Dončić felt that those words sounded familiar, like some meme he had heard a teammate mention back in the NBA.
But his thoughts were a mess right now, and he couldn't remember it for the moment.
After thanking Tang Tian once more, he turned and headed toward the players' tunnel.
Win or lose, he had to be with his teammates.
Watching Dončić's retreating figure, Tang Tian finally looked up at the scoreboard as well.
Next came the final.
There was a high probability they would face the USA Team again.
Only, this year would be even tougher than last year.
With Lin Yi and Zhou Qi added to the roster, the China Team was stronger than last year's squad.
But the USA Team was the same, if not much stronger.
Not only had James and Davis, who hadn't come last year, joined them, but the USA Team's bench had grown stronger too.
Jimmy Butler and Irving, who also hadn't come last year, were both here. To reinforce the paint, the USA Men's Basketball Team had even naturalized Towns.
Before entering the NBA, Towns had represented the Dominican Republic at the 2012 London Olympics.
But now, he had been naturalized by the USA Men's Basketball Team.
That alone showed just how badly the USA Team wanted to win this time.
That night, the other semifinal matchup between the USA Team and the Serbia Team tipped off at the arena.
The China Men's Basketball Team was also sitting courtside to watch.
The USA Team placed great importance on the game and sent out its strongest lineup from the opening tip: Curry and Durant on the perimeter, Leonard and James at forward, and Davis at center.
But the Serbia Team came out in heroic form, repeatedly attacking the USA Team's paint. Davis looked