The rest is just noise

Chapter 1416 The Biggest Loser

The semi-final against Yugoslavia was the most tiring game that Louis has coached in the past few years.

This was an epic battle in which both sides played out their cards, held nothing back, was full of drama, and lasted for three overtimes.

During regular time, Yugoslavia, with better coordination and superstars, always maintained the lead.

25 seconds before the end, Hu Weidong was like a god, scoring three three-pointers in a row, desperately chasing the game into overtime.

In the first overtime, another star player of Yugoslavia, Peja, stepped up to break the tie.

Then, Liu Yuqing also responded on the offensive end.

Seven seconds before the end of the first overtime, the Chinese team fell behind by 2 points. Du Shuai stepped forward and scored a horse-riding archery shot against the defense to tie the score again.

In the second overtime, Bodillo scored nine points in a row and was about to kill the game. As a result, Hu Weidong and Liu Yuqing used unrelenting three-pointers to stall the game.

10 seconds before the end of the game, Wang Mukong caught the ball at the free throw line and hit the winning goal.

107 to 99

The men's basketball team lost the game by 8 points. Amidst the praises of the FIBA ​​commentator, it became the runner-up of the World Championships in Greece with "glory despite defeat".

In the second game of the finals, the men's basketball team could be said to have reached its best, both in terms of state and on-the-spot performance.

However, from this day on, no one is proud of being the runner-up anymore.

129 to 124

After three overtimes of hard work, the Chinese team defeated Yugoslavia by 5 points and reached the World Championship finals for the first time in history.

Their performance was impeccable.

Later, Wang Mukong explained his behavior this way: "I don't think there is anything to be happy about. The second place shows that we are the biggest losers."

After all, they have already stood in the invincible position of "losing nothing if they lose, gaining blood if they win".

Since Louis came back, he has not thought about food or food, and has locked himself in a small room watching videos all day long.

In the second quarter, the U.S. team's intensity increased, the men's basketball team made more mistakes, and the situation began to reverse. At the end of the half, the U.S. team led by 12 points.

Before the men's basketball players could breathe a sigh of relief, they were dunked by Bodiroga's alley-oop pass, and the two sides entered the third overtime.

This is pretty much the best performance they can do.

"Okay, everyone, listen to me."

After several days of review, Louis believed that the first game against the United States in the group stage was a must-lose game. Even if they made zero mistakes in the game, there would still be a 5-point gap in the end.

The advantage of the men's basketball team has changed from the outside to the inside, thanks to Louis who transformed the Lakers' high and low post transplants into tactics suitable for the men's basketball team. Otherwise, they would not have a chance of winning based on their style of play.

Even so, they fought to the end.

When playing against other teams in the World Championships, the men's basketball team's advantage is its strength and thickness on the perimeter.

Being the runner-up in the world is not only a national honor, but also the pride of Asia.

In the locker room that night, the team leader wanted to say some nice words to boost morale, but was persuaded by Louis.

Louis made the final arrangements before the next game.

Louis called irrelevant people outside the locker room and faced the players alone.

Louis did not choose to return to China together. As usual, Harris attended the domestic celebration party on behalf of him and the coaching staff. Louis, on the other hand, chose to fly to the United States via a transit airport.

Since they have already reached the finals, the players themselves want to give it a try.

Louis kept watching the final, becoming more and more silent as he watched.

However, the whole team was immersed in the joy of advancing to the finals, and Louis did not express his inner worries at this time.

At this point, this has become a game that no one can afford to lose.

There was no sense of relief in Louis's heart, because they were not ready to challenge the American team.

In other words, even under ideal conditions, the men's basketball team cannot perform better.

Even though Yugoslavia had a super giant, it didn't even defeat them.

But in front of Americans, this intensity is not enough.

In this era, the runner-up in the World Series is almost the same as the champion, because the American team is invincible.

Even when he was most obsessed with work, he wouldn't be like this.

Entering the finals is equivalent to locking in a medal in advance.

However, at the end of a high-intensity game, the U.S. team was still full of energy, while several core members of the men's basketball team showed signs of fatigue.

So, Lorraine asked Wuxia to persuade her father.

However, before Louis could pour cold water on the players and make them realize that second place was nothing special, Liu Yuqing's dark face and Wang Mukong's behavior of stuffing the silver medal into his pocket on the podium set the tone for the atmosphere of the men's basketball team.

The men's basketball team can sweep the world using a Dream Team-style game, but it cannot defeat the Americans.

Subsequently, Liu Yuqing's three-pointer gave the men's basketball team the lead in the first quarter.

finals

Del Harris spends 30 minutes doing pre-war mobilization.

What was said between them, no one knows.

Louis is very sure that this current style of play has come to an end. This is an American-style game with a fast pace and high intensity. You can rely on talent to overwhelm opponents who are not as good as you, but it will not work against Americans.

In any case, from this trip to Greece, the National Basketball Team still returned with a wave of praise.

At the beginning, Hu Weidong faced his club teammate Penny Hardaway and started the game with a gliding dunk with the ball worthy of being called the Jordan of Asia.

Louis almost never missed any opportunity for dead balls and timeouts, and played all the cards that could be played.

Bodiloga exited the game, and the National Basketball Team, led by the three giants on the outside (Hu Weidong, Liu Yuqing, Wang Mukong), pursued the victory and killed the suspense of the game with two three-pointers before the end.

Although the team is in good shape now, the US team is like an enhanced version of the men's basketball team in every aspect.

In the United States, Harris received negative reviews from many players because his lectures were as drowsy as chanting scriptures. However, in front of the players of the national basketball team, Harris has experienced such sleepy mobilization many times and has already experienced it.

war.

In the second half, the men's basketball team relied on their inside advantage to persevere. Although the outside team was far behind the American team in terms of quality, they did not lose their courage. Everyone dared to fight and fight with the Americans until the last moment.

After returning to the United States, Louis did not stop. He locked himself up and reviewed the two games against the American team in the World Championships for several days.

He began to envision the game against Team USA two years later in his mind.

Louis' condition has caused concern among his family.

If they want to avenge their humiliation at the Sydney Olympics two years later, they must change their style of play.

But the men's basketball team is still like Spain from 2008 to 2012, which was able to put up a wonderful confrontation with the American team, but in the end it was still one move behind.

Bodiloga suffered an ankle injury in the third overtime, which seemed to hint at the direction of this game.

Then, when Wuxia said, "Second place is already a great result," Louis raised his eyebrows, "Are you sure that second place is good? If you think so, I will be worried about your future. Since we have decided to do

, you have to do your best, even Uncle Wang Mukong, the king of You, knows that the second place is the biggest loser, why don't you understand?"

"It has nothing to do with me. Mom told me to say it. That's not what I meant."

"You little brat, stop worrying about adult matters. Take care of yourself. Don't think that because those sycophants in Sports Illustrated are flattering you all day long, you are really a mature person. You are still young! You will do it in the future.

What’s wrong!”

Lu Wuxia, who accidentally encountered bad luck, received a critical hit of 10,000 points from his biological father, and no longer dared to interfere with his father's affairs.

(End of chapter)