The Semifinal Opponent
Senegal was completely overwhelmed by Li Chen in the third quarter.
In the end, the National Team thrashed Senegal 100-60.
Li Chen once again scored a game-high 40 points.
Their final group stage match was against Slovenia Team.
In this game, Li Chen was still targeted by the referee, and he continued to avoid physical contact with opposing players on the defensive end.
Then on the offensive end, they were very aggressive, almost like they were provoking the referee, as if to say, "Go ahead and send me off."
However, to everyone's surprise, the referee simply didn't do that.
Li Chen dominated the Slovenia Team's paint, showcasing a variety of layups and dunks.
No one could stop his attack, breaking the hearts of Slovenia Team fans.
They had a feeling that in the face of death, they could only be harvested.
This scene left an indelible mark on young Doncic's mind.
The recklessness of the Little Days Basketball Association finally aroused the dissatisfaction of the International Chinese Basketball Association (FIBA). They urged the Little Days Chinese Basketball Association that if it dared to act recklessly again, they would cancel all of Little Days' international basketball events.
Now that's enough, they're scared and have become much more obedient.
The National Team advanced to the round of 16 as group winners with a perfect record.
Their opponent in the round of 16 is the Australia Team.
The USA Team's opponent is Greece Team, a truly fateful encounter.
Because that year, the Team USA was eliminated by the Greece Team in the semifinals.
On August 26, Argentina Team, Lithuania, Turkey Team, Spain National Team advanced to the quarterfinals.
At 12:00 on August 27, the National Team's match against Australia Team in the round of 16 kicked off.
After the start of the first quarter, Li Chen demonstrated excellent ball control and tactical awareness.
He keenly observed the Australia Team's defense and found the opportunity to launch a precise pass.
Whenever he gets the ball, he makes the best choice based on the actual situation.
His eyes and body language conveyed confidence and decisiveness.
Even NBA superstar Yao Ming developed a sense of admiration for Li Chen.
At the end of the first quarter, the National Team led Australia Team by a large margin of 25-15.
During the second quarter's rotation period, the Australia Team was on fire, going on a 9-2 run to gradually narrow the National Team's lead.
At this crucial moment, Li Chen demonstrated his ability to win the game.
Undeterred by the pressure of the Australia Team's double-team defense, he decisively launched a precise three-point Pull-up Jumper.
Swish! The basketball swished through the net, drawing a foul from the Australian player.
Li Chen executed a beautiful 3+1 play.
Then, the free throw went in.
The score was 31-24, and the gap widened to 7 points in an instant.
In the next round, Li Chen once again made a brilliant defensive play, stopping the Australia Team's attack and grabbing the rebound.
In their own frontcourt, Li Chen, posing a triple threat at the top of the arc, suddenly unleashed another three-pointer and sank it.
The Australian player simply couldn't keep up with Li Chen's pace; he could only raise his hand to offer perfunctory defense.
The score was now 34-24, with the lead widening to double digits again.
Li Chen gained many foreign fans at this Basketball World Championship.
The cheers from the stadium clearly showed that this was practically the National Team's home ground.
His shooting motion is so fluid and graceful that it's a pleasure to watch, as if the fans are appreciating a work of art.
Li Chen's success is not limited to individual scoring.
He understands the importance of teamwork very well.
When he faces relentless double-teaming from the Australia Team, he cleverly passes the ball to his teammates, creating shooting opportunities for them.
Li Chen's passing skills are outstanding. His excellent vision allows him to accurately locate his teammates, ensuring they can receive the ball smoothly and score.
Seeing that Li Chen was leading the team to a good performance, Jonas did not rush to substitute Yao Ming and others onto the court.
At the end of the first half, the National Team still led Australia Team 45-39 by 6 points.
Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, and others did not play in the second quarter.
The third quarter begins.
Yao Ming and others did not play in the second quarter, so they rested for a full 30 minutes and were full of energy.
Li Chen used his outstanding dribbling skills to constantly cause trouble for the Australia Team.
Whenever he initiated a layup, his outstanding explosiveness and body control left the Australia Team helpless.
Because without fouling, there's simply no way to stop Li Chen's breakthrough.
However, if any movement goes even slightly out of line, the referee's sharp eyes will spot it, and even if Li Chen misses the shot, he will still get a free throw.
Australia's current attack on Li Chen feels like a dog trying to bite a hedgehog—they have nowhere to attack.
Li Chen's strong performance caught the attention of the Australian head coach, who then implemented the most stringent double-teaming tactics against him.
When he was double-teamed, he didn't insist on playing individualistically; instead, he chose to pass the ball. With his Assist Master, his teammates' shooting percentage was still quite respectable.
Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng received passes from Li Chen and hit consecutive three-pointers, further widening the score gap.
The Australia Team immediately opted to shut down the outside shooting.
After Australia shut down their outside shooting, Li Chen passed the ball to Yao Ming for a one-on-one attack.
Yao Ming, with his abundant stamina, was formidable; he could accurately send the basketball into the basket with every shot.
In just three quarters, the National Team, led by Li Chen, crushed the Australia Team.
Finally, the National Team crushed Australia Team 100-68 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Li Chen scored 25 points and had 20 assists in this game, meaning that he was involved in more than half of the team's points.
The National Team easily advanced to the quarterfinals, but the Dream Team VII found themselves in a very difficult situation.
Because they are about to be eliminated by the Greece Team, James, Wade, and Anthony are going crazy.
The 2004 Dream Team VI included them, and they finished seventh at the Olympics.
The Dream Team VII still has them in the World Championships, yet they are being shut out of the Round of 16. What a disgrace!
They launched a furious attack in the final three minutes, but ultimately failed to turn the tide and lost the game 110-107.
The elimination of the Dream Team VII by Greece caused an uproar in the United States. They simply couldn't believe that the mighty Dream Team VII had been eliminated by Greece Team.
Losing to Eastern China is somewhat understandable, considering they not only have Li Chen, the Finals MVP, but also two outstanding NBA players, Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi. Moreover, it was a relatively unimportant group stage match.
But they cannot accept being eliminated by Greece Team in the crucial qualifying round.
In their view, the USA Team should strive harder after losing to the Eastern China team, fight their way through the competition, and finally meet the Eastern China team for the second time in the NBA Finals, defeating them to win the championship.
This was the script they envisioned, but reality delivered a harsh slap in the face.
James and others were incredibly unlucky, being branded with shame twice in a row.
This infuriated James then proceeded to smash things in the hotel.
That very night, he flew directly back to the United States, vowing never to participate in international basketball competitions again.
On August 30th, the National Team faced off against Germany Team, easily defeating National Team Germany Team to advance to the semifinals.
Their opponent is the Greece Team USA Team.
The Greece Team USA Team, is now riding high and vows to win the World Championship.
At the start of the first quarter, Li Chen's shooting touch was off. At the end of the first quarter, the National Team trailed Greece Team 15-20 by 5 points.
In the second quarter, the referee once again made things difficult for Li Chen, calling two fouls in the first minute of the game.
He secretly resented Xiao Rizhi, and at the same time, he secretly vowed that even if he had to sell everything he owned, he would make Xiao Rizhi suffer.
Li Chen knew his importance to the team, so he chose to abandon defense. Li Chen became a defensive liability, and Jonas had no choice but to substitute Li Chen off the court for a rest.
Three minutes into the second half, the National Team was already down by 13 points, and everyone thought they would collapse and suffer a crushing defeat against the strong European Greece Team.
In the fourth quarter, the National Team trailed Greece 60-80 by 20 points, and Li Chen returned to the court.
The National Team is attacking.
Li Chen made an inside Yi Jianlian and found Yi Jianlian under the basket.
The Greece Team defenders were all drawn to Li Chen, the superstar, Yi Jianlian easily scored two points with a layup.
62 to 80.
Diamantidis switched the ball to the left corner for Chisis, who hit a three-pointer.
62 to 83.
Then Li Chen made a bounce pass to Yi Jianlian.
Yi Jianlian takes a jump shot, swish! The basketball goes through the net cleanly.
Yi Jianlian's wrists and fingers are very flexible, which shows that he has great talent.
Kirzis attempted another three-pointer, but it was blocked by Li Chen, and Yao Ming grabbed the rebound.
Li Chen broke through again, and Yao Ming raised his hand to signal Li Chen to pass the ball. The Greece Team's center and Power Forward moved closer to Yao Ming.
Because they knew that the only players on the Eastern China team besides Li Chen were Yao Ming.
However, Li Chen did not pass the ball to Yao Ming, but instead passed it to Wang Zhizhi.
Wang Zhizhi held the ball with his back to the basket, then turned and executed a jump hook shot, the whole move was done in one smooth motion.
Swish! A simple hook shot easily swished through the net.
64 to 83.
Greece Team's offensive firepower remained fierce, with Diamantidis attacking from both sides and sinking two consecutive three-pointers to widen the lead.
At this moment, Li Chen, as the team captain, stepped up again, scoring two consecutive 3+1 plays to keep the National Team alive.
72 to 89, the score was down by 17 points.
Diamantidis missed another three-pointer, and Wang Zhizhi grabbed the rebound.
The shift from offense to defense.
After Li Chen and Yao Ming set a pick-and-roll, Li Chen drove into the paint and, with his excellent vision, spotted Wang Shipeng open on the right side of the arc.
Then, from the right flank, Wang Shipeng hit a three-pointer from a hundred paces away.
The score was now 75-89, with the gap narrowing further.
Spanoulis drove to the right and made a difficult fadeaway jumper off the backboard.
75 to 91.
Li Chen continued to draw the attention of the Greece Team defenders.
Wang Zhizhi and Yi Jianlian's duo dominated the basket, culminating in a powerful two-handed dunk by Yi Jianlian.
77 to 91.
Spanoulis broke through and passed the ball back, but Li Chen intercepted it.
Li Chen launched a fast break, but the Greece Team USA Team, was no pushover. They quickly retreated to defense, creating a three-on-two situation.
Li Chen shifted to the left wing and passed the ball to Sun Yue, who pulled up and shot a jump shot that swished through the net.
79 to 91.
The National Team rallied to score eight points in a row, Greece Team became anxious, wasting another attacking opportunity.
The shift from offense to defense.
After Wang Shipeng and Wang Zhizhi set a screen, the ball was moved to Li Chen at the top of the right arc.
Li Chen resolutely drove to the basket, and his reverse layup drew a foul from a Greece Team player. At the same time, the [Miracle Shot] skill was triggered, and Li Chen successfully completed a beautiful 2+1 play.
Li Chen stepped up to the free-throw line and made the shot.
With the score at 82-91, the gap has narrowed to single digits, with five minutes remaining in the game.
Immediately afterwards, the National Team successfully defended against Greece Team's 24-second violation.
The shift from offense to defense.
Wang Zhizhi passed the ball to Li Chen via handoff.
Li Chen drove to the basket, unleashing a tomahawk dunk that sent a Greece Team player flying, completing a three-point play. This play was a prime example of the game's most brutal and aesthetically pleasing attack.
The fans in the stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.
Li Chen made the free throw.
85 to 91.
In the next possession, Diamantidis, and Borosis grabbed the offensive rebound and scored with a hook shot.
85 to 93.
Li Chen orchestrated the play from the top of the key, Wang Shipeng's skillful cut drew a foul from the Greek player. Wang Shipeng made one of two free throws.
86 to 93.
Yao Ming went to the bench to rest, and the team had problems protecting the rebounds. Bosic drew another foul on the second-chance opportunity, and Borosis made both free throws.
86 to 95.
Li Chen suddenly Pull-up Jumper from a step beyond the three-point line, his movements as beautiful as a painting, revealing his killer instinct.
89 to 95.
Borosis received the ball with his back to the basket, drawing a double team, and passed it to Kaimakoglou on the left 45-degree angle, who drained a three-pointer.
89 to 98
Wang Zhizhi responded with a powerful three-pointer from the top of the arc after receiving a pass from Li Chen.
92 to 98.
In the next possession, Borosis broke through on the right and made a layup, completing a three-point play.
Borosis misses his free throw, and Li Chen secures the rebound.
Li Chen and Yi Jianlian executed a pick-and-roll, and Li Chen then drove to the basket for a layup, completing another 2+1 play.
95 to 98.
Diamantidis' three-pointer bounced off the rim again.
Wang Zhizhi grabbed the rebound in the backcourt and then passed the ball to Li Chen to organize the next attack.
Li Chen once again broke through the paint and executed a short pass with Yi Jianlian.
Yi Jianlian, who received the Yi Jianlian from Li Chen, got really into it and even tried to dunk over Kaimakoglou.
But then, the referee called a foul on the hand.
Li Chen went up and vigorously ruffled Yi Jianlian's hair, praising, "Young man, good idea, but you still need to work on your physique. You need to be able to dunk like I do, sending people flying. That would be really exciting, hahaha!"
A shy Yi Jianlian scratched his head sheepishly.
Yi Jianlian went to the free-throw line and made both shots.
97 to 98.
Immediately following, taking advantage of the Greece Team's eagerness to score, Li Chen unexpectedly stole the ball and launched a fast break.
He treated the international arena like the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
He jumped from the free-throw line and unleashed a 180-degree windmill dunk.
99 to 98.
The stadium was instantly ignited.
The National Team miraculously rallied from a 20-point deficit to take the lead, forcing Greece Team to call a timeout.
During the timeout, the Greece Team's head coach was really anxious. He never expected that just by adding Li Chen, the Eastern China team seemed like a completely different team.
At the same time, the Greece Team players' arrogance after defeating the USA Team was also shattered.
After the timeout, the Greece Team began to exert their strength. Kirzis scored four points with a combination of drives and shots, Chatzaris's layup helped the Greece Team extend their lead back to five points, prompting the National Team to call a timeout.
99 to 106
After the timeout, Li Chen hit a three-pointer with Pull-up Jumper.
102 to 106.
Kirzis once again sank a three-pointer from the left side of the arc.
102 to 109.
Kirzis went completely berserk and was unstoppable.
This scene greatly angered the fans, who chanted in unison, "Give it back! Give it back!"
Li Chen seemed to be trying to satisfy the fans, or perhaps he wanted to tell Kirzis what "Final Destination" meant, and what "Your grandpa is still your grandpa" meant.
In the next possession, Li Chen pulled up for Pull-up Jumper despite being contested by two Greece Team defenders.
The basketball bounced off the backboard and into the basket, drawing a foul from a Greece Team defender and resulting in a 3+1 play.
Since you're a prolific three-point shooter, I'll shoot four-pointers instead.
The stadium erupted in cheers once again, with fans extremely satisfied with Li Chen's sharp counterattack.
Swish! Li Chen made the free throw.
106 to 109.
There are two minutes left in the game.