Everyone has their own aspirations. Li Feng offered Sun Dasheng a few simple words of advice and then said no more.
China's next group stage match was against the strong African team Angola.
The players on the Angolan national team were all black, possessing explosive physical attributes, but their tactical execution was somewhat lacking.
Furthermore, they had less match experience. This often resulted in them playing well offensively, but their defense was a complete mess.
Coach Jonas had originally planned to rest all the starting players, including Li Feng, and let the players who usually didn't get playing time gain some experience.
However, China's team sponsor called, insisting that Li Feng play at least 20 minutes!
Jonas was helpless but also pleased, as it indicated Li Feng's commercial value was rapidly increasing.
As long as Li Feng played, viewership ratings would skyrocket.
When Li Feng heard about this, he didn't mind. He enjoyed playing, and being young, his stamina recovered quickly. Playing an extra game was no big deal.
At the pre-game press conference, Li Feng accepted media interviews.
Due to Li Feng's soaring popularity, the number of reporters present had once again exploded.
Logically, the outcome of this match wasn't important for the Chinese team, so reporters shouldn't have been too concerned.
However, the reality was the exact opposite. Seeing so many reporters below, Li Feng was a bit surprised.
"Mr. Li Feng, will you play in this match? If you do, how many minutes will you play?"
Although this match was not important, and Angola's strength was not great, Li Feng still respected every opponent.
He nodded politely and said, "I will play, because Angola's overall strength is very good, and the players are very hardworking. We will have a serious match against them!"
Another reporter asked, "In the last match, you broke the ankle of your defender with your dribbling. Will you do that again in this game?"
Li Feng's expression turned serious, and he replied sternly, "First of all, I want to state that I did not practice any techniques with the intention of breaking an opponent's ankle. I regret the injury of the Greek player Bruton, and I hope he recovers soon and returns to the court."
"Furthermore, as I said, only those who defend diligently run the risk of getting injured. I greatly respect Bruton, and I hope the media friends will not continue to hype this matter."
Li Feng's composure and magnanimity moved the reporters present, who all applauded, showing their appreciation for him.
A reporter from the United States asked, "Mr. Li Feng, have you now replaced Yao Ming and become the core of China?"
This reporter had malicious intent, trying to sow discord.
Li Feng retorted without hesitation, "What basis do you have for saying that? Reporters cannot just spout nonsense! Yao Ming has always been the core of our China, he was, he is, and he will always be!"
His resounding reply made the reporter dare not meet Li Feng's gaze and retreat behind dejectedly.
...
China's final group stage match officially began.
Jonas fielded a starting lineup consisting of Li Feng and four reserve players: Du Feng, Wang Lei, Li Nan, and Wang Shipeng, along with Wang Zhizhi.
Despite being reserves, Wang Zhizhi, Li Nan, and Wang Shipeng all had the ability to start, so China's overall starting strength did not decrease significantly.
Angola's starters were Morales, Costa, Armando, Almeida, and Mingas.
At the start of the game, Li Feng showed no intention of aggressive individual scoring. Instead, he took on the role of organizing the offense.
Perhaps the Chinese reserve players were unaccustomed to starting suddenly, or they were under psychological pressure, resulting in a lukewarm shooting performance.
Li Feng made several good passes through drives, but Li Nan, Wang Shipeng, and Du Feng all failed to convert their shots.
On the contrary, the Angolan team played with courage and aggression, scoring consecutively and taking the lead.
With 4 minutes and 27 seconds left in the first quarter, the score was 7:2, with Angola surprisingly leading by 5 points.
Jonas called a timeout. He was not dissatisfied with the offense, as poor shooting touch was normal for players.
However, the team's defense had major issues. Li Feng defended well on the perimeter, but the interior support and help defense were lacking.
Jonas then yelled at several players, urging them to defend more actively.
Li Feng was unusually quiet today. Because he had played with the reserve players for a short time, they still needed to adapt to each other.
The Angolan players were very excited today and played exceptionally well. Of course, this was typical of the Angolan team; they often started the first quarter very strongly, even against the United States.
Because of their explosive physical attributes and astonishing jumping ability, the Angolan players would immediately unleash their initial onslaught, catching their opponents off guard.
However, as the game progressed, their weaknesses began to show, such as poor physical confrontation, poor positioning, and unstable shooting.
As expected, after the timeout, the game resumed. With China increasing their defensive intensity, Angola found it harder to score.
China began to close the gap.
First, Li Feng passed to Wang Shipeng in the corner, who hit a three-pointer.
Subsequently, Li Feng and Li Nan double-teamed Almeida, forcing a turnover and stealing the ball.
Li Feng threw a long pass to Wang Lei, who was streaking down the court.
Wang Lei took three steps and slammed down a powerful dunk!
In the blink of an eye, China had tied the score.
During these few minutes, Li Feng did not take a single shot, yet he led the team to equalize the score!
The fans in the arena were divided into two groups. One group of Chinese fans loved watching Li Feng go for individual scores, so they were very disappointed to see him not shooting.
However, another group of fans was more professional. They were very satisfied with Li Feng's performance because he connected the entire team and played the role of a core player.
As the Chinese players' shooting touch warmed up, coupled with their defensive intensity, Angola couldn't keep up.
China took the lead and gained the advantage on the court.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 21:13, with China leading by 8 points.
Li Feng did not take any shots throughout the first quarter, but he recorded 5 assists, 2 steals, and 4 rebounds, including 2 offensive rebounds!
Many fans joked that Li Feng had switched his mode today to that of "point guard god" Paul.
In fact, Paul's offensive ability was also quite good; it was just limited by his height that his scoring consistency in crucial moments was slightly lacking.
Paul's three-pointers and mid-range shots were his specialties.
In the CCTV sports broadcast booth, Yu Jia and Director Zhang were, of course, knowledgeable about the game.
They both praised Li Feng's performance today.
"Haha, Director Zhang, Li Feng displayed a different kind of ability today!"
"That's right, Li Feng showed us that he not only can score himself but can also help his teammates score. He's an all-around talent!"
"So this should be the first group stage match where China leads at halftime."
"You know, it really is like that. Li Feng always brings surprises to the fans."
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