The men's basketball team was drawn to Group A, and Group A also included New Zealand, Italy, Liduwan, France, and the United States.

The schedule is the first game against the United States, the second against New Zealand, then France, Lithuania and Italy.

According to the analysis, New Zealand and Italy will definitely win, and the third is France, and winning these three games will ensure qualification.

As for Lithuania, it was won in 96, and this time it is not impossible to win.

Only the U.S. team can test its strength in the group stage and don't have to do its best to fight with them.

Zhou Quan was very busy, and after entering the Olympic Village, he was busy signing autographs and taking pictures of some foreign athletes, and wherever he went, several signature pens and a large handful of small notes with phone numbers were left in his pocket.

The men's basketball schedule starts on the 17th, which is relatively late, which means that the schedule for the subsequent knockout rounds will be tighter.

In the past few days, the world media has analyzed the Chinese men's basketball team, although it did not even enter the World Championships in 98, but because it was the silver medalist of the last Olympic Games, and Zhou Quan had just played a terrifying Western Finals series, most of the media listed the men's basketball team as the favorite to win the championship.

For Group A, there are three strong teams such as the United States, China, and Lithuania, so the media also describes Group A as a group of death.

On the 15th, Zhou Quan attended the opening ceremony and served as the flag bearer.

On the 17th, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the first group game of the men's basketball team was against the United States team.

Both teams are favourites to win the championship, and with Zhou Quan's influence in the sports world, this match attracted countless fans and the venue was full. There are also many Chinese and international students, and there are many red flags waving in the gymnasium.

Although it was only a group game, not only the President of FIBA and the officials of the Chinese and American Olympic delegations arrived, but also the Presidents of the Olympic Committees of China and the United States, and even the President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Samaranch, arrived.

The men's basketball team sent Wang Zhizhi, Yao Min, Sun Jun, Hu Weidong, and Zhou Quan as starters.

The Dream Four are Mourning, Garnett, Vince Carter, Alan Houston, and Jason Kidd.

Tom Janovic did not let him start considering Gary Payton's performance against Zhou Quan in the finals, otherwise with his qualifications and strength, the starter is certain.

"It's so high! He must be over 220 centimeters, right? ”

When he saw Yao Min, Tomjanovich was a little surprised and curious.

On the CCTV commentary seat, the commentators are Sun Zhenping, Zhang Lili, and Xu Jicheng.

At this time, Sun Zhenping said: "I miss the days of commenting on the NBA in the United States, this time, I haven't commented on Zhou Quan's game for many years." ”

Zhang Li smiled and said: "It just so happened that the Olympics were enjoyable, hehe......"

Xu Jicheng said: "Today's dream four teams, Mr. Sun, Director Zhang, what are the chances of winning?" ”

Sun Zhenping looked at Zhang Lili, Zhang Lili said: "Six teams eliminated two teams, I don't think there is any need to fight hard with the American team in the group stage, according to our previous analysis, Italy, New Zealand, and France can ensure qualification."

As for the chances of winning against the U.S. team, there must be one, and we can look at Zhou Quan's performance against Gary Payton in this Western Conference final series, which is too big.

And Gary Payton's strength should be the highest among the point guards of the Dream Four team, and Kidd is at most comparable to him, not better than him.

As far as Zhou Quan's advantage is concerned, if he hits down 40+, and then locks up Kidd and them, a few steals and a few big hats in a game, and the others play a little worse, we all have a chance to win. ”

Sun Zhenping nodded and said: "Our lineup configuration this year is actually good, and I even think it is better than 96." It's mainly our center, which is much better than it was in '96.

is so mature that there are buses, and there are rising stars like Da Yao, the three centers combined, our inside line is up, plus a group of veterans, we will definitely be able to help Zhou Quan. ”

"Yes to ......"

The other two nodded.

At three o'clock, the game officially began.

Yao Min and Garnett jump ball.

After a year of strength training, Yao Min is much stronger than last year, but he still can't compare with Garnett, who looks very thin but is actually very strong, he is like a bamboo pole in front of Garnett.

"Boy, how tall are you?" Garnett asked after looking up at Da Yao.

Da Yao has been learning English for a year and can barely understand this sentence, but he doesn't plan to answer, he is about to jump the ball, and he doesn't want to be distracted.

"Boy, are you dumb? Still don't understand? Garnett said unhappily.

Just then, the referee threw the ball into the air.

"Smack!"

The distracted Garnett slowed down a little, and Da Yao fanned the ball in Zhou Quan's direction.

Kidd defended and retreated in front of Zhou Quan, and raised the spirit of twelve.

Gary Payton was his big brother but was blown to scum by the Iron Fist King in the Finals, and he knew he couldn't afford to be careless.

Of course, he also knows that he can't beat the Iron Fist King by himself, so he just hopes that today's scene is not too ugly, after all, this is the Olympics, and at least hundreds of millions of people around the world will watch this match.

In fact, he underestimated the attractiveness of this game, just in China, there may be hundreds of millions of people watching this game, if it is night, there will definitely be more people.

Zhou Quan came to the top of the arc and was not in a hurry to attack.

In May, FIBA changed some of the rules, changing the offensive time from 30 seconds to 24 seconds, and the two halves to four quarters of 10 minutes each.

The main reason why Zhou Quan is not in a hurry to attack is because Da Yao is too tall, and he doesn't want to let Da Yao's physical energy be consumed too quickly because of the fast-paced attack and defense.

In the frontcourt, Garnett kept up with Da Yao, Mo Ning was in the opposite position, Carter defended Sun Jun, and Alan Houston defended Hu Weidong.

Da Yao tried to get to the basket, but was resisted by Garnett, lacked strength, and couldn't get in.

Garnett's pace moved very fast, and even if Da Yao wanted to bypass him, he was blocked in time.

Zhou Quan hooked his hand to Da Yao and motioned for him to come up to block and dismantle, and Da Yao immediately ran up.

"Jason, watch out for the pick-and-roll!"

On the sidelines, Tomjanovic immediately reminded loudly.

At this time, Da Yao stood on the right side of Kidd, and Zhou Quan immediately broke through with the ball from behind Da Yao, and bypassed Garnett, who was following up, and pulled to the left waist position.

Garnett did not continue to follow Da Yao, but switched to Zhou Quan.

There are very few big men in the NBA who shoot outside, that kind of person is called a soft egg, of course, he is not included, his is an iron-blooded big jump shot, so in his opinion, Da Yao is useless in a high position, such a tall person, the shooting ability must be very bad.

Kidd was the same, not staying in the high position, but keeping up with Zhou Quan.

He thought very clearly, it was useless to use his height to defend this Chinese No. 13 player, and it was better to continue chasing the Iron Fist King.

In this way, Da Yao is empty in a high position.

Zhou Quan passed to Da Yao when Kidd and Garnett were caught in front of him.

"Vote!"

Jiang Xinquan shouted loudly.

Da Yao didn't hesitate and made a jump shot in the high post.

"Actually voted?"

Garnett looked back and saw that the guy who was a head taller than him actually shot in a high position, and couldn't help but be stunned.

"Brush!"

The water splashed and the two hits.

"Luck, right?"

Garnett couldn't help but say to Zhou Quan.

"You idiot, do you think I'm going to pass the ball to someone who shoots by luck?" Zhou Quan scolded with a smile.

"Ugh!"

Garnett, who had a hot temper and an iron-blooded style, was scolded by Zhou Quan, and he could only hold his depression in his stomach and couldn't have a seizure.

“……”

The moment the ball was scored, Tomjanovic's eyes widened.

So tall, you can still shoot in a high position, if it's not luck, then this big man is not easy! Next Bradley or Rick Schmitz? I don't know if I will participate in the NBA draft.

Zhang Cheng said excitedly: "Da Yao's shooting feel is really good, too soft, like his good touch, in the NBA, there are very few big men who can reach his level." ”

Xu Jicheng said with a smile: "Garnett also has a mid-range shot, even a long-range two-point shot, and the shooting rate is more than forty percent, which is very accurate, and you have to be careful of him, the NBA's long-range two points are three-pointers in the Olympics." ”

Team USA attacks.

In the backcourt, facing Zhou Quan, Kidd carefully advanced with the ball, and his nerves were tense.

"Jason, be careful." Gary Payton reminded loudly from the sidelines.

"Squeak!"

At this moment, Zhou Quan moved at his feet, reaching out and poking the ball while grabbing.

He caught the rhythm perfectly, Kidd's ball had just dribbled down and hadn't landed on the floor yet.

"What?"

Kidd hurriedly leaned over to pull the ball, but it was just a moment too late.

"Smack!"

Zhou Quan took the lead in poking the ball, then rushed forward, knocked away the 93-kilogram Kidd, grabbed the boccia ball with one hand, and then killed the basket.

"Bang!"

When he hit the free throw line, he took off and then blew up the gym with a tomahawk slam.

"Bang Bang Bang ......"

"Oh Roar......"

After a difficult dunk, the stadium immediately erupted in thunderous applause and cheers, and countless fans raised their arms excitedly.

President Samaranch also applauded very happily, and said to He Zhenliang, who was sitting on the right side, with a smile on his face: "Chairman He, you should make more use of his influence and work hard for the Olympic bid, and I will also support you." ”

"Definitely, Chairman Samaranch." He Zhenliang said with a smile on his face.

The live TV station in the United States is TNT, and the commentators sent Barkley and Kenny Smith, who had just signed not long ago.

"Please, Jason, be careful, you're in front of the strongest steal king, the Iron Fist King, the god of point guard." Seeing Kidd's mistake and the ball being broken, Kenny Smith couldn't help but complain.

Barkley said: "Iron Fist is not the god of point guard now, is he?" ”

Kenny Smith grinned, "The only point guard in the league who can be compared to Tekken is Magic, who also has five crowns, but Tekken has a dynasty."

The Magic is averaging 11.2 assists per game in his career, and the Iron Fist is averaging 13 per game so far. The gap is even bigger in terms of scoring, with Tekken 30+ and Magic less than 20. The gap was even bigger on the defensive end, with Tekken being the only point guard to earn a DPOY, and three times.

The only thing that Iron Fist is inferior to a magician is his height, he can't play center, while magician can play center.

Charles, 7 years and 5 crowns, if this kind of person is not the god of point guard, then who is? Tekken is the best point guard in history. ”

"I don't think the magician will agree with you." Barkley said smirkedly.

"Fliggy, I think you should shut up!" In the hotel in Hawaii, Magic Johnson, who was watching the game, said unhappily.

He hates it most now when someone compares him to the Iron Fist King, isn't that nothing to do?

On the field, the U.S. team is on the offensive.

Kidd stopped holding the ball and immediately gave it to Alan Houston after receiving the ball.

"Look, Kidd doesn't dare to hold the ball in front of Zhou Quan, this is Zhou Quan's defensive threat." Zhang said excitedly.

"The top point guards in the NBA don't dare to hold the ball in front of Zhou Quan, Zhou Quan is too strong!" Sun Zhenping said even more excitedly.

The conversation between the two was heard by countless Chinese people in front of the TV, but not many people thought that these two were touting Zhou Quan, and they all thought that this was normal.

They have watched too many of Zhou Quan's games, and they have this understanding like the two of them.

On the sidelines, Tomjanovic saw Kidd's pass, and a thought flashed in his heart, why don't you send gloves up and play double point guards?

Double point guards, this can ensure the team's organizational function, and Payton is an average of 20+ people per game, although Kidd has an average offense, but he also averages more than a dozen points per game, and the offense will not be weakened much.

"Bang!"

At this time, Alan Houston made a fake shot on the right wing three-point line, and made three shots on Hu Weidong's head, but failed to hit.

Da Yao grabbed the rebound, and Garnett next to him immediately stopped him from passing quickly.

Tomjanovic has coached Zhou Quan's old enemy Mosaic team for many years, and he knows too much about his fast-break ability, and when formulating defensive tactics, he emphasized the need to suppress the offensive and defensive switching rhythm of the Chinese national team.

However, Da Yao has absolute height, and Garnett blocked it, and he still threw the ball at Zhou Quan, who was about to fall.

"Attack!" Sun Zhenping shouted in an impassioned voice.

Zhou Quan received the ball in the center circle, and Kidd took the opportunity to pass it, and the two went together.

On the left and right wings, Hu Weidong, Alan Houston, Sun Jun, and Vince Carter also rushed to the front court of the Chinese national team.

Zhou Quan went from the free throw line to the paint and saw that Vince Carter on the right wing was still following Sun Jun, while Alan Houston on the left wing dropped Hu Weidong who was parked on the three-point line and pounced on him.

He flicked a backhand, and the ball flew towards Hu Weidong.

"Big vacancy!"

Zhang Cheng shouted excitedly.

Hu Weidong exhaled a short breath and then jumped out.

"Brush!"

There was a splash and a three-point shot.

"Beautiful! Playing next to Zhou Quan, as long as he can shoot the open ball on the outside, there is no problem for Hu Weidong. Xu Jicheng said with a smile.

0:7, the U.S. team has not yet scored, Tomjanovic couldn't stand up and called a timeout.

(End of chapter)