"I did a rough tally; in the second quarter, A-lian and Sun Yue wasted at least five opportunities. Sun Yue, in particular, missed three consecutive three-pointers, allowing Argentina to catch up by seven points and giving Yao Ming a foul."
"This timeout was called at a crucial moment. The key is for the players to stay focused. It's not good if they don't know how to play after leading by such a large margin."
Old Bai, who hadn't spoken up until then, said, "Tang Long needs to take on more offensive responsibility. When the players can't break through, Tang Long should proactively initiate attacks. Even if he's double-teamed, he can still draw at least two defenders, creating opportunities for others to drive."
"That hits the nail on the head. The key is still to drive," Yu Jia said. "It's not that our players should be afraid to go head-to-head with Argentina once they tighten their defense. You'll find it hard to leverage your advantages then. Especially A-lian, you're given space to operate, you should be more decisive and drive to the basket."
This was another reason for the deficit in the first half.
After taking the lead, the players were less willing to contest with the energized Argentine players. Shooting from the outside easily resulted in bricks. This back-and-forth allowed Argentina to close the score.
...
The camera quickly cut back as Long Guo launched their offense.
Long Guo's tactics changed slightly, and they began to feed the ball to Yao Ming for strong plays in the paint. In the first half, Yao Ming was full of energy, and his offensive threat in the post was undeniable. Through a series of post-ups, he secured two consecutive and-ones to stabilize the situation.
However, the good momentum soon became precarious as the players' shooting touch declined. The Argentine players quickly seized this opportunity, going on an 11-0 run.
The deficit was truly reduced to single digits, with the gap only six points.
Younas quickly called another timeout.
Even Guo Qiang was no longer as calm. They had led by so much in the first half and were now being dominated in the second. If this continued, they might even lose the game.
If they had trailed from the start and lost, it could be attributed to a gap in skill, and perhaps the leadership wouldn't criticize them so harshly. But to lose after leading by 17 points was a different matter entirely.
"What are you guys doing? This is the Olympics, wake up and stop messing around."
"It's fine, we're still leading."
Guo Qiang glared at Sun Yue, who had spoken, with dissatisfaction. "What kind of professional attitude is that? What do you mean 'still leading'? We were leading by 17 points just now, and look at us now, only leading by six. Let's see if you can catch up when they start leading."
Sun Yue nodded sheepishly and retreated behind Yao Ming and Tang Long, not daring to provoke Guo Qiang's anger further.
Everyone could see that Guo Qiang was full of frustration with nowhere to vent. Provoking him at this moment was not a wise choice.
"Captain Guo, don't worry. We were indeed playing too loosely earlier, but we'll be serious from now on."
Seeing Tang Long step forward to stabilize the team, Guo Qiang's stern expression softened slightly.
After Younas explained the tactics, the players returned to the court.
As soon as they came back, Yao Ming delivered a spectacular block on Oberto. Following that, Tang Long drove to the basket under double-team coverage. When he couldn't break through, he passed the ball to Sun Yue at the top of the arc.
Sun Yue caught the ball and continued to drive. Facing an Argentine defender, Sun Yue successfully faked him out with a crossover dribble and then made an uncontrolled layup to score.
Although Long Guo's offense stabilized, the high-flying Argentina was not falling behind.
The two teams exchanged blows, with the score remaining very close.
In the final minute of the second quarter, Tang Long received a pass from Sun Yue and, resisting the pressure from two players, drove into the three-second area. At this point, Scola rotated into position, and three players converged to trap Tang Long near the basket, leaving him with no apparent passing option.
"Why not pass? Pass the ball!"
"Ah, if he had passed to Da Zhi in the corner, maybe he could have hit a three. Tang Long is being too selfish with this play."
"Too selfish. Playing like this is just like the Lakers. When Kobe tries to pad his stats, the team loses..."
As the spectators grumbled, they saw Tang Long launch himself like a cannonball and complete the shot under the attention of three defenders.
Swish.
The basketball went through the net for an uncontested shot.
Those who had criticized Tang Long for being selfish immediately fell silent.
The Argentine players were also dumbfounded. To make that shot with three people defending him, was Tang Long human or a ghost?
[Unpredictable Shot]
As long as there was an opportunity to release the ball, it was an angle for a shot.
Facing the defense of three players, Tang Long decisively activated his zone state, and an "Unpredictable Shot" completely stunned the Argentine players.
The final minute of the first half turned into Tang Long's personal showcase.
Dunk.
Steal leading to a Long Guo offense.
The pleasing offensive display widened the gap to 12 points again.
Immediately after, the referee blew the whistle, signaling the end of the first half.
At the start of the third quarter, Tang Long and Yao Ming took turns attacking, quickly establishing a 17-point lead.
At this point, the Argentine players began to become anxious. Despite repeated reminders from Fernandez on the sideline, the Argentine players seemed unable to execute their desired plays.
As the score gap widened, the Argentine players' defensive actions became more erratic.
While defending in the paint, Oberto was pushed out of position by Yao Ming. Oberto, ignoring everything, aggressively re-entered to defend the shooting Yao Ming.
Yao Ming was startled and had to dodge.
The shot naturally clanged off the rim.
However, Oberto's defense deeply displeased Yao Ming, and the usually good-tempered Yao Ming began to get angry.
The players from both sides quickly pulled them apart.
This incident completely enraged the Long Guo players. In the final minutes of the second half, they gave Argentina no opportunities, maintaining a significant lead.
At the end of the third quarter, Long Guo led 81-65, a 16-point advantage.
After a short break, Long Guo gave Argentina no chance in the fourth quarter, maintaining a double-digit lead. Two minutes into the second quarter, Yao Ming missed a shot in the paint, and Tang Long drove in from the perimeter, scoring on a put-back under the tight defense of two players.
When only three minutes remained and Long Guo still held a double-digit lead, Younas substituted Tang Long and Yao Ming.
Younas stated he wouldn't play them again unless the score difference dropped below five points.
Although Long Guo's offense became somewhat clumsy after Li Nan and Zhu Fangyu came on, their defense still prevented the Argentine players from scoring easily.
With less than a minute left, Long Guo still maintained a double-digit lead.