The players from the Spanish team began to control the tempo.
They weren't in a hurry to cross half-court.
Calderón slowly dribbled the basketball in their own backcourt.
Li Feng spread his arms and sprinted over. He used his body to press against Calderón, hoping to put pressure on him.
"No turnovers! Focus on passing!"
The Spanish team's head coach also sprang up from his chair, shouting loudly onto the court.
At this moment, the Chinese men's basketball players were pressing forward!
The optimal solution now was to force turnovers from the Spanish team, gain possession through steals, and earn the chance for a final shot.
However, it was clear that the Spanish team had practiced this type of coordinated play countless times.
Calderón didn't panic. He found an opportunity and passed the basketball back to Ricky Rubio, who was coming to receive it.
Rubio spotted a gap in the Chinese men's basketball team's defense, easily accelerated with the ball past half-court, and began to control the tempo!
The game clock was ticking down.
The Chinese fans in the stadium grew increasingly anxious!
Would they resort to fouling tactics?
If they didn't foul, allowing Spain to run down the clock like this would only be a slow death.
But if they fouled, as long as Spain could make at least one of two free throws, they could guarantee not losing the quarter.
It was incredibly difficult!
There were only 9 seconds left in the entire game!
Pau Gasol had already established good post position.
Facing a mismatch in defense, Pau Gasol directly backed Yi Jian into the paint.
Seeing the clear advantage in the paint, Rubio decided not to wait any longer.
If Pau Gasol succeeded with his isolation play on this possession, the game would be all but decided.
As the starting point guard for the Spanish team, Ricky Rubio was all too familiar with his coordination with Pau Gasol.
He made a bounce pass, throwing the basketball towards the paint.
But the moment the pass left his hands, Rubio realized something was terribly wrong!
Li Feng, who had seemed to be in the corner just moments ago, had suddenly appeared behind Pau Gasol!
Rubio had a bad feeling about this.
*Slap!*
As Pau Gasol closed his hands around the basketball, a pair of large hands reached out!
Li Feng knocked the basketball away!
Everyone had overlooked Li Feng's positioning!
In that very same second, the hearts of the fans in the Wukesong Stadium ignited!
Even veteran fans felt a sense of temporal displacement!
This play was strikingly similar to Jordan's steal from Malone in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals.
At the crucial moment, Jordan had won the game with a buzzer-beater, securing the championship that year.
Could Li Feng be recreating that divine feat today?
In fact, when Li Feng was on the sidelines earlier, he had been observing Rubio for a long time!
Ricky Rubio and Pau Gasol's coordination was consistently effective, but Li Feng had begun to anticipate their moves.
So, at the critical moment, he chose to take a risky gamble.
And clearly, he had won!
*Whoosh!*
With a roar from the crowd, the spectators' emotions were tense yet full of anticipation.
There were only a little over 5 seconds left in the game!
Li Feng had absolutely no time or inclination to celebrate his prediction and steal.
Meanwhile, Jonas, on the sidelines, had already slumped back into his coaching chair!
He had even closed his eyes, unable to bear watching the unfolding situation!
As an older man, he had experienced too many emotional rollercoasters today.
Even a young person could easily have a heart attack from such stress!
The Spanish team's head coach looked at Li Feng, who was streaking down the court, and his legs felt weak.
His fingers were visibly trembling.
He could only pray that something would go wrong with the Chinese men's basketball team's final offensive play!
At the same time!
The online viewership for this game had reached its peak since the start of the Olympics!
Even the Chinese men's basketball players on the court didn't realize what a focal point this game had become.
On the streets, taxi drivers stopped taking fares. They pulled their cars over to the side of the road and ran into nearby convenience stores to watch the final minute of the decisive battle!
Students in summer cram schools could no longer contain their excitement.
Their phones only had 2G internet, only capable of receiving text messages.
Constantly refreshing, they could only see "404" messages!
In front of television sets, countless Chinese fans clenched their fists, awaiting the final few seconds.
The pressure was now on the Spanish team.
Their strategy was crystal clear!
No matter what the final play of the Chinese men's basketball team was, their objective remained the same.
That was—to lock down Li Feng!
Watching Li Feng charge forward like a wild horse, Rubio made a throat-slitting gesture!
At the same time!
Calderón!
Fernández!
Marc Gasol!
Pau Gasol!
All five players converged towards Li Feng!
Li Feng had drawn all the defensive attention of the Spanish men's basketball team!
On this night, for the Spanish, Li Feng was possessed by a demon!
They were now determined not to give Li Feng any more opportunities.
"Four!"
"Three!"
Inside the Wukesong Stadium, the spectators roared in unison.
Acting as a human timer for Li Feng.
With a simple fake, Li Feng sidestepped Ricky Rubio by half a step.
Then, without any fancy techniques!
He charged forward with brute force!
With a sudden surge of power, Rubio was sent crashing to the ground!
There was no time left!
Li Feng decisively chose to shoot!
Just then, a pair of large hands reached out, casting a shadow over everything!
Pau Gasol’s hand touched the basketball as Li Feng released it.
The basketball was batted away to the side.
With no time to check the remaining seconds, Li Feng and Fernández lunged towards the ball!
"Two!"
With the advantage of his long reach, Li Feng was the first to touch the basketball.
However, his body had lost its balance!
"One!"
At the last moment, relying on muscle memory, he casually tossed the basketball!
The air in the Wukesong Stadium almost froze at this moment!
As he released the shot, Li Feng felt that the release was a little too far.
But the basketball still flew into the air.
The trajectory of the ball, with its high arc, traced a graceful curve across the sky of the Wukesong Stadium.
This was undoubtedly the most tense moment of the entire game.
Li Feng, due to the momentum, had already fallen to the floor.
"Li Feng, he shot!"
Yu Jia's voice trembled slightly; it was clear he was also extremely nervous.
Due to the interference from the Spanish players at the critical moment, the trajectory of the shot seemed to deviate slightly from the direction of the basket.
And as the basketball reached its highest point, the timer hit zero, and the red light around the backboard illuminated!
This almost caused everyone's heart to stop.
Just then!
The basketball hit the backboard!
A rebound!
A clear impact sound echoed!
Everyone in the stadium could almost hear their own heartbeats.
*Thud!*
*Swish!*
The rebounding basketball, with spin, went straight through the heart of the net!