Of course, those are not things he can participate in at this stage, and Yao Ming still needs to push them forward.

But at least, he and Yao Ming are now together and can make things move in this direction.

Time passed quickly and it was mid-August. Xu Yong joined the men's basketball team on a training camp in Europe.

6 games, 3 wins and 3 losses, a 50-50 record.

The warm-up matches are more for running-in and screening the roster, and there are many strong teams in Europe, so this result is actually acceptable.

At least with Xu Yong, he felt it was pretty good.

There was no other reason, it was just that before he was reborn, the men's basketball team was completely rotten.

Especially when Yi Jianlian's last fig leaf was torn off, it was revealed that he had no bottom line and couldn't even enter the Olympics.

After the training camp, the 12-man roster of the men's basketball team was finalized.

Guards: Xu Yong, Sun Yue, Liu Wei, Guo Ailun

Forwards: Zhu Fangyu, Wang Shipeng, Zhou Peng, Ding Jinhui

Inside: Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Wang Zhizhi, Su Wei

This is a list very close to the 2008 Olympic list.

It is also worth mentioning that because the 2009 Asian Championship tragedy did not happen in history, there have been some subtle changes in the careers of many people.

Among them, Zhu Fangyu did not miss this World Championships due to injury.

This is very important. For so many years, Zhu Fangyu has always been the most stable three-point point on the men's basketball team's outside line.

The men's basketball team went directly to Türkiye after finishing the training.

Just as they were on their way, FIBA ​​announced the strength rankings before the start of the World Championships.

In this list, the US team still tops the list without any suspense.

Although Kobe, Wade, James, Howard, Anthony, Paul and other core members of the Dream Team 8 were all absent, the United States is in an era of emerging talents at this time. This time they sent out a young lineup with Durant as the core, and their on-paper strength is still undoubtedly the first.

The Dream Team 9 roster: Durant, Rondo, Billups, Westbrook, Gay, Iguodala, Granger, Curry, Eric Gordon, Love, Odom, Tyson Chandler.

Slightly different from the history that Xu Yong knew, Rose gave up joining the Dream Team 9 this year.

The reason is very simple. In the two rounds of high-intensity playoffs last season, he was obviously targeted and was determined to improve his shooting.

At this moment, he is sweating in Chicago.

After the US team, Spain, Lithuania, Greece, Argentina, Türkiye, Slovenia and China ranked 2nd to 8th.

That’s right, FIBA ​​is optimistic about the Chinese team in this World Championships.

On the one hand, this is because of the achievements made by the men's basketball team in the 2008 Olympics. On the other hand, and more importantly, it is the presence of Yao Ming and Xu Yong.

Yao Ming's ability to play is the basic foundation of the Chinese men's basketball team, while Xu Yong's sudden rise is the possible ceiling of the men's basketball team.

When this list came out, fans had only one feeling in their hearts: After waiting for so many years, we finally have the chance to experience what it’s like to be a “great power”!

It can be said that this prediction list has raised the expectations of domestic fans to the maximum.

Of course, this also puts tremendous pressure on the men's basketball team.

You know, although FIBA's analysis is correct, the Chinese team was placed in a death group this year.

The United States, Russia, Australia, Puerto Rico, and Côte d'Ivoire. Among them, Russia and Australia are ranked behind China, at 9th and 10th, and Puerto Rico is ranked 15th.

It can be said that apart from the warmth sent by African brothers, no game was easy.

Not to mention, just like in the 2008 Olympics, China's first opponent will be the Dream Team 9.

This kind of schedule is the most torturous. If you fight hard, it will consume a lot of energy. If you don't fight hard, you may not be in good shape for the entire World Championships if you give up in the first game.

Time flies, and it is already the day of the World Championships.

Because host Türkiye had no games on the first day of the competition, the United States team's game was scheduled for this prime time.

Of course, the Chinese team obviously did not benefit from this.

In fact, China has a huge Chinese market, and the Chinese men's basketball team is strong this year. When NBA stars from various countries have chosen to withdraw from the competition, this is the best game to attract attention to the World Championships.

Of course, there is another point. The Bulls attracted a lot of fans last season. There are still two months before the start of the new season, and they also want to see in advance how the combination of Xu Yong and Yao Ming can perform.

In fact, FIBA's calculations were very successful. Although there was a time difference, the ratings of this game still exploded.

The time difference between China and Türkiye is five hours faster. It is already two or three o'clock in the morning.

But you have to know that in this kind of focus game, domestic basketball fans can show the same enthusiasm as football fans watching the World Cup in minutes.

What about two or three in the morning, when you don’t have to go to work? Isn’t that the best time to watch football?

And it's not just the live broadcast on TV. Among the spectators who come to watch the game in person, more than half are Chinese fans.

Most of them are local Chinese, and the rest are from China who came to support the Chinese men's basketball team.

The level of Chinese basketball may be difficult to become the best in the world, but the enthusiasm of the fans is definitely the best in the world.

Haven’t you seen that the Chinese men’s basketball team was so bad before Xu Yong was reborn? When they went abroad to play in the world championships, no matter which country they were from, all away games became home games.

When the men's basketball team came out of the player tunnel and saw so many familiar faces, their adrenaline surged and they also felt more pressure.

During the warm-up, most of the players were a little tight.

After the warm-up was over, the opening ceremony began and the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Team USA: Westbrook, Billups, Iguodala, Durant, Tyson Chandler;

Chinese team: Sun Yue, Xu Yong, Zhu Fangyu, Yi Jianlian, Yao Ming.

The game is about to begin, and the starting players of both teams come on stage amid the cheers of the fans.

The camera also kept focusing on the starting players of both teams, with Yao Ming and Xu Yong from the Chinese team having the most shots.

Yao Ming's expression was very serious, completely different from his relaxed look in the NBA. He even took a deep breath before going on court.

Xu Yong looked much more relaxed and even stretched his body on the sidelines.

However, at this moment, when the camera accidentally swept across the audience seats, a fan discovered an unexpected figure.

That was new Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau.

Without any prior notice, Thibodeau came to Türkiye quietly.

The game is about to start, Yao Ming and Chandler jump ball in the center circle.

"beep!"

With a whistle, Yao Ming passed the ball back to the Chinese team's half, officially kicking off the game.

It’s time to introduce the head coach of this men’s basketball team, Deng Huade.

This coach, who came from the American basketball coaching system, was criticized by the media because of Yang Yi's remark that he was "at the level of a high school student".

He doesn't understand tactics and can only pump up enthusiasm. These are basically his personal labels.

But in fact, if you, a foreign coach, have no knowledge, how can you unite the Chinese men's basketball team, which is mainly composed of CBA players and has many factions, into one?

You are just an American, not dollars or beautiful women!

You have to know that at that time Yao Ming was no longer there to help the coach.

To some extent, Deng Huade's tactics are similar to Thibodeau's, relying on zone defense and counterattack tactics.

In his tactical manual, the first thing he does at the beginning is to set up a 2-3 zone to test your three-point shooting feel. If you can shoot accurately, he will directly switch to a 3-2 zone.

Because the Chinese team's advantage is in the interior, whether it is a fast break after protecting the rebounds or guarding the penalty area, they can play to the advantage of the double team defense.

As for positional warfare, it relies on the singles ability of the stars, through singles breakthroughs and small cooperation on the weak side to create three-point opportunities.

So at the beginning of this wave of the Chinese team, Yao Ming singled out Chandler in the low post.

Yao Ming easily beat Chandler before the draft and said, "Chandler made me sure for the first time that I could play in the NBA." Even now that he has lost weight, he still has an advantage in the low post.

The US team obviously knew this, and Iguodala had already retreated to help defend in advance.

But at this moment, a small cooperation was made on the weak side, and Zhu Fangyu created an opportunity with the help of the screen.

Yao Ming threw the ball out quickly. As Princeton played more, his passing skills improved significantly.

Zhu Fangyu received the ball and quickly shot a three-pointer.

There are actually quite a few accurate outside shooters in China, but what makes Zhu Fangyu special is that his shooting speed is fast enough, which is a qualitative change for a shooter.

Zhu Fangyu took a three-pointer before Durant's help defense could interfere.

The ball has a straight trajectory and good backspin.

"when!"

However, the ball hit the back edge of the basket and bounced out, and the ball did not go in.

Just like we saw at the beginning, the Chinese team was a bit tight, which was reflected in their shots being a bit stiff.

Chandler protected the defensive rebound and the US team launched a defensive counterattack.

But the Chinese team retreated quickly, especially Xu Yong, who basically blocked Westbrook who was in the front at the first moment and prevented him from speeding up.

As he had said to Kobe before, learning the puppy steps and Kobe's understanding of the game took his understanding of the game to a higher level.

In the US team's positional battle, Westbrook directly held the ball and hit Sun Yue.

At this time, you will find that Coach K and Durant’s tactical systems are very similar, both of which are defensive counterattacks plus star explosions.

They all come from the same system, it would be strange if they didn't look alike.

The only difference is that Coach K coaches the Dream Team, while Coach Durant leads the Chinese men's basketball team.

Sun Yue's defense is very good. Although he failed to stay in the NBA, he is now at the peak of his career.

It's just that Westbrook's explosive power is too strong. He still shakes him off when he breaks through to the paint area, then jumps up and makes a layup.

Yao Ming was blocked by Chandler at this time, and it was too late for him to rush over to help defend.

But at the moment Westbrook shot, a figure came to assist in defense.

"Bang!"

He slapped Westbrook's shot directly onto the backboard and pushed Westbrook directly out of the baseline!

Yi Jianlian!

Yi Jianlian has just finished his third season in the NBA. Last season, he gained weight and scored 12 points and 7 rebounds for the Nets.

He is also at the peak of his career, the best of the best.

So looking at the starting lineup of the Chinese team again, you will find one thing, that is, the starting defensive intensity of this men's basketball team is the strongest in history!

Yao Ming turned around to protect the defensive rebound, and the Chinese team counterattacked the Dream Team's defense.

The American team's defense obviously couldn't keep up.

Although they are extremely talented, this American team is too young and is clearly a notch weaker than the Dream Team 8 in terms of tactical quality.

Yao Ming passed the ball directly to Xu Yong, who ran with the ball.

It must be said that his playing for the national team this time can be regarded as a warm-up for next season.

Iguodala chased after Xu Yong.

The two men ran to the front court one after the other and jumped up one after the other.

“Bang!”

Xu Yong used both hands violently and smashed the ball directly into the basket.

Iguodala's block missed the ball and hit it directly on Xu Yong's hand.

The referee on the sidelines blew the whistle, signaling Iguodala's hit.

This is a 2+1!

The Chinese fans at the scene were instantly excited.

Here it comes, Xu Yong’s dribbling through the basket, which can usually only be seen on TV broadcasts, is now happening right in front of them!

Some viewers couldn't help but raise their lips: Haha, even James can't block my Xu Yong's fast break dunk, you Andre Iguodala are really no good.

Xu Yong adjusted his breathing and made the free throw.

3 to 0.

The Chinese team took the lead.

Westbrook continued to hold the ball in the frontcourt. This time Durant pulled out to play pick-and-roll, a small cooperation between the two Thunder players.

Westbrook took advantage of the pick-and-roll to break inside, and Durant also took the opportunity to jump out and prepare to receive the ball.

But just as Westbrook turned around to pass the ball, he suddenly found that there was an extra person on his passing route, Xu Yong.

Just at that moment, Xu Yong gave up his defensive target and passed through Durant's screen like a piece of paper.

Westbrook is not a good organizer. When he saw Xu Yong, he did not look for the person Xu Yong was supposed to defend, but turned his head and rushed directly to the basket.

Yi Jianlian had defensive confrontation, but his speed was obviously not enough, and Westbrook took a long step away and made a low layup.

This time, Yao Ming retreated to the basket.

"Bang!"

He slapped Westbrook's shot and sent him flying out of the court.

Poor Westbrook, he just finished a Cantonese hotpot and immediately tried a Yao hotpot.

This move even made Coach K stand up from the bench.

Obviously, the two defensive plays by the Chinese team at the beginning of the game exceeded his expectations.

It was not just two blocks, but more about the off-ball movement and physical confrontation, all of which showed a very high level.

There were cheers at the scene at this time.

During the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese team was evenly matched with the Dream Team 8 in the first quarter, which made the fans very excited.

The result is now, at the 2010 World Championships, they beat the American team right from the start!

Two years have passed. Because of Xu Yong's sudden rise and because Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue have reached their respective peaks, the strength of the men's basketball team has clearly reached a higher level.

As for the American team, basically all the big names did not come, and the decline in strength was visible to the naked eye.

This wave of gains and losses is, according to Coach Zhang, really reasonable.

Furthermore, it can be seen from the expressions of the Chinese team members on the court that, with a series of successful defensive performances and Xu Yong's dunk, their nerves that were originally tense due to pressure have obviously relaxed.

After all, these people on the field are all people who witnessed the 2008 Olympics.

The US team had the ball in the frontcourt sideline. Durant received the ball and shot with the help of a screen, but Yao Ming blocked it and failed to make the shot.

Xu Yong appeared exactly where the basketball landed, jumped high and protected the defensive rebound.

The Chinese team once again launched a defensive counterattack.

This time the American team retreated quickly and the Chinese team did not get a direct chance to score.

However, just as both sides slowed down and advanced to the frontcourt, Zhu Fangyu, who was following up, received the pass from Xu Yong and directly chose to chase for a three-pointer.

It was still a textbook three-point shot.

“Swish!”

The difference is that this shot was too sudden, and Iguodala on the American team didn't react in time, so Zhu Fangyu shot the ball directly into the basket!

6 to 0!

The Chinese team beat the Dream Team at the start!