The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

Puerto Rican Men's Basketball Team's best achievement in the Olympics was reaching the "Final Four."

However, that was back in 1964, a full 40 years ago.

None of the players on this Puerto Rican team were even born at that time.

They longed to create a new "legend." —Sending the United States "Dream Team" their first official international match loss would indeed make their name stand out in the FIBA history books.

But that wasn't enough!

Both sides were filled with desire.

The game was intense from the start.

Alonzo was to the Puerto Rican team what Yao Ming was to the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team.

He established a new offensive system for Puerto Rico, and his teammates were invigorated under his lead.

The Huaxia Men's Basketball Team, known for strong first quarters that could rival any team including the "Dream Team," found themselves trailing by 7 points at the end of the first quarter. By halftime, they were down by 13 points.

Alonzo had performed exceptionally well in the first half, scoring 7 points and 6 assists.

Del Harris shook his head slightly.

Even Su Wan couldn't manage, he thought.

He didn't mean to blame Su Wan.

NBA star guards couldn't contain Alonzo; it was normal that Su Wan couldn't.

From the first half's performance, Su Wan's defense did have some effect.

Alonzo's shots were all disturbed, and he missed all his 5 shot attempts in the first half.

But his lower center of gravity at 1.88 meters, his agile figure, and his quick speed made his breakthroughs devastating. Su Wan often needed his teammates to help in defense or to double team, to contain Alonzo's breakthroughs.

That gave Alonzo opportunities for breakthrough passes.

He made 6 assists with only 1 turnover!

But just when Harris thought they might lose to a solo performance by Alonzo, as the Dream Six Team had,

In the second half, Su Wan's defense transformed. His movements became quicker and he perfectly matched Alonzo's quick steps, consistently strong in positioning and forced a coming Alonzo to "hit the brakes" successfully defending his breakthroughs alone.

Alonzo's breakthroughs lost their sharpness, his shooting was off since the first half, and his personal offensive threat diminished to the lowest level. The Huaxia Men's Basketball Team didn't need to double-team his breakthroughs, and the threat from his passing also diminished.

He seemed to have run out of tricks, like Cheng Yaojin, and his presence on the court contrasted sharply with the first half.

While Su Wan not only held off Alonzo defensively, he also began to exert force on the offensive end, especially when Yao helped with pick and rolls; his breakthrough dunks had become a spectacular sight.

The point difference was now just 4 points.

However, at this moment Yao Ming got two consecutive fouls, adding to his two fouls from the first half, with still 3 minutes left in the third quarter, his total reached four fouls.

Under FIBA rules: a player is sent off upon accruing 5 fouls.

To ensure Yao could continue in the fourth quarter, Harris had no choice but to substitute him out.

Yao was very aggrieved as he walked off the court, took the towel from a staff member, and slammed it on the bench. —Breaking the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team Olympic record was his dream; he was truly unwilling to see this opportunity ruined by his own actions.

He looked at Su Wan on the court with hands on hips waiting for the game to restart, his eyes earnest,

You must hold on!

Not just him, but all the domestic fans watching on TV were also placing their hopes on Su Wan at this moment.

They had heard of Su Wan's stories from the summer league, but for Huaxia fans, the court didn't feel secure without Yao, even though Su Wan had just performed very well, and he had initiated this scoring run.

The only one probably happy at this moment was probably Bartel, who was substituting in. The Big Black Bear's bulky body seemed surprisingly agile as he moved onto the court. He was thinking,

Why strut in front of me? Didn't you still mess up at a critical moment? Without ever having won an NBA championship ring, thinking some stats make you a big shot? It's still I who have to save the day, isn't it?

This was his happiest moment since the conflict with Yao had erupted.

The game restarted, and he actively called for the ball, fancying himself as the "Savior," to rescue the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team at this moment. Su Wan didn't insist on playing alone, as if Bartel had scored at the start, the opposing team would definitely continue to tighten their defense, which indeed made it convenient for him to attack from outside.

But Bartel's threat under the basket was far inferior compared to Yao Ming.

Bartel was blocked on his first attack, and Du Feng risked falling to the ground to snatch the rebound and passed it back to Su Wan.

Bartel continued to call for the ball. Su Wan saw his measure and decided not to pass it to him anymore, asking him to come forward for a pick and roll. Unexpectedly, Bartel looked at him as if he had seen a ghost and didn't come up for the pick and roll.

Su Wan, seeing the 4-point difference and Puerto Rico easing after the last unsuccessful attack, slightly frowned and simply called for a timeout.

Del Harris didn't know what Su Wan was up to. He quickly approached Su Wan, waiting for his ideas.

And Su Wan, after coming off the court, waited alongside the court, his gaze constantly waiting for Bartel to come over.

"If you don't want to pick and roll, don't want to play properly, don't want to win this game, then you might as well switch to a Spurs jersey right now and sit on the bench!" he said coldly, shocking everyone, including Bartel.

Since the men's basketball team training began, he had never spoken to Su Wan, remembering him not to be a talkative person. How dare he now yell at me?

Does this bastard even know where I was when I first played for the National Team?

It's all damn Yao Ming. If he hadn't openly contradicted me in public, how could a rookie now dare to talk to me like this!

Bartel's entire face was stern, his eyes as venomous as poisoned.

However, Su Wan directly waved at Mo Ke: "Brother Mo, you're up!"

This made everyone's expression even more uneasy. However, after Del Harris listened to the translator next to him and understood Su Wan's request, he indeed let Mo Ke substitute for Bartel to play the pick and roll with Su Wan.

Huaxia Men's Basketball Team's attack, which had been stalled for a possession, became smooth again. Before the end of the third quarter, they managed to catch up with the 12-point difference.

In the third quarter, Su Wan not only locked down Alonzo but also scored 14 points and had 4 assists on the offensive end.

With 3 minutes and 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Yao Ming returned to the court, and the momentum of the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team rose again. They triumphed over Puerto Rico 78 to 67, an 11-point victory.

A historic moment was born:

Huaxia Men's Basketball Team advanced to the top 4 of the Olympic Games!

Su Wan, with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, was undoubtedly the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team's great contributor to breaking through history.

Right after the game ended, everyone from the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team bench, including Del Harris, rushed toward Su Wan, who sat collapsed on the ground. Coaching the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team into the "top four" was such an accomplishment!

Except for Bartel, his face full of complex expressions was cloudy.

Many people saw the scene of Su Wan shouting at him after calling the timeout. He was worried about how to maintain his dignity when the post-game reporters asked about it.

But as it turned out:

He was overthinking!

The domestic media didn't care what Su Wan had shouted at him; they were ecstatically reporting this historic moment.

Yao Ming once again became an "emoji."

Facing the media, Su Wan said, "Thanks to Yao for letting me train in the Summer League, I was able to grow like this."—The original owner managed to participate in the draft, thanks to Yao arguing with the Sharks, and playing in the Summer League also had Yao's help, along with the agent. Although not Su Wan's preferred choice, he at least solved many troubles for him. These were the original owner's debts, but as a beneficiary, he had to repay them, and today was a good opportunity for that.

Wade and LeBron were also at the game, watching Su Wan play. The "Dream Team" had been swept aside, and they were under some pressure just by being there. So they did not come forward to congratulate. —LeBron didn't want to come, but Wade felt that he and Su Wan shared the same aspirations. If he came alone, LeBron would not feel reassured.

—Uncle, this guy single-handedly blew away Allen Iverson and Stephen Marbury. You let him score only 2 points in the second half, that's impressive!

Wade sent a message to Su Wan, his attention all on Su Wan's performance on the court. LeBron, with a wider field of view, noticed Su Wan shouting at his teammates, which made him feel unease inside.

Unfortunately, the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team couldn't advance further. In the semifinals, they faced Italy again and lost to them once more. In the "bronze medal contest" against Lithuania, they fell short by 6 points and collapsed just shy of a medal.

Coach Zhang said, "Apart from little Su, physical fitness is the biggest issue for the men's basketball team. If we can reasonably solve this problem, this group is very likely to win the first Olympic medal in men's basketball!"

He had another unspoken, daring thought:

If Wang Zhizhi could return to the National Team...

Next Olympics, the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team will be the host.

The right time and place, just lacking "unity!"

To Su Wan's surprise, right after the match against Lithuania, he received a message from the Cavaliers' general manager, Danny Ferri:

—Uncle, it's a pity you almost took down Lithuania, but it was still awesome. In my view, you were the best performer this Olympics, none come close!