"We won!"
"We defeated the USA, 123-115, beating the arrogant USA by 8 points. This is absolutely beyond the imagination of all Chinese people."
"Before the game, everyone was saying that our players' talent wasn't as good as theirs, and our strength was inferior to theirs. They said we would be severely embarrassed by the USA in this game. But I believe everyone has seen that as long as we don't give up, as long as we unite as one, we can defeat powerful enemies. Long live the great people of Longguo!"
In the broadcast booth, the three commentators, looking at the exhausted players, were already in tears.
It was so difficult.
They fell behind multiple times, only to tie the score again.
In the crucial final moments, facing the onslaught from the USA players, the team became a wall.
Even from the broadcast booth, they could feel the overwhelming pressure emanating from the powerful USA players.
The world's top basketball players all played in the USA, and their team was composed of superstars.
Their talent and physical condition were absolutely unparalleled.
Yet, such an opponent was defeated by our Longguo team, by our more united team.
Before the game, they didn't believe Longguo could defeat the powerful USA, so the commentary was very conservative, especially Old Bai, whose words were very well-chosen.
But that didn't stop Old Bai from being in tears after the win.
Conservatism was real, but their support for their own players was heartfelt.
"How fortunate we are to have a Tang Long."
At this moment, Director Zhang also sighed, "Whenever we fell behind, it was Tang Long who led the team forward. To shift the pressure onto himself, Tang Long even went to provoke some of the USA's higher-ups. Keep in mind, he plays in the USA and will return to the Cavaliers after the Olympics. For this spirit alone, I think calling him a hero is not an exaggeration!"
In a collectivist country like Longguo, to regard a person as a hero is absolutely the highest honor.
"Don't be fooled by the USA's talk of freedom and fairness; they are actually quite devious," Old Bai said, his face now filled with worry after the excitement. "Tang Long is definitely going to be targeted when he returns to the league this summer. We don't know how far these people will go. The politicians in the USA are shameless."
"Tang Long really did his best in this game. Look at the players on the court now, still sitting on the ground."
The camera cut from the cheering crowd to the Longguo players. The five on the court had pale faces. Their jerseys were soaked with sweat, and sweat stains could be seen on the floor.
The moment the referee blew the whistle, the excited players were still cheering. But immediately after, they felt all their strength drain away, leaving them with no energy even to return to the bench. Seeing Tang Long collapse on the ground in a sprawl, the others followed suit, half-lying down like him.
The game had ended five minutes ago, yet not a single spectator from Longguo had left. The ceaseless applause had continued from the end of the game until now. Many people's palms were red from clapping, but they seemed not to feel it. Their eyes held only shock and pride.
They had not watched this game in vain. Every cheer was the greatest support for the players.
"Tang Long, how many points did you score in this game?" Yao Ming struggled to sit up and nudged Tang Long. "If it's over 40 points, you're treating us."
"Brother Yao, that's not right."
Just as Tang Long was about to debate with Yao Ming over who should pay for the meal, the frenzied media had already swarmed them.
"Tang Long, I'm Yu Jia, a reporter from C5 Sports Channel. We were once down by almost 20 points. Facing players with such immense talent from the USA, what kept you confident and allowed you to step up in critical moments? Did you believe from the beginning that we could defeat the USA?"
"I've already said that in previous interviews."
Tang Long shrugged.
The media present suddenly remembered that when Tang Long was interviewed before, he had indeed said they could defeat the Dream Eight team, which was composed of all superstars. However, it was brushed aside by Guo Qiang at the time, and many thought Tang Long had become arrogant after playing in the NBA for a few days.
Now, it seemed Tang Long wasn't being arrogant then; he was being confident.
"Yao, may I ask what your goal was before the Olympics? After defeating the USA, will the team's goals be adjusted?" Yu Jia paused. "Will there be any thoughts of challenging for a medal, or even a gold medal?"
It wasn't that Yu Jia had become bolder; it was just that this team had given everyone so many surprises.
"This, we should still..."
"Distinguished reporters, as you can see, these few individuals just finished playing. They are in need of rest and massage right now. Please proceed to the venue first. We will definitely allow you to ask many questions at the post-game press conference. You can also go interview the USA players."
Guo Qiang hurried over to stop Yao Ming.
One reason was to prevent Yao Ming from saying anything unrestrained like Tang Long, leaving him to deal with it later. Another was that after a fierce battle with the USA all game, the players indeed needed to recover. Otherwise, with sore muscles and fatigue, they wouldn't be able to play in the upcoming games.
...
"Holy shit, do you guys know how like shit you played?"
As soon as they returned to the locker room, Krzyzewski launched into a tirade.
The players silently went about their business, each with a grim expression.
They had indeed been careless in this game. They hadn't expected the Longguo players to be so tenacious, nor did they expect this guy, Tang Long, to be so troublesome.
Even though they had paid close attention to Tang Long in this game, he still managed to score 40 points alone. Even that Sun Yue scored 22 points against them. This left them with a belly full of resentment.
However, in the heat of the moment on the court, they had lost their heads and failed to execute the game plan.
"Coach, it was just a group stage game," Kobe said at this moment. "We were indeed careless in this game, but fortunately, it's a group stage game. It's much better to discover problems now than in the knockout rounds. Next time, we will start from the very first second and give the Longguo players no opportunities. We'll turn the game into garbage time in the first half."
Krzyzewski glared fiercely at Kobe. "You better mean what you say."
...
"Taylor, you sneaky thing, we thought you were our good sister."
Taylor was leaving with the crowd, originally planning to wait at the entrance to celebrate with Tang Long. However, she didn't wait for Tang Long. Instead, she was met by two women with formidable presences.
Scarlett and Gal Gadot.
"What are you guys doing here?"
Swift's face immediately turned red.
They had all agreed earlier, but she had come to Longguo alone. This was incredibly awkward.