In other words, among these coaches, whoever led their team to more wins over Japan would rank above the others.
Wang Jianhua felt the same way.
Whether for the team or for himself, he had to lead his players to a decisive victory.
And he knew the players always got fired up when they faced Japan, so naturally he would let them play a little longer.
Meanwhile, over on Japan's side, Watanabe Yuta saw that he had successfully gotten those players going, so he switched tactics again:
"China Team will be reaching their rotation period soon. They're already ahead by a huge margin, so they'll probably put in the substitutes who haven't played yet to get some experience."
"And there's a good chance they won't play their starters or main rotation in the fourth quarter. So this is our best chance to seize the opportunity and make up ground!"
"Remember what you said. This is your last chance. If you don't take it, you won't play in the rest of the games!"
"Yes, sir!"
All five players answered in unison, lowering their heads toward Watanabe Yuta.
Once the timeout ended, the game resumed, and both teams returned to the court.
When Watanabe Yuta saw the China Team players on the court, his eyes widened.
Then he blurted out, "Holy shit!"
Why would Watanabe Yuta, a Japanese man, use "holy shit" to express his shock? Because he had played in the NBA, and thanks to Wang Yi's influence, some short, punchy Chinese exclamations had started catching on there.
For example, when a player made a great play these days, his teammates would praise him by saying, "That's badass!"
It was similar to how some young people in China, influenced by Japanese anime, would say "Nani?!" when they were surprised.
Watanabe Yuta