In the second quarter, Li Feng had already accumulated 3 steals.
This clearly showed the destructive impact Li Feng had on Spain's defense.
The first half ended with China's men's basketball team leading Spain by 14 points, 55:41!
In international competitions, this point difference was already quite significant.
Gasol and his teammates walked off the court with their heads down, looking dejected. This was their first group stage match!
The Chinese media commentators on-site were Yang Yi and Wang Meng.
These two were one a fan and the other a critic of Feng, making their commentary a heated back-and-forth, even more exciting than the game itself.
"The Chinese team played well in the first half, especially Yao Ming and Chen Jianghua. With one inside and one outside, they completely broke through Spain's defense!" Yang Yi praised Yao Ming and Chen Jianghua extensively, completely omitting Li Feng, who was the highest scorer.
"Teacher Yang Yi's analysis is excellent. Yao Ming and Chen Jianghua indeed played very well, but Li Feng's performance was even better. He scored a game-high 17 points and is the biggest contributor to China's lead!"
Wang Meng, while outwardly flattering Yang Yi, was subtly refuting him.
After all, Yang Yi was more senior than him, so Wang Meng couldn't openly contradict him.
Of course, Yang Yi wasn't foolish either. He snorted, "Li Feng had many opportunities to shoot; they were all created by his teammates. Anyone else could have scored as much."
"I don't understand what you mean. Don't other players want to score?"
"Other players don't have Li Feng's star power, but in terms of ability, Li Feng and Chen Jianghua are on par!"
Wang Meng burst into laughter, "Teacher Yang Yi, you truly dare to say that Chen Jianghua can be compared to Li Feng?"
"Of course. Chen Jianghua just lacked opportunity. If he had gone to the US a few years earlier, his achievements would definitely have surpassed Li Feng's!"
"Are you saying Chen Jianghua could win four consecutive championships?"
"It's highly possible!"
Wang Meng was speechless, shaking his head repeatedly with a wry smile.
...
The second half of the game began.
Spain's head coach, Sergio, made adjustments; he also decided to pick up the pace.
There was no other choice. Spain, caught in half-court sets, wasn't gaining any advantage and could only hope for victory through chaos.
In fact, Spain's players were also good at playing fast. Fernandez, Calderón, and Reyes were all skilled at fast breaks.
At the start of the third quarter, Spain played quite well. With Ibaka's help defense, they forced consecutive turnovers and executed two fast breaks, narrowing the gap to 10 points.
But China's players, led by Li Feng, began to intensify their efforts!
I am the true successor of the run-and-gun style. You guys are still too green to play fast against me!
*Swish!*
Li Feng caught the ball in his own backcourt and launched a full-court pass to Yi Jianlian.
A-Lian faked, drove to the basket, drew the defense, and then passed to Yao Ming.
Yao Ming turned and executed a powerful dunk, stabilizing the situation. The lead returned to 12 points.
Spain still wanted to increase their pace. Calderón also wanted to make a long pass to Ibaka.
But Li Feng suddenly exploded in front of Ibaka!
It was terrifying!
A 1.93m guard actually stole the ball from Ibaka.
While Ibaka had the absolute height advantage, Li Feng's positioning was superb, and his strength was immense, directly pushing Ibaka aside.
After the steal, Li Feng went solo, driving past half-court.
Calderón was the only one trying to defend him, and it was a bit pathetic...
Li Feng dared to dunk over centers, let alone a point guard.
*Swish!*
Li Feng took off from the free-throw line, and Calderón felt a shadow pass over his head, *boom!*
He slammed home a dunk!
Li Feng actually flew over Calderón!
However, Li Feng was considerate. He didn't directly step over him but twisted his body and moved his leg to the side of Calderón.
It was still a dunk over someone, but this way was much better, less insulting.
Calderón understood, gave Li Feng a grateful look, nodded, and walked away silently.
The reason Li Feng did this was that Calderón was also a decent player who rarely committed dirty fouls on defense.
The fans in the arena erupted in cheers again, excited by Li Feng's spectacular dunk.
Chinese flags waved in the stands, fully igniting the fans' patriotic fervor!
Spain managed only two good plays before being suppressed by China once again.
Head coach Sergio sighed, not calling a timeout. He stroked his chin and watched the game quietly.
At the end of the third quarter, the score was 82:61, with China leading by 21 points.
Spain's fate was sealed.
In international competitions, a 21-point deficit was virtually impossible to overcome.
This was because each quarter in international games was 10 minutes, which was not enough time, and there weren't that many possessions.
In the fourth quarter, both teams began to substitute their bench players. Li Feng and Yao Ming did not play.
China's reserve players took turns, gaining more experience.
The fans were pleasantly surprised to find that many of China's players' old bad habits had disappeared.
Their physicality had improved, their defensive movements were more standardized, and their shots were more decisive.
These changes made the Chinese team look more like a strong team, seemingly invincible!
The game ended with China defeating Spain 103:86, securing their first victory in the group stage.
Many media outlets had predicted a closely contested match before the game, but the outcome was surprising.
China had dominated Spain throughout the game, giving them no chance to come back.
Li Feng scored a total of 28 points, making him the highest scorer for both teams.
Yao Ming scored 15 points, Yi Jianlian 12 points, and Chen Jianghua 16 points.
Apart from Li Feng and Yao Ming, Chen Jianghua was the most eye-catching Chinese player.
His speed and drives had contributed significantly to China's scoring.
After the game, the Gasol brothers came over to greet Li Feng and Yao Ming.
The four had played against each other many times in the NBA and knew each other well. The Gasol brothers also considered Yao Ming an idol.
...
After the four games of the day concluded, the players rested. The next day featured the remaining two matches for the other two groups.
July 30th.
03:00, Group B saw Russia take on Great Britain. The score was 75:95, with Russia winning.
05:15, Group A featured Lithuania against Argentina. The score was 79:102, with Argentina winning.
July 31st, four games.
The first game was at 4:00 PM, pitting Russia against China.
It was worth noting that these two national teams hadn't competed against each other for several years.
Many fans were very interested in this match.
Some media outlets began to playfully refer to it as a battle between the "brown bear" and the "panda"!
The Chinese coaching staff took this game very seriously because Russia had convincingly defeated Great Britain two days prior.
It should be remembered that most of Great Britain's players were also black players, and some had played in the NBA, possessing considerable skill.
However, Russia was even more formidable, having secured victory within three quarters, ending the suspense of the game early.
Especially Russia's Kirilenko and Mozgov, both practical interior players.
...
At four in the afternoon, the group stage match between China and Russia began.
China's starting lineup remained Li Feng, Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Sun Dasheng, and Chen Jianghua.
Russia's starting five were Mozgov, Kirilenko, Sergey, Sasha, and Victor.
At center tip-off, Mozgov secured the first possession.
Mozgov was only slightly shorter than Yao Ming, younger, and more powerfully built.
Although his offensive skills were far inferior to Yao Ming's, he did a good job with the "blue-collar" work.
Guard Sergey brought the ball past half-court, and Li Feng stepped up to defend him.
It seemed Sergey had learned a lot about Li Feng. Unlike other players, he didn't initiate mindless provocation but directly called for a screen.
Power forward Victor moved to the high post, blocking Li Feng, and drove towards the paint.
Chen Jianghua immediately went to help defend.
It had to be said that under Li Feng's guidance, Chen Jianghua's help defense awareness had significantly improved.
Sergey dared not face Li Feng, but he was quite confident against Chen Jianghua.
*Swish!*
Sergey accelerated, attempting to drive past on the left.
But Chen Jianghua's footwork was quick, directly blocking him. Sergey couldn't get past.
With no other option, Sergey passed the ball horizontally to small forward Sasha.
Sasha faced Sun Dasheng and attempted a direct jump shot, but Sun Dasheng's defensive ability was truly impressive. With a gentle stretch of his long arms, *slap!*
He knocked the ball away from Sasha.
Yi Jianlian and Victor nearby both went for the ball.
Although both were fast, A-Lian was a step quicker, securing the ball and then passing it to Li Feng.
Li Feng drove past half-court, initiating a fast break. Russia's Sasha was in hot pursuit.
Sasha played in the European league and was somewhat renowned. His personality was a bit like a brute; he respected no one.
He intended to intimidate Li Feng with his 2.06m height!
*Bang bang!*
Li Feng felt someone following him from behind, but he wasn't in a hurry, continuing to advance at a moderate pace.
Upon reaching the paint, Li Feng suddenly gathered the ball and faked a shot.
Sasha was waiting for this move; he stomped his feet and leaped!
It had to be said, Sasha's athleticism was indeed good, and he jumped quite high.
Unfortunately, Li Feng's move was a fake.
Seeing Sasha leap into the air, Li Feng unhurriedly made a casual shot, *swish!*
He scored with a floater.
Poor Sasha, he flew past the baseline and lost his balance, falling at the feet of the cheerleaders, looking quite disheveled.
The crowd in the stadium erupted in unrestrained laughter. Sasha's face turned red as he slowly got up.
Li Feng's fake move earlier was too realistic, completely fooling Sasha.
From the start of the game, Li Feng had set the tone.
Russia's head coach, Blatt.
Before his transition, many NBA fans would have known about him.
He had entered the NBA in 2014 and coached the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Before going to the NBA, Blatt was highly accomplished, achieving considerable success in the European arena.
However, he was a bit unlucky to end up with the Cavaliers.
His coaching style was incompatible with a team centered around LeBron James.
Six months later, he was ousted and returned to Europe dejectedly.
...
Blatt shook his head slightly upon seeing Li Feng's ferocity.
Russia's offense. Sergey again dribbled past half-court. Seeing Mozgov establish position, he directly passed the ball.
After losing weight, Yao Ming found it a bit difficult to box out Mozgov. Mozgov pushed him twice, moving him to the right side of the basket.
Just as Mozgov was about to rise and shoot, Li Feng suddenly appeared like a ghost and snatched the ball from his hands.
Regardless, Mozgov was a center, and the force with which he held the ball with both hands was immense. A guard couldn't possibly steal his ball.
But Li Feng's strength was even greater. With a tug of his hands, he almost sent Mozgov stumbling.
After stealing the ball, Li Feng didn't try to hog the glory. With a flick of his right hand, he tossed the ball to Chen Jianghua on the right wing.
Chen Jianghua utilized his speed advantage, started quickly, drove past half-court, and under Sergey's defense, made the shot!
*Beep!*
The referee's whistle blew, and he also called Sergey for an offensive foul!
2+1!
Chen Jianghua had improved again!
He could successfully make a layup while being pulled by a defender. His physical strength had increased by more than a little!
Chen Jianghua was ecstatic. After scoring, he first rushed to Li Feng and hugged him tightly.
"Brother Feng, you saved me, you saved me!"
Although Li Feng was several years younger than him, Chen Jianghua still respectfully called him "Brother Feng," expressing his heartfelt gratitude.
Li Feng smiled, patted Chen Jianghua's back, and encouraged him, "It wasn't me who saved you; it was your hard work that paid off!"
With this offensive and defensive sequence, Li Feng displayed immense on-court dominance.
Despite being prepared, Russia was still stunned by Li Feng.
Blatt shouted from the sidelines, "Concentrate! Block Li Feng! Don't give him space for help defense!"
In the next possession, Russia's offense changed. Sergey tightly guarded Li Feng, preventing him from providing help defense.
To be able to force the opponent on defense and conversely defend one's own player, only Li Feng could do that.
After Russia's adjustment, they scored twice, narrowing the gap by 4 points.
However, on China's offensive end, Russia still had no good solutions.
The backcourt combination of Li Feng and Chen Jianghua was no less effective than Li Feng and Lowry of the Knicks.
And Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian wreaked havoc in the paint, suppressing Russia's interior defense.
With over six minutes played in the first quarter, China led by 5 points, 14:9.
Blatt called a timeout.
In fact, the Russian players hadn't made any major mistakes; they had executed as planned.
The sole reason for the lagging score was Russia's lack of a Li Feng!
However, Blatt was, after all, a high-level coach, and he still made adjustments targeting Li Feng.
Besides double-teaming, he also instructed the Russian players to play physically against Li Feng, meaning to be rougher with their actions to provoke Li Feng.
Russia, known as the "fighting nation," had fiery temperaments that were recognized globally.
Especially in sports competitions, wherever Russian athletes were present, their fiery spirit was evident.
They feared no one and would fight if provoked!
It was precisely because of this trait that Blatt intended to exploit it.
He hoped to intimidate the Chinese players, preferably causing the Chinese team to fall into disarray.
If Li Feng couldn't tolerate it and made an overreaction, that would be even better, as the referees would then intervene.
This was the only tactic Blatt could think of.
After the timeout, Li Feng immediately sensed the opponent's murderous intent.
As Li Feng advanced the ball from the backcourt, Sergey rushed forward, with Victor also coming to support from the side.
Li Feng used a crossover to get past Sergey.
Just as he was about to advance to the frontcourt, Sergey suddenly crashed into Li Feng from the side and rear.
And Victor, with perfect timing, leaped in from the other direction, intending to sandwich Li Feng!