That night, the game between Japan Team and China Team was held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.
Tang Tian and Abudushalamu would not be playing, but they still appeared at the game site in reserve uniforms.
Their appearance drew a wave of curious looks and cheers from the crowd.
Especially during warmups, the fans on-site shouted Tang Tian's name.
Playing along with the fans' cheers, Tang Tian put on a few relatively easy Windmill Dunks and 360 Dunks, instantly igniting the atmosphere.
Watching a game through a livestream and watching it live were completely different experiences.
Most of them had only ever watched Tang Tian play through broadcasts.
Seeing him in person now was on an entirely different level, both visually and emotionally.
Having a Chinese player who could casually pull off Windmill Dunks and 360 Dunks right in front of them was more than enough to get them excited.
So the frenzy surrounding this year's Basketball World Cup was only to be expected.
Since the 2008 Olympics, basketball fans had not experienced an international tournament right on their doorstep.
Not to mention that China Team, as the Defending Champions of the Olympics, ranked third in FIBA's World Cup standings, behind only USA Team and Canada Team.
In other words, they might get to witness the national team win a championship on home soil!
That was why their excitement had already been as scorching as the summer weather by the time the season arrived.
After warmups ended, the starting lineups for both teams were announced one after another.
For China Team: Guo Ailun, Wu Qian, Zhou Peng, Yi Jianlian, and Wang Zhelin.
For Japan Team: Yuki Togashi, Yudai Baba, Yuta Watanabe, Rui Hachimura, and Nikola Mirotić.
With Tang Tian, Ding Yanyuhang, and Abudushalamu all sitting out, Japan Team was