Regardless of what other teams thought, after the match against Russia, the momentum of China's three main centers had been unleashed.
Especially Yao Ming, who had played cautiously and fearfully in the group stage, hesitant to go all out. After the baptism of the Russian team, Yao Ming had a general understanding of the gap between himself and the big European centers.
Knowing the gap was not terrifying; it was about leveraging strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and overcoming them through effort. What was truly frightening was not knowing where one fell short, by how much, and lacking the confidence to win when facing challenges… That was the most terrifying!
In this game, He Xi Meng also controlled the game's rhythm exceptionally well. He kept the score between China and Russia constantly tight, neither leading by too much nor falling behind by too much, maintaining a tense atmosphere and creating the illusion that every possession was critical. This kept his teammates under considerable pressure, tempering their mentality and will…
Overall, He Xi Meng felt his teammates had withstood the test! Because in the last game of the second round, when China faced Yugoslavia, who were also undefeated in all five games, they displayed an extremely vigorous fighting spirit!
If He Xi Meng remembered correctly, the champions of this World Championship were this Yugoslavian team!
However, in the first half, China had a 50:42 lead over Yugoslavia, an 8-point advantage that completely stunned the European powerhouse!
But Yugoslavia was, after all, a world-class strong team, the most dominant force on the international stage besides the American Dream Team!
After a brief halftime break, Yugoslavia changed their lineup. The sharpshooter Stojaković from the bench was moved to the starting lineup to partner with Yugoslavia's star player Bodiroga!
At this time, Bodiroga had just won the EuroLeague...
He Xi Meng's most potent partner, Comrade Lao Hu, was completely off his game in this match. And China's interior players, after such an explosive first half, weakened visibly in the second half…
Yugoslavia seized the opportunity, disrupting China's overall rhythm by interfering with He Xi Meng at all costs, ultimately staging a comeback victory, winning 88:85 by three points!
In this game, He Xi Meng went all out, scoring 34 points, second only to his performance against Australia. However, his assists, for the first time, failed to reach double digits, with only 7 assists. It wasn't that He Xi Meng wasn't passing; it was that Yugoslavia's defense was too suffocating.
China's multiple pick-and-roll plays were deciphered by Yugoslavia, leading to He Xi Meng's highest turnover count of the World Championship: 5!
After losing this game, He Xi Meng reflected deeply, realizing there were still significant issues in his decision-making.
However, for head coach Zhang Bing and the other players, losing to Yugoslavia by three points was an entirely acceptable outcome!
Not only did China accept it, but Chinese media, including fans, felt they had lost with honor, having performed exceptionally well… Well, if everyone thought so… then as long as you are happy!
Regardless of whether you are satisfied or not, He Xi Meng himself was not very satisfied. Because he knew that China could have defeated Yugoslavia with a little more effort…
It was a pity that Gong Xiaobin inadvertently injured his knee in the second quarter and had to leave the game, making head coach Zhang Bing hesitant. In the final stages of the fourth quarter, to protect himself, he was unwilling to go all in…
However, Gong Xiaobin's accidental injury did indeed cast a bad omen for China in this World Championship. Would China's path to advancement continue to be smooth sailing?
Thus, the second round concluded with Yugoslavia at 5 wins and 1 loss, ranking first in Group F based on head-to-head records.
China also had 5 wins and 1 loss, but due to their loss against Yugoslavia, they ranked second in Group F.
The top two teams from Group F advanced, but the third and fourth-place teams were in a chaotic scramble.
Italy, Russia, Argentina, and Germany were tangled together, with fiercely contested games.
Russia had defeated Argentina and Canada in the group stage, and bested the formidable Yugoslavia in the second round, but lost to Germany, Italy, and China, finishing with a 3-3 record.
Italy had defeated Germany and Australia in the group stage, and beaten Russia in the second round, but lost to China, Argentina, and Yugoslavia, also finishing with a 3-3 record.
Argentina had defeated Canada in the group stage, and beaten Italy and Germany in the second round, but lost to Yugoslavia, Russia, and China, also finishing with a 3-3 record.
Germany had defeated Australia in the group stage and beaten Russia in the second round, but lost to China, Italy, Yugoslavia, and Argentina, finishing with a 4-2 record.
Germany was unfortunately the first to be eliminated.
Russia, Italy, and Argentina had similar records and a mutual win-loss relationship among them.
Russia lost to Italy, Italy lost to Argentina, and Argentina lost to Russia…
Ultimately, through net point calculation, Argentina and Italy jointly edged out the defensively strong but offensively weak Russia, advancing to the World Championship quarterfinals along with China and Yugoslavia!
Yugoslavia ranked first, China second, Argentina third, and Italy fourth.
In comparison, Group E, formed by the merger of Groups A and C, was relatively clearer.
Team USA, with 6 wins and 0 losses, ranked first in Group E. However, several of these games were won narrowly. For example, against Lithuania, Spain, and the host nation Greece, Team USA won by a few points with luck, completely lacking the dominance of American teams sweeping all before them.
Following closely behind the USA, ranking second, was Greece, third was Spain, and fourth was Lithuania.
The upcoming quarterfinals would be cross-matches.
Yugoslavia vs. Lithuania, China vs. Spain, Argentina vs. Greece, Italy vs. USA!