The second game of the second round saw the Chinese team facing the Russian team.
The current core player for the Russian team was Kirilenko!
The overall style of play for the Russian team was a lack of finesse but abundant strength, fierce physicality, and tough moves!
To be honest, this was a unique style on the basketball court.
In the tactically refined European basketball scene, the Russian team was a distinct anomaly!
Yet, it was with this rough playing style that the Russian team defeated a number of Western European powerhouses, breaking through the crowded European qualifiers to secure a ticket to the World Championships.
In the past, the Chinese team was actually very intimidated by this style of play from the Russian team!
Against technically proficient teams like Spain or Italy, the Chinese team could still put up a fight, engage in fierce battles! When performing exceptionally well, they could even defeat their opponents and emerge victorious.
Conversely, against the Russian team, whose technical skills were not particularly outstanding, the Chinese team often found themselves battered and bruised.
He Xi Meng was, of course, well aware of his teammates' weaknesses.
Therefore, in this game against the Russian team, He Xi Meng shifted all offensive focus to the perimeter!
The interior players like Yao Ming, Da Zhi, and Gong Xiao Bin only needed to focus on defense!
Offense was not their concern!
Through the division of labor between the perimeter and the interior, He Xi Meng did his best to avoid his teammates engaging in direct, physical confrontations with the Russians!
To showcase the threat of the Chinese team's perimeter game, He Xi Meng exploded in this match, delivering his strongest performance of the World Championship to date!
He Xi Meng hadn't shot this ferociously even against the American team!
Throughout the entire game, He Xi Meng took a staggering 16 three-point attempts, sinking 10 of them, to score 42 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block!
He single-handedly shot the Russian team, who had planned to battle it out in the paint with China, to death with three-pointers!
Kirilenko was unconvinced by the loss, but it was useless!
He Xi Meng didn't give him a chance to fight back!
95:88, China won another game, achieving two wins and zero losses in the second round. Combined with their three wins in the group stage, they entered their final second-round opponent with a perfect 5-0 record!
China's final opponent was the Argentine team, who had just lost to the United States yesterday!
In the F group standings, China stood out prominently, with the United States and Argentina following closely. If Argentina managed to defeat China, then China, the United States, and Argentina would all have identical 5-1 records with mutual wins and losses, ultimately requiring point differential to determine the top three spots!
Of course, this was all contingent on Argentina defeating China.
Before the game officially began, the atmosphere between the two teams was quite cordial.
On the Chinese side, He Xi Meng, Yao Ming, and Da Zhi all had close relationships with Ginobili.
On the Argentine side, in addition to Ginobili, there was also Scola, who had just been drafted by the Spurs this year, and was very curious about these Chinese players who might become his future teammates!
Introduced by Ginobili, Scola greeted each of the Chinese players one by one.
During the ensuing game, He Xi Meng could sense that Ginobili was not playing at his full strength. However, even so, Argentina's quick double-teaming and rapid ball movement made things very difficult for the Chinese team.
If not for He Xi Meng holding down the fort, the Chinese team would undoubtedly have suffered a crushing defeat in this game.
But under He Xi Meng's control, the Chinese team successfully stayed in the game, and in the final stages, Yao Ming made a series of effective plays in the paint. Utilizing free throws, they went on a 6:2 run against Argentina, ultimately winning 86:83, a narrow victory that saw them complete the group stage and second round with a perfect six-game winning streak!
China, the United States, Argentina, and Germany all advanced from Group F.
In Group E, Turkey and Angola were eliminated, while Yugoslavia, Spain, Brazil, and Puerto Rico advanced together!
China's opponent in the quarterfinals was their first group stage opponent, Germany, again!
Facing the malicious trio of He Xi Meng, Yao Ming, and Da Zhi, Nowitzki was defeated.
Germany was not a weak team, but they lacked a good point guard.
This was an unbridgeable gap between Germany and China. Even with Nowitzki's best efforts, it was difficult to cover the void in the backcourt, especially when that void also liked to launch surprise attacks from beyond the three-point line...
The United States faced Argentina again!
Perhaps the victory in the group stage had given the United States a false sense of security, believing that this Argentine team was nothing special.
As a result, in the knockout stage, the United States still did not take Argentina seriously, and the outcome was tragic!
Argentina's elegant team play overwhelmed the Dream Team V, leaving them with no room to fight back! The Dream Team V never led for even a single second throughout the entire game, a more dismal performance than their game against China!
Argentina became famous overnight, becoming the second team after China to defeat the Dream Team V in this season's World Championship, and successfully advancing to the semifinals!
The semifinals became the stage for China and Argentina.
The dejected United States had to compete with Spain for 5th place, and it was another crushing defeat. Ultimately, the Dream Team V's ranking settled at a shameful 6th place!
China's second encounter with Argentina in the semifinals mirrored the pain the Dream Team V experienced!
Argentina had indeed held back some of their strength during the preliminary rounds, not unleashing their full potential.
Now, in the knockout stage, they had nothing to hold back, and they fought with all their might, pushing China to the brink of elimination.
On the sidelines, Zhang Bing was already preparing for a battle for third place!
He Xi Meng suddenly went berserk, performing his miracle moment: 6 points in 29 seconds!
He Xi Meng first hit a difficult three-pointer, then predicted Argentina's passing lane, stole the ball, drove the fast break, and under a double-team from Argentina, he sank an ultra-long three-pointer from near the Logo circle!
The ball went in as the buzzer sounded, a game-winning shot!
89:88, He Xi Meng led China to turn the tide in the final moments, delivering a fatal blow!
When He Xi Meng single-handedly rescued the team and reversed the course of the game, the overjoyed Old Zhang, ahead of all the substitute players, rushed onto the court and tightly embraced He Xi Meng...
Having narrowly escaped the brink of a demotion, Zhang Bing had forgotten his coach's usual composure...
Ginobili, with a look of helplessness, offered He Xi Meng his congratulations after the game: "I knew it, with you here, we couldn't possibly be lucky..."
He Xi Meng didn't know how to comfort his good teammate, and could only encourage him, "Getting third place isn't bad either! Keep trying..."
China successfully broke out of the F bracket and faced the champions of Group E, Yugoslavia, in a climactic showdown!