It Still Wasn't Enough to Just Humiliate Them

It still wasn't enough to just humiliate them.

During halftime.

Back home, Chinese fans were already beside themselves with excitement.

Wang Jianhua looked at the score difference and leisurely brewed himself a cup of tea.

He leaned back on the sofa, thoroughly enjoying himself with one leg crossed over the other.

Seeing how relaxed Wang Jianhua looked, Wang Yi's mother couldn't help smiling.

"You're in a pretty good mood today."

Wang Jianhua took a sip of tea, slurping it like wine.

He shook his head. "Back when we played Japan, we could win, but it was never this easy. We're up forty points at halftime. Now that's satisfying."

Wang Yi's mother nodded. "If our son leads the National Team to beat Japan Team so badly they're crying for their mothers, wouldn't that make him a National Hero?"

Wang Jianhua shot Wang Yi's mother a look. "If that's what makes someone a National Hero, then where does that leave the real national heroes?"

Wang Yi's mother gave Wang Jianhua a look right back. "I was just joking. You have no sense of humor."

Wang Jianhua turned serious. "Don't joke around about something like that. At most, your son is a basketball star. Even if he beats Japan Team, he's still just a basketball star. That's a far cry from being a National Hero."

Wang Yi's mother nodded. "I know. I won't joke about that again."

At the gym in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

Inside Japan Team's locker room.

The atmosphere was heavy.

They'd expected to lose to China Team, but they hadn't expected to go down so decisively—to get crushed by forty points in the first half.

Before, that was the sort of scoreline they might only see against Team America.

Head coach Nisugi Shigeru kept running his fingers through