Winning the Stankovic Cup, the attention on Dragon Nation basketball directly surpassed football, and the Tang Long Bar even surpassed the Yi Bar to become the number one forum!
Fans were still enthusiastically discussing the Stankovic Cup during their leisure time, while the national team had officially entered closed-door training at this moment, fully preparing for the Olympics!
Apart from two friendly matches against Australia, the players had barely left the training hall.
August 1st, ten days before the Olympics.
Yunas, for a rare occasion, gave the players a day off. Originally, everyone had planned to go out and have fun together. Tang Long, however, thought of Swift, who had been alone in Dragon Nation for so long, and they only spoke on the phone every night. Feeling guilty, he could only ditch his teammates.
Another reason was that the team was about to head to the capital. Besides the basketball games, Yao Ming was also a torchbearer and had to arrive in the capital early!
Tang Long wanted to make arrangements in advance, especially since Swift was unfamiliar with the surroundings.
Hangzhou, besides the beauty of West Lake, actually had many scenic spots. However, learning from their previous experience, Tang Long and Swift chose places with fewer crowds.
The two selected a restaurant near West Lake, enjoying the scenery of the lake while savoring Hangzhou's delicacies.
"You fellow, you should have brought me to eat this stuff long ago, making me eat fast food every day in the hotel."
She spoke in Dragon Nation language, though still not perfectly.
"Alright, your Mandarin has become quite fluent during this time!"
Tang Long couldn't help but laugh. During this period, besides talking on the phone, Swift had been learning Mandarin.
Although not perfect yet, they could already communicate simply.
"I never thought I'd be eating hamburgers in Dragon Nation after eating them in the United States."
Swift, disregarding her image, stuffed a xiaolongbao into her mouth and then took a contented sip of Longjing tea. If not for her high nose bridge and blue eyes, she might have been mistaken for a Hangzhou local.
"By the way." She remembered something and looked at Tang Long, "Ck called me and asked if I wanted to endorse their couple series."
"Uh..."
This wasn't a hint; it was a direct proposal.
It was time to make things clear!
Just as Tang Long was about to reply, his phone rang.
It was Old Wu's call.
Tang Long shrugged at Swift, who knew that Tang Long would usually hang up on ordinary calls, so she gestured for him to take it.
"Tang Long, when are you guys going to the capital?"
Wu Rongzhao's voice on the phone sounded very excited.
It made sense.
Tang Long was going to participate in the Olympics, and he was an absolute key player for the men's basketball team.
Whether from a friend's perspective or a business perspective, it was something Old Wu was happy about.
"In a day or two." Tang Long asked suspiciously, "Old Wu, don't tell me you've already made arrangements."
"Pretty much!" Wu Rongzhao said with a chuckle, "I guessed you'd be thinking about how to arrange things for Taylor. Coincidentally, we also need to go to the capital for promotions, so we've booked a whole floor at a hotel. Don't worry, I've inquired, and it's not far from your training location."
"That's great. You even know that. Then I'll gratefully accept." Tang Long had no intention of being polite.
Old Wu was going to the capital for promotions, and he would definitely need to contribute. After all, the benefits ultimately came from his own efforts, but it did save him a lot of trouble.
After spending a pleasant evening with Swift until nightfall, Tang Long finally returned to the training base.
As soon as he returned, he saw everyone gathered by Captain Guo.
Yunas was not present, but a stranger stood beside Captain Guo.
"Brother Yao, what's going on?"
Yao Ming shook his head, indicating he didn't know either.
As they were chatting casually, Zhou Peng came over, sniffed, and drawled teasingly, "Tang Long, you smell of perfume. Have you been getting cozy with Taylor?"
"I'm a gentleman, alright!" Tang Long glared at Zhou Peng, "You can't project your own ways onto me."
Ding Mianhui came over to joke, "We're all men, we understand."
"Understand what? Brother Yao, you've guarded against him for longer. Tell me, do these two often sneak out at night?"
Zhou Peng was anxious, "Brother Yao, you have to be fair! When did I ever sneak out at night?"
As they were joking around, Ah Lian, sitting not far away, opened his mouth and then swallowed his words.
Tang Long walked over and sat next to Ah Lian, "If you have something to say, just say it. We're all teammates, and we spend more time together than with some family members. What can't be said?"
"Uh... it's not as complicated as you say." A trace of embarrassment flashed across Ah Lian's cheeks. After a pause, he continued, "I know who this person is. He's a brand sponsor, and he's here to customize shoes for us."
"Customized shoes?" Tang Long raised his eyebrows slightly, "There are only ten days left until the competition, counting from today. Is it still time to customize shoes? Isn't this just messing around!"
"It seems they've paid a lot of money and insisted that we wear them."
Ah Lian said, looking down at the shoes on his feet.
The shoes of some star players are designed according to their personal temperament, striving for the perfect comfort and safety!
For those playing in the NBA, they all wear custom-made ones.
Not to mention the exclusive contracts of the other two, even if customization were possible now, it wouldn't be as comfortable as what they were wearing. Moreover, to customize so many at once, there simply wouldn't be enough time.
As they were speaking, Captain Guo clapped his hands, signaling everyone to sit down, and then slowly said, "This is the shoe sponsor for this Olympic Games. He's here to take measurements for everyone. Please cooperate."
"Captain Guo, we already have our own custom-made shoes, and they are comfortable. There's no need for this, right?"
As soon as Tang Long finished speaking, the guy next to Captain Guo said arrogantly, "We are the designated sponsor for this competition. You can only wear our brand of shoes on the court. Of course, you can choose not to wear them."
The guy shrugged indifferently, "As long as you don't play."
The players below frowned.
Just as Tang Long was about to speak, Yao Ming pulled him, signaling that he could talk to Captain Guo privately if he had anything to say, but it wasn't necessary at this moment.
For Yao Ming's sake, Tang Long tolerated this guy for once.
Unexpectedly, the guy continued, "I know some of you think you're famous and can get special treatment, but we've paid the money, and you can only wear our shoes from now until the end of the competition."
"You won't let us play if we don't wear them, right? That's fine too."
Tang Long stood up abruptly and walked straight out.
Zhou Peng and Ding Mianhui, after looking at each other, followed him.
Yao Ming frowned, pondered for a moment, shook his head, and didn't give the guy any face either.
Soon, the players one by one left the conference room.
The guy was so angry he was jumping up and down!