quarter, Italy successfully avoided a crushing defeat in the team's World Championship debut.

In the whole game, Yao Ming, who made 12 of 14 shots and scored a total of 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Chinese men's basketball team with free throws, was also elected as the MVP of this game.

However, what was even more terrifying than taking "30+10" data was...

Because of Su Feng's existence...

Yao Ming's efficiency on the court was now beyond description with the word terrible.

Fun fact...

In this opening game where he scored "30+10" for the Chinese men's basketball team, Yao Ming only played for 22 minutes.

After the game, Su Feng, who scored 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 10 assists for the Chinese men's basketball team, also said that when your team has a player like Yao Ming, your game can be easier than your opponents.

Miami...

Tonight, O'Neal was destined not to have tears.

Because early when watching the live broadcast of the game...

This fathead fish had already cried all his tears dry.

"Brother Feng, Brother Feng, why don't you let me be the flag bearer for the 2008 Olympic Games?

After all, you will be old by then, and the Chinese men's basketball team needs young people like me to take over." This day, when doing foot massage with Su Feng after the game, Little Yao said to Su Feng with a happy expression on his face.

Hearing this...

Vaguely...

Su Feng always felt that Little Yao was getting more and more dishonest in the past two years.

What does that mean...

Your Brother Feng is still in his prime...

The leader of your Shanghai Gang is already thinking about rebelling?

…