novelhk Chapter 708 A Moment That Made History!
Chapter 708 A Moment That Made History!
Jokic was beyond the three-point line, and Zhou Qi, under pressure from the opposing center, tipped the ball to Wang Xiucheng.
As soon as Wang Xiucheng grabbed the basketball, Bogdan hugged him.
Bogdan then walked toward the players' tunnel without looking back.
The referee pointed at Bogdan, made a foul gesture, and indicated that Bogdan had committed five fouls and was sent off.
By the time the referee finished making those moves, Bogdan had already walked into the players' tunnel.
Wang Xiucheng made one of two free throws this time, but Jokic grabbed the rebound on the second free throw.
Jokic, with a somewhat unsteady dribble, pushed aside three Chinese players, including Wang Xiucheng, and single-handedly scored, netting two more points.
But at this point, there were only 7 seconds left.
This time, when Wang Xiucheng got the ball again, he immediately passed it to Li Kaier.
Before his opponent could close in on him, Li Kai'er passed the ball to Zhou Qi, who had already crossed the halfway line.
Zhou Qi then passed the ball to Wang Xiucheng, who was running from the backcourt.
With just a few passes, five seconds of time were wasted.
Wang Xiucheng stood at the top of the arc with the ball in his hand. He didn't shoot again; there was no need anymore, as there were only two seconds left.
With a whistle, the referee blew the final whistle to end the game.
Wang Xiucheng flung the ball into the sky, raised his arms high, and roared silently!
104:97.
The next moment, Wang Xiucheng was tackled to the ground. Before he could even see who it was, more people pounced on him.
The entire stadium of Chinese fans sang "My Motherland" loudly, and some emotional fans even had tears in their eyes.
The semifinals!
This was an outcome that no one expected before the tournament, especially after the Chinese team lost to Germany and France in the group stage. No one thought the Chinese team could make it to the semi-finals.
Serbia is a top-three team in the world, and they even achieved a second-place finish in last year's World Cup without Jokic.
However, this Serbian team, which can be considered the strongest in history, actually lost to the Chinese team, which barely qualified for the Olympics after finishing third in the group stage, in the quarterfinals of the Olympics.
This is something that many fans definitely didn't expect.
The Chinese team players were still celebrating wildly, and even coaches like Ben Sullivan rushed onto the field.
For these assistant coaches, this is definitely a resume they can talk about repeatedly.
On the Tencent Live broadcast, Yang Yi, his eyes brimming with tears, said in a choked voice, "Congratulations to us for reaching the semifinals of the Olympics. This is an achievement that even Chairman Yao Ming didn't reach back then."
Yang Yi wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. "We've always said that the Chinese men's basketball team at the 08 Beijing Olympics was the strongest. Even now, if you ask me, I'll still say the same thing."
"Even now, I still think that the Chinese men's basketball team was stronger when Yao Ming and Li Da were playing for the bus than the current team."
"However, being strong doesn't necessarily mean having good results. Our team still has many shortcomings, but we have a superstar who is considered a superstar even in the NBA."
"In competitive sports, there is a theory of individual influence, which means that the fewer the number of participants in a sport, the greater the impact of individual strength on the whole."
"For example, sports like table tennis and badminton are individual sports, and their success depends solely on the player's own ability."
"But the more participants a project has, the less influence a single player will have, even if that player is very strong."
"For example, if there are 11 players in football, even if you give China three Messis or Ronaldos, we still might not be able to produce one."
"But basketball is a team sport, and the limit is when an individual player's exceptional strength can have a significant impact on the game."
"Serbia is strong not only because of Jokic, but also because of other strong players, such as Bogdan."
"But the Chinese team has an even stronger player, strong enough to make up for the gap between his teammates and the opponent."
"This is the opportunity that the small-ball era brings to countries that are not good at basketball."
"My physique isn't as good as yours, but I can shoot you to death from the outside."
"This was not common in Chairman Yao Ming's era."
Yang Yi, who had said a lot in one breath, had calmed down.
Yu Jia did not interrupt Yang Yi, as he himself was also very excited and needed time to calm down.
In the fans' stands, Yao Ming excitedly hugged the uniformed staff next to him and shouted loudly, a rare occurrence for him.
Although he didn't know what he was shouting, he just wanted to shout it out, to express and vent the emotions in his heart.
"Wang Xiucheng..." Fan Chengcheng's voice was already hoarse, but he still shouted into the arena.
Through Yao Ming's massive body, Fan Bing could occasionally catch glimpses of his tall and slender figure.
However, that figure was surrounded by people the whole time. After finally getting away from the crowd, the Serbian players went up to exchange pleasantries with him.
"Sis, give it a try, maybe he really likes you." Fan Chengcheng stopped shouting, unable to make a sound, so he drank the water on the chair in one gulp, and then said to his older sister.
"Get out," Fan Bing cursed.
Inside the arena, Wang Xiucheng and Jokic embraced.
Jokic, however, said nothing this time.
He wasn't in the mood for it. He had already lost, so why should he congratulate the other party?
After releasing Wang Xiucheng, Jokic walked dejectedly toward the players' tunnel.
“You have to go to the post-match press conference later. You absolutely have to go this time.” Ben Sullivan grabbed Wang Xiucheng at this moment, afraid that Wang Xiucheng would run away.
Wang Xiucheng did not attend any of the post-match press conferences in the previous matches.
Yao Ming and Guo Shiqiang did not force Wang Xiucheng. After all, they had lost the first two games, so if he didn't want to go, he didn't have to.
But we beat Serbia today, so it would be a shame not to go now.
After all, most of the people attending the post-match press conference were from Chinese media, not outsiders.
"Okay, I'll go." Wang Xiucheng nodded helplessly.
Wang Xiucheng returned to the bench, picked up his drink and took a big gulp. After listening to the fans sing "Ode to the Motherland" in the stadium, he started shouting "MVP" again.
Wang Xiucheng looked in Yao Ming's direction and pointed at him, as if to say, "See, I'm better than you!"
Yao Ming stood up, clapping and nodding.
Seeing Wang Xiucheng's actions, Fan Chengcheng turned to his older sister and asked, "Sis, is he saying hello to you?"
Fan Bing rolled her eyes helplessly, but the next moment, as her younger brother turned his head away, she waved in Wang Xiucheng's direction, even though he knew that Yao Ming was probably blocking him and he wouldn't notice.
On the other side, Yang Mi, Liu Shishi, Liu Yifei, and Tang Yan, like other fans, sang and danced, and used their phones to forever preserve this historic moment.
However, the four women's gazes toward Wang Xiucheng were quite intense from time to time!