The opening match was Group A's USA vs. Brazil!
However, because no NBA stars showed up, the Greeks had no idea who anyone on this USA team was. Consequently, fewer than 3,000 spectators bought tickets to watch the game. The Marousi Olympic Indoor Hall, which can accommodate 18,000 spectators, was left looking quite desolate with only 3,000 people spread out within its vast space. A high school game in the USA might even draw more spectators.
Despite the sparse crowd, the USA team still completed the game with great care, defeating Brazil 83:59, and displayed a commendable fighting spirit!
The Chinese team's game was the next day, against Oceania's powerhouse, Australia!
Australia's men's basketball strength, on a global scale, was roughly at the lower end of the top tier, or the beginning of the second tier. It was not significantly different from China's strength. However, the Australians themselves did not see it that way!
The Australian team had always believed its strength was among the world's top teams. They attributed their lack of global recognition to not having won a world championship. Therefore, Australia always arrived at every tournament full of confidence, only to leave dejected.
They would return to Oceania, feel unchallenged for a year or two, accumulate enough confidence, and then gamble again on the world stage… repeating the cycle, never tiring of it.
In the past, China's strength was comparable to Australia's, and for a long time, it was even inferior to Australia's. Therefore, China truly had no right to look down on their opponents.
But just because China didn't, didn't mean He Xi Meng didn't!
Before the game, the head coach convened a meeting with the coaching staff. He Xi Meng, as a privileged individual, attended as an observer.
Among China's three opponents, Italy was ranked highest, Australia second, and Germany lowest! So, Zhang Bing's intention was for them to play conservatively against Australia. Winning would be ideal, but if not, they should conserve their strength. The game against Germany was the key for China to advance from the group stage!
According to the rules of the World Championship, three out of four teams advance from the group stage. Theoretically, China only needed to win one game to reach the top 12 for the next round.
Therefore, Zhang Bing's focus was on the seemingly weakest opponent, Germany.
However, He Xi Meng saw the name Nowitzki on the German roster. After hearing Zhang Bing's idea, and with no objections from the other assistant coaches, He Xi Meng, as an observer, couldn't help but stand up and say a few words: "Germany's strength is underestimated by the outside world! In 1996, when I attended the Nike Basketball Summit, I met Germany's interior player, Nowitzki. How should I put it, Nowitzki was still a bit raw back then, his physique was somewhat slender, but his basketball IQ was extremely high, and his basketball skills were very solid! I remember our coach, who is now the head coach of the Lakers, James Worthy, saying that Nowitzki had the potential to become an NBA All-Star player..."
To prove that Germany was not a pushover and had extremely dangerous players, He Xi Meng didn't hesitate to use James Worthy as a tool to enhance his persuasiveness.
"An All-Star interior player?"
"Yes!"
Zhang Bing's brows immediately furrowed tightly, forming a dense '川' character.
"In that case, Germany won't be easy to deal with, and the group stage situation has become even more complicated..."
"It's not complicated!" He Xi Meng continued, "The reason I brought up Germany is to make everyone understand that although Germany is ranked lower, they are by no means the weakest team! In my estimation, Germany's strength will definitely be stronger than Australia's, and perhaps even stronger than Italy's today!"
"Then what do we do? Go all out against Australia?"
He Xi Meng smiled gently: "Australia must be taken down! But there's no need to go all out! Australia isn't qualified for that! What I mean is, as the first game of this World Championship, we should indeed go all out and play our best! Not only should we win, but we should win by a large margin! Let's show our spirit in one game! Once the team's morale is boosted, it will be much easier to play against Italy and Germany! After all, our goal is the top eight, not the top twelve! Don't you agree? Right?"
After He Xi Meng finished speaking, Zhang Bing didn't directly state his opinion but asked his assistant coaches for their opinions one by one.
Comrade Zhang Yide was the first to voice his support for He Xi Meng: "I believe what He Xi Meng said is correct..."
As one of He Xi Meng's earliest supporters, Comrade Zhang Yide had a nearly instinctive blind faith in He Xi Meng.
While others were skeptical about He Xi Meng's statement of "winning big against Australia," only Zhang Yide truly believed that China could win big against Australia!
Why? Because He Xi Meng said so.
In Zhang Yide's coaching career so far, games where He Xi Meng was full of confidence had never been lost... Therefore, this time, both rationally and emotionally, Zhang Yide believed in and supported He Xi Meng!
After a brief analysis, Zhang Bing also felt that He Xi Meng's words made sense!
Especially He Xi Meng's remark: "As China's first game in the World Championship, we must win beautifully!"
Because this game was not only China's debut in the World Championship but also the first world-class match for Zhang Bing as the head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team, he himself wanted to win beautifully!
Previously, he had considered playing conservatively due to a lingering sense of conservatism. Now that He Xi Meng had stated that Australia was the weakest opponent in the group, there was no reason for China to back down. They had to push forward!
"Then let's fight!"
Ultimately, Zhang Bing made the decision: The Chinese team would go all out in their opening game!
Meanwhile, on the Australian side, they appeared relaxed. They also believed this game was the easiest in the group stage, and that China was no match for them...
As a result, when the game started, Da Zhi stepped onto the center circle and successfully won the tip-off. After He Xi Meng received the ball, he saw Australia slowly retreating on defense. He didn't bother with a set play. Instead, with a fake move and a quick drive, he easily got past Australia's point guard and charged towards the paint, chasing after Australia's retreating big men. Before anyone could react, He Xi Meng scored the first points for China with a stylish, graceful one-handed dunk!
"Damn, that was a great play!"
As He Xi Meng returned on defense, Hu Weidong and Liu Yudong couldn't help but high-five He Xi Meng in celebration.
Da Zhi and Gong Xiaobin, who had already moved to the low post, gave He Xi Meng a thumbs-up!
He Xi Meng's spectacular one-handed dunk right at the start truly boosted the team's morale.
On the sidelines, head coach Zhang Bing, suppressing his excitement at the moment He Xi Meng's dunk went in, maintained a stern face, crossed his arms, and turned to ask Zhang Yide behind him, "Doesn't Xi Meng dislike dunking?"
Zhang Yide replied with an awkward smile, "Disliking it doesn't mean he can't do it..."