Chapter 714 The Greatest Player, the Greatest Inside Combination, the Greatest Team

The Chinese team became the second team to reach the semi-finals after defeating France with a score of 96-69 in the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games.

According to the schedule, the Chinese team's opponent in the semi-finals will be the winner between Lithuania, which is second in Group B, and Russia, which is third in Group A.

As the first team in the group, the game between China and France is the finale on August 8. The game before China and France is the game between Russia and Lithuania.

The final result was that Russia, the inferior horse, actually defeated the powerful Lithuania 83 to 74.

To be honest, this result is quite surprising.

After all, Russia has been going downhill. When Russia was the strongest in these years, it was also when their leader and boss Ak47 was the strongest, that is, in the years before and after 2006.

But now, the time has arrived in 2012, and AK47 has already been unable to survive in the NBA.

As for Lithuania, it has always been one of the strongest teams in FIBA, and has been firmly ranked in the second tier behind China and the United States.

In this Olympics, they even beat Argentina and became second in the group.

It can be said that Lithuania and Spain are the biggest bronze medal contenders in this Olympics.

When the match between Lithuania and Russia came out, almost no one thought Russia could win.

However, reality is such a fantasy, and basketball is so round. Kirilenko, who has been unable to survive in the NBA, scored 19 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in this game. It can be said that The performance was extremely good on both ends of the floor.

At the same time, the young player Mozkov also scored 17 points in this game, and others such as Kiriaba, Friedson, Monya, and Bonkarasov also performed well.

Especially the substitute, NBA young center Mozkov, as a substitute, after he came on the field when Russia was weak at 6-9 in the opening game, he dominated the entire court and led Russia to a 9-0 run. Under his leadership, , Lithuania actually scored 10 points in the first quarter.

Later, when Lithuania was desperately pursuing, Kirilenko and Kiriaba scored 7 points in a row to lead Russia to beat Lithuania 10-2 in the third quarter.

Then when Lithuania once again chased the point difference to 5 points, Mozkov scored 5 points in a row, suppressing Lithuania's momentum.

At the end of the third quarter, Lithuania used its strong strength to beat Russia 10-0, chasing the score to only 4 points. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Lithuania relied on Kaukonas' three-pointer to chase the score to only 1 point. At that time, someone else stepped forward in the already shaky Russia.

Kiriaba and Menya scored three-pointers successively, and Menya also used fast breaks to score, and finally opened the score to 9 points again.

I have to say that Maozi was really tenacious in this game. In the fourth quarter, Lithuania also fought hard, but later on, Maozi always maintained an advantage of about 9 points. When one person fell, the other one could come up again. .

In this game, Maozi's main players, apart from Shevedra's crotch, the others were really strong.

Since Maozi defeated Lithuania, the Chinese team's opponent in the semifinals is of course Maozi.

In fact, for the Chinese team, whether their opponents in the semifinals are Maozi or Lithuania, they are actually the same.

Perhaps compared to Lithuania, which has better tactical discipline, Maozi is easier to fight.

The reason why Maozi was able to defeat Lithuania was mainly because Maozi's players were more talented, and these more talented Russian players all played their part in this game.

Of course, although everyone feels in their hearts that Russia may be better, it is obvious that they cannot say it out loud. At the post-match press conference between the Chinese team and the French team, they scored 18 points, 6 rebounds and 14 rebounds in the game. When Chen Xiao, who had assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks, was interviewed by reporters, he really praised Russia's Kirilenko and Mozkov.

"Many people say that AK's style is outdated in today's NBA. A slender all-around forward who does not have stable shooting ability or enough strength to fight at the basket is very embarrassing in today's NBA. It is a pity to abandon it if it is tasteless. But I have never felt that, whether it was the match against Lithuania or the group stage match, he was one of the best in the entire Olympics. A player with his talent and style will never be eliminated. I think of him, Some only have respect.

The same goes for Timo, of course. He is 2.16 meters tall and very huge. Like Yao Ming, he is very threatening. I was very impressed with him in this game. "

As the number one player in the current basketball world and recognized by FIBA ​​as the strongest and greatest player in basketball history, Chen Xiao's evaluation of players has attracted great media attention.

For example, when Chen Xiao was commenting on opponents from various countries, even if he only praised him, the media in this country would definitely make the headlines.

For example, after Chen Xiao praised Mozkov, the news from Russia came out immediately. For example, the most typical headline was: "The first man in basketball history praised the 2.16-meter Russian for dominating the inside and scored 17 points." Explode the Lithuanian genius!”

Well, the three people in this title, the first in history, are of course Chen Xiao, while the 2.16-meter Russian big man is Mozkov, and the Lithuanian genius is Valanciunas.

There is no problem at all in this game that Valanciunas was blown away. He and Russia's 2-for-12 talented defender Shved are the two biggest undercover players in this game.

The difference is that one undercover agent succeeded and the other undercover agent did not succeed.

Shved is one of the strongest outsiders of the new generation in Europe, and Mozkov is one of the strongest inside talents of the new generation.

It is rare for two European geniuses to collectively pull their hips in this game.

All I can say is that under FIBA's competition rules, being taller and stronger than you means you have an advantage.

Shved is just a little short.

Valanciunas is also shorter than Mozkov.

With both China and Russia advancing, a group of matchups in the Olympic semifinals has been determined.

The semi-finals of the other group will not be released until August 9.

The first game on August 9 was between Spain, second in Group A, and Argentina, third in Group B. In the end, Spain defeated Argentina 87-82.

The two teams played very fiercely in this game, and their strengths were very close. At the same time, Chen Xiao also came to watch the game.

Of course not looking at Spain's Gasol brothers or Argentina's Ginobili and Scola.

In this game, Chen Xiao came to see the Spanish player Ibaka.

Ibaka is an important player signed by the Warriors for 70 million in four years. Although Chen Xiao is not very familiar with Ibaka, it can be seen from the super premium contract that Jerry West gave him. He is very valued.

In this game, Chen Xiao came to see his future Warriors teammates, but because Spain has the Gasol brothers, Ibaka's playing time is definitely limited.

He only got 13 minutes of playing time in this game, scoring 4 points and 5 rebounds on 2-of-3 shooting, with average statistics.

However, he still had a very impressive performance in this game.

Although his statistics are not enough in front of the Gasol brothers and Scola, the two most eye-catching moments in this game were definitely contributed by Ibaka.

Once, Ibaka grabbed an offensive rebound with three Argentina players, and then dunked on Argentina's inside players.

Another time, when defending Scola's shot, he violently blocked Scola's shot. After that, of course, Chen Xiao on the sidelines was stunned and became excited. applauded for his Chamberlain-style block.

Therefore, in these 13 minutes of limited playing time, Ibaka did show his very distinctive characteristics, being able to run, jump and block shots.

Not to mention the terrifying straight-up block, let’s talk about the dunk on the offensive rebound. Three Argentine players under the basket blocked Ibaka behind him. Even so, Ibaka still relied on his outstanding height and wingspan. With his athletic ability, he picked up the rebound without any adjustment. After picking up the rebound, he dunked the ball directly into the basket.

This is a player who is very good at aerial operations. It is precisely because of this that his role in Spain is to abuse food. His best performance in this Olympics was when he played against the British team with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. The team's insiders who were not good at playing in the lower third were driven crazy by him.

But when encountering a strong team like China or Argentina, Ibaka, who is unable to play in the third lane and is always flying, can only be used as a backup player.

This is not the first time Chen Xiao has watched Ibaka play. After watching so many games live, and knowing something about him in the NBA, Chen Xiao is sure that this is the Wolf King-style player he likes very much. , can run and jump, just like Darius Miles of the Cavaliers.

Although neither the Wolf King-like player nor the Snake King-like player could go all the way to the end with Chen Xiao, and it seems that they are not suitable for Chen Xiao's championship career, Chen Xiao really likes such players.

Ibaka, thick eyebrows, they all seem to be such players.

Thinking of this, Chen Xiao felt that his career with the Warriors should be very happy.

If the quarter-final match between Spain and Argentina is very suspenseful, then the quarter-final match between the United States and Brazil really has no suspense at all.

The Brazilian team led by Barbosa and Varejao was actually not weak, but when they met the American team, they basically had no resistance. In the end, the American team defeated the Brazilian team 99 to 77.

Even though the score seemed smaller than when the Chinese team played France, in fact, Brazil did not create even one quarter of difficulties for the US team, while the French team, no matter what, still created one quarter of difficulties for the Chinese team.

At this point, all the top four men's basketball teams in the Olympic Games have been produced.

On August 11, the four teams will stage a battle leading to the finals.

China and Russia are the first.

Spain and the United States are in the second game.

From the perspective of opponents, there is no doubt that the Chinese team’s opponents are easier.

The United States and Spain, I am afraid this will not be an easy game for the United States.

The Chinese team and Spain played in the group stage. In the end, the Chinese team won 111 to 97. In this game, the Chinese team only won 14.

The Gasol brothers are indeed very good, and the other players in Spain are also of high quality.

The Chinese team can win by 14 points because of the stronger inside combination of Yao Ming and Arab League. Although the US team's inside combination is also very strong, Oden + James or Oden + Bosh or Aldridge are all very nice.

But under FIBA's rules, these three combinations either have hardness but no stable shooting, or they have stable shooting but no hardness.

This is the only inside combination like A Lian and Yao Ming that has both hardness, stable shooting, and the height to suppress the Gasol brothers.

Historically, in the 2012 Olympics, Yao Yao left and the UAE became Optimus Prime. Facing the Gasol brothers' Spain in the group stage, the UAE scored 13 of 19 and scored a crazy 30 points and 12 rebounds, including... There are 5 offensive rebounds. This is Spain with the Gasol brothers and Ibaka.

This is still the Arab League in history that was not cultivated by the NBA. It is not the Arab League that is fully cultivated by coach Sloan.

At the same time, at that time, Ah Lian did not have many good helpers such as Yao Ming and Chen Xiao around him.

Let's put it this way, many people look at the Chinese team and only see Chen Xiao and Dayao, thinking that Chen Xiao and Dayao are invincible.

In fact, Ah Lian next to Chen Xiao and Dayao is also very invincible.

The current Arab League, in the FIBA ​​arena, is really hard and soft at the same time. It is absolutely the best third player in history.

Therefore, before the group match between Spain and China on July 29, many people asked Chen Xiao at the pre-match press conference about the inside combination of Spain's Gasol brothers and Ibaka. I wonder if Yao Ming can beat him with two fists.

Before the Spanish reporter could finish speaking, he was directly interrupted by Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao said very rudely at the time: "I think you usually don't watch NBA games or pay attention to NBA news. Yao Ming is not the only insider of the Chinese team. Yi Jianlian is also very outstanding. He is an NBA All-Star starter. Player, and for three consecutive terms, he is the boss of the NBA playoff team, leading the Jazz to the playoffs consecutively. Yi Jianlian’s achievement of leading the team alone in the NBA has not been achieved by any Spanish insider player. Of course I I know Spain is very strong inside, but this is not the reason why you are so arrogant and dare to ignore everything. Your question offends me and makes me think you are ignorant."

The news that Chen Xiao angrily criticized Spanish journalists was a big deal at the time.

After the match between the Chinese team and Spain, the United Arab Emirates, who scored 28 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes, completely defeated the Gasol brothers.

"I don't know why they ignored Yi, he is one of the best post players in the world and he proved it to everyone tonight."

This is Gasol.

"In the past eight years, I have been watching Yi Jianlian's progress in the NBA. He is constantly growing and he is becoming more and more mature. Whether in the NBA or FIBA, I have seen that he is taking over the team. He has the ability to take over a team. All the strength and will needed for a successful team.

If you want to take over a team and be recognized, this is not something a player can get casually. You need to win it with your own performance. And Yi Jianlian won through his performance, he did it all. Yi Jianlian is now in the best phase of his career. He is now one of the best post players in FIBA ​​history, and he fully demonstrated it tonight.

As a FIBA ​​player, I am lucky to be able to see a pair of insiders like Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian in my career. This is also lucky for all FIBA ​​fans, because we are all witnessing what is the greatest. .

The greatest player, the greatest inside combination, the greatest team. "

In this Olympics, the Chinese team has always firmly held the title favorite. The most important reason is the invincible inside combination of Yao Ming and Arab League.

Historically, the peaks of Yao Ming and Arab League were staggered, which has always been the biggest regret of Chinese fans.

Now, the 32-year-old Yao Ming and the 28-year-old Ah Lian met at their peak in 2012.

More importantly, the two people they met at the corner had an even more dazzling Chen Xiao standing beside them.