The Olympic date display has been updated to August 21.
The Belsey Stadium was brightly lit and already packed with people.
"Hello everyone. This is the semifinal of the women's basketball tournament at the Olympics, with China facing off against France. I'm your commentator, Liu Du, and the two people next to me are our old friends, former national team head coach Feng Xu and former national team captain Meng Xiaotong. We will be providing live commentary for this game," Liu Du introduced at the beginning.
"Hello everyone, I am Feng Xu."
"Hello everyone, I'm Meng Xiaotong. It's my honor to accompany the audience and witness the growth and hard work of the women's basketball team on the court," Meng Xiaotong introduced herself with a smile.
Looking at the blue, white, and red tricolor flags covering most of the arena, Liu Du said, "Today, the Chinese team's opponent is the host team, France. Most of the spectators are French fans, which is a considerable challenge for our women's basketball team."
"Yes, most of the audience's voices were cheering for the French team, which will have some impact on our Chinese team athletes. However, the women's basketball team has already come this far, so we should put aside our distractions and enjoy the game," Meng Xiaotong said.
"Besides maintaining composure, the Chinese women's basketball team also needs to be well-prepared for back-and-forth defense." Feng Xu said, looking at the French team's roster: "We played against the French team in the Olympic qualifiers and lost by a large margin. The biggest problem was that we couldn't solve their fast breaks. Once we couldn't win the inside game, we would immediately give up points. In particular, the fast break combination between the French team's point guard and small forward is very fast."
Liu Du added, "We do need to be careful. France's number 3 player, the team's small forward Camille, has a very versatile way of attacking and breaking through. She and France's point guard, number 16 player Lucia, have a very good understanding."
"As seen in the group stage, the French team excels in running speed and has outstanding perimeter defense. We'll see how the Chinese team responds today," Meng Xiaotong said, taking a deep breath.
Following the rhythm of the game, Liu Du introduced the starting players, "China's starting center is player number 10, Ren Qiqi. Ren Qiqi plays a steady style and will put a lot of pressure on France's center, Cora. She grabbed 6 rebounds in the group stage, mainly through her combination play with Ji Yun under the basket. Oh—sure enough, number 24, Ji Yun, is also a starting player. Ji Yun plays power forward and has excellent chemistry with Ren Qiqi in the league. Both players were originally from the Yuna team, and their fast break combinations are very clever."
Liu Du gave Meng Xiaotong a look, signaling her to continue.
"Next up is player number 20, our starting small forward Sun Meng. Sun Meng had a very impressive start in the last game against Japan. Then comes our starting point guard, player number 6, Lu Yu. I think the combination of Sun Meng and Lu Yu as forwards and guards provided a perfect answer in the last game against Japan, and the effect was immediate."
"The last shooting guard to start is—" Feng Xu looked at the last player to enter the game and was somewhat incredulous. He said, "It's the young player Chu Feiyu, number 27! It seems that the Chinese team is also prepared to compete on speed. Chu Feiyu is a player I personally have high hopes for. She is young, but she has a big heart. She, Sun Meng, and Lu Yu were all players on the Qingbei team. Let's see if the three of them can break through the French team's defensive barrier through their offensive coordination."
Although the commentators tried their best to explain the compatibility of the lineup, the lineup arrangement, which was not the full starting lineup, still sparked heated discussions in the live broadcast room.
- Not starting with their full strength against France? Has Zeng Ling lost his mind?
- The semifinals! This is the Olympic semifinals! -
-What makes Zeng Ling think the French team is inferior to the Japanese team?
- Against Japan, they fielded their full starting lineup. Against France, they used half their starting lineup. It really cracked me up.
-A few wins and you're getting cocky? So careless!
- Enough with the talk, let's use our energy to cheer for the women's basketball team!
-Zeng Ling is making arbitrary arrangements, and now no one can even speak up?-
- Upstairs, how could you make such a terrible decision? Why don't you become the head coach yourself?
- Maybe it's a lineup specifically chosen to counter the French team. The match hasn't even started yet, so stop spouting pessimistic talk.
-Heh... This lineup was specially arranged. Do you think I haven't seen Chu Feiyu play? In the last game, Weng Pei was able to defend Kitagawa Keiko to the death. Can Chu Feiyu do that?
- I agree with the comment above. Chu Feiyu's offense is good, but I don't have a special impression of her defense. I'm just worried that her perimeter defense will be overwhelmed by the French team.
The whistle blew on the field.
The basketball was tossed high into the air, captivating the hearts of countless people.
Ren Qiqi and Ke La jumped almost at the same time—
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com