In the following few possessions, under He Xi Meng's coordination, China's inside players Yao Ming and Da Zhi scored consecutively. The game was not timid, even having a tit-for-tat feel.
However, in defense, Da Yao exposed his biggest problem: inability to hold position! Because Yao Ming is currently too thin and tall, his center of gravity is unstable, his core strength is insufficient, and he cannot maintain his position when battling. A center who loses position is easily called for fouls on defense because the cylinder space is occupied by the opponent...
"Big Bamboo Pole" is not strong either, but after five seasons in the NBA, battling against the league's muscle-bound players has allowed him to develop his own set of power-generating techniques. At least, it's more than enough to deal with the current Yao Ming!
Thus, the situation where Chinese fans wanted to see China thrash Germany did not materialize.
Bradley and Nowitzki's strong performances in the paint helped Germany withstand China's offensive firepower.
And Yao Ming was substituted off the court by the head coach halfway through the first quarter due to two fouls.
Da Ba came on to partner with Da Zhi. China's inside strength declined somewhat. Although Da Ba had a power advantage, he lacked a height advantage.
Inside attacks under the basket were also blocked by Bradley. Germany's interior dominance was clearly far beyond the expectations of the Chinese coaching staff!
Without Da Yao's addition, China's interior might have been heavily suppressed by Germany. Even with Da Yao's addition, the current Chinese team could only barely tie with Germany.
If the game continued at this pace, Da Zhi, Yao Ming, and Da Ba combined might not even be able to defeat Germany's twin towers...
But fortunately, China had more than just an inside advantage.
China's current perimeter players are considered strong among world players!
On the three-point line, there was He Xi Meng and Li Nan; in the mid-range, there were Liu Yu Dong and Gong Xiao Bin; and the all-around player was Hu Wei Dong.
Seeing the inside struggle, He Xi Meng immediately shifted the offensive focus to the perimeter.
He Xi Meng's shooting touch was off in this game. His first two attempts from three-point range bounced off the rim. However, Hu Wei Dong had a good touch. Several passes from He Xi Meng to him were seized upon, and coupled with Li Nan, who came off the bench during rotation, contributed several three-pointers from the perimeter, helping China gradually establish a lead. The lead was not large, but at least it kept the game under China's control.
At the end of this period, China led Germany by 5 points, 45:40.
In the third quarter, Nowitzki suddenly erupted from beyond the three-point line, hitting two consecutive three-pointers, briefly helping Germany take the lead.
Chinese fans' hearts tightened, worried about China's old habit of collapsing in the second half.
He Xi Meng was well aware of China's shortcomings, so at this critical juncture, he dared not pass anymore. All the pressure would be on him!
Therefore, in this possession, with his perimeter shooting touch off, He Xi Meng decisively chose to drive and pull up for a close-range jump shot!
He Xi Meng rarely used this move. Generally, after driving, He Xi Meng would habitually attack the basket directly because the scoring success rate was higher.
However, Bradley had strong rim-protection capabilities. To avoid unnecessary trouble, He Xi Meng chose to shoot before Bradley could get close, and made the two-point shot!
Immediately after, Germany tried the same tactic, intending to pass to Nowitzki for a three-pointer.
He Xi Meng seized the opportunity, moved early, and successfully intercepted the pass. Without a second's delay after the steal, He Xi Meng galloped towards Germany's basket. He Xi Meng did not hesitate on this play because Bradley was not under the basket, and Nowitzki was left behind by He Xi Meng. To the expectant gaze of the fans, He Xi Meng did not disappoint, scoring another two points with a spectacular one-handed dunk!
Rising to the occasion in crucial moments! This is He Xi Meng's strategy for future national team games. He would not frequently adopt the "carry-all" approach like in the first game. Firstly, that style of play severely compressed the space for other teammates to showcase their abilities, hindering the overall growth of the national team. Secondly, that style was too tiring and prone to injury, which did not align with He Xi Meng's professional goal of "laying low and playing for twenty years."
Therefore, after stabilizing China's position, He Xi Meng retreated to the background again, focusing on passing and controlling the game, activating Liu Yu Dong's mid-range game, and helping China continue to control the situation.
Ultimately, this intense but not yet grueling match ended with China winning 88:81.
He Xi Meng's scoring was not high in this game, with only 16 points, but his assists were very high, with 15 assists! 16 points, 15 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. Although He Xi Meng's performance was not as explosive as in the first game, it was still outstanding.
He Xi Meng is currently ranked first in the World Championship assists list!
Chinese media have already hailed him as "Assist King"! However, if He Xi Meng can maintain this pace, the title of World Championship assists king should be within reach.
Because the strongest team, the United States, does not have a top-tier point guard, and the second strongest team, Yugoslavia, has its biggest star, Bodiroga, who is a swingman! Although his assist ability is also outstanding, he primarily focuses on scoring.
Others such as Lithuania, Spain, Greece, and Germany all have players in the paint as their core. Argentina and Italy do focus on the backcourt, but they are centered around shooting guards.
Looking at the strong teams participating in this World Championship, there are truly no point guards who can truly compete with He Xi Meng!
Besides He Xi Meng, Yao Ming, who started for the first time, became China's biggest surprise!
In this game, Yao Ming only took 7 shots but made 6, with a very high shooting percentage. Combined with 5 out of 6 free throws, he ultimately scored a team-high 17 points and 8 rebounds!
Before the fourth quarter ended, Yao Ming was fouled out due to overly aggressive defense, accumulating 5 fouls. However, his personal stats of 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks earned him the most enthusiastic applause from head coach Zhang Bing when he left the court!
After this game, Chinese fans directly bestowed the nickname "The Little Giant" upon Yao Ming. Yao Ming has officially entered the national fans' vision and become a rising star for China!
Yao Ming 17 points, He Xi Meng 16 points, Hu Wei Dong 14 points, Da Zhi 13 points, Liu Yu Dong 13 points!
All five starters for China scored in double digits, showcasing a multi-faceted attack that left Germany unable to defend effectively...