bookrandom Chapter 544 China vs. South Sudan, War Begins!
Chapter 544 China vs. South Sudan, War Begins!
Fans line up to have their tickets checked outside the Alanetta Arena in Manila, Philippines.
"What? You can't even bring this?" Fan Chengcheng angrily threw a banner into the bucket.
He made this banner specially, and it read "Go Wang Xiucheng!"
This banner is so big that even airplanes can get on it, but it can't even get into the stadium.
"Alright, enough talk, let's go inside." Fan Bing nudged her troublesome younger brother.
Fan Chengcheng held up the red flag and walked inside with his older sister, as if afraid others wouldn't know he was a Chinese football fan.
"It's Brother Chao, Lu Han, and Xiao Tong." Fan Chengcheng suddenly saw several familiar figures in front of another passage.
Fan Bing looked over and, sure enough, it was them.
Like their siblings, they were also wearing Chinese team uniforms and waving the national flag.
"Let's go in quickly." They were quite far apart, and Fan Bing and Fan Chengcheng didn't greet each other.
Soon, the two arrived at their spot, put their things away, and Fan Bing saw that the players on the field were already warming up.
Fan Chengcheng took out his phone and contacted Deng Chaolu, while also searching for other Chinese celebrities present.
Fan Bing, however, looked towards the venue, and almost instantly, her gaze locked onto Wang Xiucheng.
Bang!
Wang Xiucheng's three-pointer hit the rim.
Sullivan caught the ball and threw it back to Wang Xiucheng.
Sullivan himself was surprised. Was Wang Xiucheng doing this on purpose?
Why is my three-point shooting percentage so low during warm-up?
Swish!
Sullivan picked up the ball that had just gone into the basket and looked at Zeng Fanbo, who had just shot it.
"What a pity, the Timberwolves specifically wanted this kid, otherwise he would have been a good backup for Towns in the new season," Ben Sullivan thought.
Bang!
Sullivan looked again, and Wang Xiucheng had missed again.
Moreover, Wang Xiucheng was even gritting his teeth at this moment, as if his own cold hands were also angry.
Even Sullivan was a bit dumbfounded.
If he remembered correctly, Wang Xiucheng had already taken 20 three-pointers, but only about four or five of them had made.
That shooting percentage is so bad, even if he were shooting himself, it wouldn't be this bad.
Looking at the time, it seemed the game was about to start, so when Wang Xiucheng shot the basketball again, Ben Sullivan clapped his hands and called everyone back to the bench.
Bang!
Sure enough, Sullivan knew without turning around that Wang Xiucheng's shot had gone astray again.
Bang!
Ben Sullivan's head tilted to the side, and he almost fell face-first into the air.
The basketball hit him on the head and landed on the floor.
Ben Sullivan glanced at Wang Xiucheng, who showed no reaction.
If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, who would believe that this guy was the player who made the most three-pointers last season?
The lights gradually went out.
Everyone, including Wang Xiucheng, stood in a row as the national anthem began to play.
Wang Xiucheng stretched out his right hand and pressed it to his chest. At that moment, he finally felt his blood boiling.
The entire stadium of Chinese fans sang the national anthem loudly. Although some were a little rushed, their resounding singing told everyone that we must win this game.
At this very moment, throughout China, countless television sets and computers are all focused on this match.
It was only 4 p.m., usually a time of heavy traffic, but surprisingly, there was no traffic jam on the streets.
At this moment, at least hundreds of millions of people are watching this game through various means.
The moment the national anthem ended, Wang Xiucheng, like everyone else, clapped his hands vigorously.
Finally, it's about to begin!
The lights came on, and Wang Xiucheng looked up at the stage.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that today's match was practically a private affair for Chinese football fans, and there were even quite a few film and television stars among them.
Although the fans' stands were quite far away, Wang Xiucheng, whose eyesight was fairly good, still managed to spot Fan Chengcheng and her siblings, Deng Chao, and others.
There was nothing they could do; those two conspicuous bags just kept shouting.
Wang Xiucheng continued looking and finally spotted Yang Mi, Liu Shishi, Liu Yifei, and Tang Yan at a not-too-remote coaching location. Other celebrities, including Dilraba, were also sitting not far away.
Just as Wang Xiucheng was about to wave to his close friends, Guo Shiqiang called him back.
Seeing Wang Xiucheng, who had been smugly showing off on the field, return, Guo Shiqiang stood behind the partition and said, "I don't need to tell you how important this match is; you all know it."
"The opponent is not weak; they have several naturalized players with NBA experience."
"But I believe you will win this game."
After Guo Shiqiang finished speaking, Ben Sullivan added, "Pay attention to cutting off their defender Calick Jones' passing lanes, be mindful of your physicality, and look for the right angle for the referee's calls."
The translator immediately translated Ben Sullivan's words.
Kalik Jones is the only active NBA player on this South Sudanese team, and his ability speaks for itself.
If the engine of Kalik Jones can be locked down, South Sudan's strength will be significantly reduced.
Meanwhile, on the other side, South Sudan's head coach, Udoka's henchman, and Nets assistant coach Roy Ivy, were also making final arrangements.
"Cut off Wang's connection with the others. Get him in control. This is an international arena, not the NBA, a women's game. Get him in control, do you hear me?"
All the South Sudanese players nodded.
Roy Ivy was very satisfied.
As one of the most underdeveloped and poorest countries on the planet, and one plagued by constant war, this country desperately needs basketball to unite its people.
This is why FIBA, despite protests from many countries, allowed South Sudan to naturalize so many players.
The players from both sides finally took to the field.
"Wang Xiucheng, get him!"
Suddenly, someone in the stands shouted something like that.
Wang Xiucheng, who was already standing in the field, looked up and saw Fan Chengcheng.
He was craning his neck and jumping out of the fans' barrier, shouting.
Fan Bing, who was standing next to him, kept pulling him back, but it was too late.
Wang Xiucheng smiled and waved.
"Sis, look, Wang Xiucheng saw me!" Fan Chengcheng immediately turned to his older sister excitedly and said, as if showing off his achievement.
Fan Bing awkwardly covered her face, wishing she could sit somewhere else.
In the live broadcast booth of Tencent Sports, Yang Yi and Zhu Fangyu, along with host Wang Meng, couldn't help but get excited. Meina even kept rubbing her hands together in excitement.
Although Wang Xiucheng had previously represented the Chinese team in the NBA Summer League and also went to Europe for training with the national team.
Strictly speaking, this was Wang Xiucheng's first match representing the Chinese Super League first team.
"The match is about to begin. We see that the Chinese team has fielded a lineup of Wang Xiucheng, Cui Yongxi, Li Kaier, Zeng Fanbo, and Zhou Qi."
"Compared to the last game, our point guard is finally no longer a weakness."
"The battle for the ball has begun. Let's see who gets it."
Despite his usually unsavory appearance, Wang Meng remained calm, but his tone unconsciously rose considerably at this moment.
Inside the arena, Zhou Qi and Wenyen Gabriel stood in the center circle.
Although Wenyen Gabriel is only 206cm tall, he has a wingspan of over 216cm and a better jumping ability, so Zhou Qi dared not be careless.
Before the referee could even toss the ball up, the two men's arms were already locked in a struggle.
The referee ignored it, simply put the whistle in his mouth, and then tossed the basketball high into the air.
In an instant, both of them jumped high into the air, reaching for the basketball.
With a snap, Zhou Qi touched the basketball first, gaining a half-finger advantage.
The basketball flew towards the area behind Zhou Qi.
Wang Xiucheng received the ball first and successfully.
"Got it! The match has officially begun, and Team China is attacking first!" Yang Yi, who had returned to commentating on Tencent Sports, stood up and shouted, "Let's see how our first football king, Xiu Cheng, will play!"
At this moment, all the Chinese fans in the stadium were standing, watching the young man dribbling the ball forward on the field.
Throughout China, hundreds of millions of eyes are watching this young man through television screens, computers, or mobile phones.
Wang Xiucheng slowly dribbled the ball, and Calick Jones immediately tried to get close to Zhou Qi.
Lee suddenly turned back and stood near the center circle.
Wang Xiucheng accelerated instantly, crossing the center line to the left of Li Kaier before Calick Jones could even get close.
With a bang, Wang Xiucheng stepped back and pulled back, causing Marial Shayok, who was in the top position of the arc, to stumble and almost get his feet tangled together.
After struggling to regain his footing, Shayok discovered that Wang Xiucheng had already penetrated into the paint.
Gabriel and Jones immediately came over to cover.
Wang Xiucheng tossed the basketball onto the rim.
A loud bang!
With no one guarding him, Zhou Qi slammed the basketball into the hoop with one hand!
"Ah...you fucking come on..." Zhou Qi shouted in Chinese at some unknown place outside the baseline.
"Goal! A powerful dunk! Zhou Qi started the game with a powerful dunk, and Wang Xiucheng delivered his first assist of the World Cup."
Yang Yi shouted, his body already leaping forward, wishing he could enter the field, "This is the real China team, this is our complete team!"
"Wang Xiucheng... Wang Xiucheng... Wang Xiucheng..."
Inside the Alanetta Arena, all the Chinese fans were chanting Wang Xiucheng's name wildly.
At first it was a bit chaotic, but the sounds quickly became more coordinated.
Dozens of huge national flags were being waved and fluttering loudly!
The entire Alanetta Arena was now a sea of red!
With a slap, Zhou Qi slapped Wang Xiucheng's palm as he was returning to defense.
That was fucking awesome!
After being thrashed by Serbia by 42 points in the last game, Zhou Qi felt like he was going to become depressed.
But this ball allowed him to vent all his previous frustrations.
"Wang Xiucheng, you're so handsome..." Fan Chengcheng in the second row shouted just like everyone else, completely disregarding his image.
Not only him, but many Chinese stars came to the Alanetta Arena tonight, but everyone was shouting loudly at this moment.
Fan Chengcheng saw Yang Mi, Liu Shishi, Liu Yifei, and Tang Yan standing in a corner a few rows away, shouting and holding the national flag just like him.