The first quarter ended with the Chinese team extending their lead to 15 points.
The head coach, Zhang Bin, who was confident of victory, generously made a full substitution.
From the bench, Da Ba, Gong Xiaobin, Sun Jun, Li Nan, and Li Xiaoyong first entered the court to face the New Zealand team. Afterwards, Zheng Wu and Zhang Jinsong also substituted in successively. The entire 12-man roster for the Chinese team got a chance to play and all of them scored.
With a score of 95:70, the Chinese team maintained their lead throughout, giving the New Zealand team no chance to make a comeback. They won the match by 25 points, securing their first victory in the group stage.
In the third game of the group stage, the United States played against the strong Lithuanian team. Similar to the Chinese team, Lithuania also put considerable pressure on the Dream Team. At least for the first three quarters, the US team could not establish a decisive advantage. It was only in the final quarter that they gradually widened the gap to around 10 points and eventually defeated their opponent 85:76.
The Chinese team's third opponent in the group stage was the European powerhouse France. In the original history, it was this match that decided the fate of the Chinese team in this Olympics. After leading by 15 points at one point, they suffered a devastating comeback loss to France.
Nowadays, He Xi Meng would naturally not let such a tragedy repeat itself. Therefore, in this match, He Xi Meng played exceptionally steadily. At the start, he first used the twin towers of Yao Ming and Da Zhi to lead the charge, followed by the medium and long-range cannons of Liu Yudong and Lao Hu.
The Chinese team had a smooth start and quickly established a double-digit advantage. During this period, the French team did attempt counterattacks, but they were all repelled by He Xi Meng and his team.
At the end of the third quarter, the Chinese team successfully led their opponents by 15 points. Comrade Zhang Bin, feeling proud, wanted to emulate the previous game against New Zealand and substitute the entire starting lineup to rest, letting the reserve players gain experience. However, He Xi Meng refused the request to leave the court early!
In the past, He Xi Meng was always the first to request to come off the court to rest. But today, He Xi Meng proactively asked to stay on the court to guide the reserve lineup. He Xi Meng's reasoning was that the French team was different from the New Zealand team. After all, they were a European powerhouse, and what if they were hiding some trump card and launched a surprise counterattack?
Comrade Zhang Bin, though unaware of what He Xi Meng referred to as the French team's trump card, found it rare for He Xi Meng to be so proactive in wanting to stay on the court.
"If you want to play, then play! I have no objections if you play the entire game..."
He Xi Meng's caution was not without reason!
The French team, pushed to the brink by the Chinese team, decided to go all out in the final quarter!
The 30-year-old veteran, nicknamed "The King," wearing jersey number 6, Antoine Rigadeau, stepped up!
After the start of the fourth quarter, Rigadeau seemed divinely inspired. Through various off-ball movements and pull-up jumpers after screens, he made 6 three-pointers in just 6 minutes, making the Chinese team's head coach Zhang Bin sweat profusely!
Without He Xi Meng holding the fort, could the Chinese team withstand Rigadeau's barrage of three-pointers?
Fortunately, that hypothetical situation did not occur, as China had He Xi Meng!
While Rigadeau was frantically hitting three-pointers on the Chinese team's perimeter, He Xi Meng retaliated in kind, targeting the French team's basket with three-pointers!
Although He Xi Meng's three-point shooting percentage during this period was slightly lower than the red-hot Rigadeau, he timely called a timeout, allowing Zhang Bin to bring Yao Ming back onto the court, forming a three-big-man lineup of Yao Ming, Da Ba, and Gong Xiaobin to secure rebounds!
If the shooting percentage wasn't enough, the number of attempts would compensate!
In the end, Rigadeau shot 6 of 8 from three-point range, an astounding 75% accuracy.
He Xi Meng shot 6 of 12, a conventional-plus 50% accuracy!
By compensating with more shot attempts, He Xi Meng successfully neutralized Rigadeau's damage from beyond the arc, ultimately ensuring China's victory over France with a 10-point lead, 92:82!
Before the game ended, there was a minor incident. During a rebound battle, the French center Wes collided physically with Yao Ming. Seeing that victory was impossible, Wes wanted to pick a fight to vent his frustration over the loss!
Fortunately, Yao Ming did not fall for it and did not retaliate. Wes was assessed a technical foul, and Yao Ming received free throws.
"You will pay for what you did today!"
As Wes walked off the court, He Xi Meng could not help but remind him with a smile.
Wes, thinking He Xi Meng was cursing or threatening him, proudly flexed his biceps and said, "Come on if you dare! Show me what price you can make me pay!"
"It's not me, it's..." He Xi Meng pointed to the ceiling of the stadium, "God!"
"Hahaha..." Wes unhesitatingly mouthed a curse back at He Xi Meng, who responded with a thumbs-down gesture.
The referee ran over, fearing a secondary conflict, and gave He Xi Meng a verbal warning, escorting him back to the Chinese team's bench.
Yao Ming thanked He Xi Meng for standing up for him. He Xi Meng shook his head and said, "You're welcome. I was just reminding him of the principle that those who do wrong will ultimately suffer..."
Two days later, Wes's retribution arrived as expected!
In France's match against the Dream Team, Vince Carter made a divine descent, soaring over the 2.08-meter Wes to complete a super dunk that would go down in history!
This dunk was hailed as the most spectacular dunk in the history of international basketball.
Carter transitioned from NBA Slam Dunk Champion to FIBA Slam Dunk King, while Wes, because of this dunk, was subjected to endless ridicule. Sports media everywhere were filled with photos of the dunk, leading some outlets to report that Wes fell into depression, chose to retire early, and even had suicidal tendencies. Carter, upon learning of this, apologized to Wes on social media.
Later, Wes clarified that the reason for his early retirement was not Carter's dunk, but rather that his child had been diagnosed with autism, and he chose to give up basketball to care for his child.
Regardless of the true reason, Carter was immortalized on the international stage for this dunk, while Wes, serving as the backdrop, exited international basketball. Retiring alongside Wes was another veteran of the French team, Rigadeau.
If Carter was somewhat responsible for Wes's retirement, then what about Rigadeau? Did Rigadeau retire early because He Xi Meng countered his six three-pointers in a quarter, which could have cemented his place in FIBA history?