nycdaug Chapter 719 Tang Yan: "Fairy Sister, how do you know Wang Xiucheng so well?"
Chapter 719 Tang Yan: "Fairy Sister, how do you know Wang Xiucheng so well?"
In the CCTV sports broadcast booth, Zhang Weiping, who had taken the initiative, continued to control the broadcast room.
"Xiao Wang didn't rest in the first half; he was on the field the whole time. I was actually a little worried about his stamina, after all, this is a bronze medal match."
The next moment, Zhang Weiping changed the subject, "But if Xiao Wang leaves the field, there really is no one who can replace him."
"Controlling the court, passing, drawing double teams, driving to the basket, and shooting three-pointers—Wang is truly a very well-rounded player. The defensive issues that were criticized in his first season were rarely mentioned last season."
"After all, averaging four or more steals per game is no joke."
"The only problem is physical strength."
“I noticed that he sits on the sidelines for a while during every halftime break. I wonder if it's because he's tired.”
Zhang Weiping seemed tired of talking, picked up a glass of water and took a sip, and Yu Jia quickly started reading out the statistics from the first half.
"At halftime, the score was 52-49, with France leading by only one goal."
"Wang Xiucheng took 11 shots in the first half, making 8 of them, including 5 three-pointers. Including free throws, he has scored 26 points, along with 6 assists and 3 steals."
"France's top scorer is Vicente Wimbanyama, who has 17 points in the first half, along with 3 rebounds and a whopping 4 blocks."
"Just as we predicted before the game, Xiao Wang reduced his shot attempts in this game and used more assists to switch the opponent's key players out on defense, allowing the inside players to have more possession of the ball."
Seeing that Zhang Weiping had finished drinking his water and seemed ready to speak at any moment, Yang Yi immediately interjected, "Just like we said, the two teams are on the same level."
"The real battle is in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter."
"That will be the time when both teams are at their most exhausted. At this point, it's easy for the opponent to launch a decisive attack. If they don't adjust in time, they might even collapse."
Yu Jia nodded, and seeing the director's prompt, said, "Let's take a break and come back to watch the second half of the game right away."
In the stands, many fans were still shouting excitedly and waving Chinese or French flags.
Some fans also left the stadium to go outside for some exercise.
Fan Chengcheng went out for a smoke with Deng Chao, who was sitting in the back, leaving Fan Bing alone in her seat.
After taking photos with a few fans who came over, Fan Bingbing frowned and looked at the court. A dozen seconds later, she took out her phone and sent a text message.
"come on."
In another area, Yang Mi and Liu Yifei went out to buy water, while Tang Yan and Liu Shishi remained seated.
"Can we win this match?" Tang Yan asked with some concern.
“Of course,” Liu Shishi said. “I looked at the odds in Las Vegas. The odds for the two teams are about the same, with France slightly higher, probably because of their home advantage.”
“But we have Wang Xiucheng. As long as we have him, we will definitely win.” Liu Shishi said confidently, pointing to the Chinese national flag pasted on her face. “We will win.”
Tang Yan felt relieved after hearing Liu Shishi's words.
If she caused Wang Xiucheng to lose the game due to exhaustion, then she would be a sinner against Chinese basketball.
It seemed that she was thinking about last night again, so Tang Yan, whose cheeks were burning, quickly tried not to think about that big boy.
"Fairy Sister, you weren't interested in sports before, how come you know so much about Wang Xiucheng now?" Tang Yan changed the subject and asked.
"I..." Liu Shishi paused slightly, her voice softened, and her eyes began to dart around. "When I have nothing to do, I always need to watch something to pass the time."
"Watching basketball for entertainment?" Tang Yan naturally didn't believe it. Just as she was about to ask further, Yang Mi and the other person returned, so she had to stop the topic.
There are no special events scheduled during halftime of the Olympic basketball games; the court is simply cleaned up.
Of course, some music will be played at the event so that the fans won't be too bored.
Right after the staff finished cleaning, several members of the French team returned to the field to warm up.
Soon, some people from China also returned.
A few minutes later, everyone finally returned, which meant the second half of the game was about to begin.
The once quiet stadium suddenly became noisy and lively, followed by orderly applause and screams.
"It's starting! It's starting!" Tang Yan jumped up and shouted excitedly while holding onto the railing.
Although they didn't know why this woman was so excited today, Yang Mi and the others stood up and applauded their players, just like everyone else.
The third quarter followed a similar rhythm to the first. France's offense was still led by Wenbanyama, but he didn't take as many shots as in the first half, with other players sharing the workload.
On defense, Wang Xiucheng would still spend a lot of time bringing Gobert out to create mismatches for the center against Wenban.
The Chinese team inevitably committed a lot of fouls against Wenban, but the effects are gradually becoming apparent, as Wenban's speed has noticeably decreased.
Sometimes, unless it's a counter-attack opportunity, Wenbanyama won't keep running back and forth like he did in the first half.
He mostly lingered at the back, only slightly faster than the defender with the ball.
To Wang Xiucheng's surprise, he thought Wenban Yama would leave the field to rest earlier, but Wenban Yama stayed on the field.
For Wenban Yama, reducing unnecessary back-and-forth runs and minimizing bad shots are both forms of rest.
This is the same as Wang Xiucheng squatting in the bottom corner.
Swish!
Wenban received a pass from substitute player Lesor and, despite being switched onto by Wang Xiucheng, made a three-pointer.
The ball went in.
This was Wimbanyama's second three-pointer, his fourth attempt in the third quarter.
With this basket, the French team was already leading by 8 points, 75-67, before the end of the third quarter.
With one and a half minutes left in the third quarter, Guo Shiqiang called a timeout.
With the final minute approaching, this is the crucial time for Hebei China Fortune to close the gap.
Therefore, it is important to ensure that Wang Xiucheng has sufficient physical strength at this time.
Wenban Yama plopped down in the chair and began to pant heavily.
Although he remained on the court, he was constantly being attacked by the opponent's three big centers, which would not be easy for anyone.
Vincent Colley looked at Wenban with some worry. He already knew what Wenban was up to, but there was nothing he could do. In terms of attacking ability, Wenban was in a class of his own among the French players in this squad, even though he was only 20 years old.
Other players, such as Fournier and Gobert, can occasionally have a breakout game, sometimes scoring over 20 points in a single match.
However, in the next game, due to issues such as the opponent's lineup and player positions, they may only be able to get four or five points.
Fournier's performance today was very poor, even worse than when he faced Hebei China Fortune in the group stage. He not only lost three balls to Wang Xiucheng, but also only scored 6 points.
Fortunately, Yabusele, who came off the bench today, suddenly exploded and has already scored 16 points.
Wenban Yama, on the other hand, is the kind of player who can consistently score in every game, regardless of who the opponent is.
He is the same type of player as Wang Xiucheng on the other side.
Therefore, the French team had to rely more heavily on Vevanyama.
It's just like how the other side relies on Wang Xiucheng.