Colangelo, the leader of the U.S. men's basketball team, quickly put the embarrassment behind him. Although he was the team leader, he was facing the biggest stars in the NBA. If they want to take care of you, they can take care of you, and if they don't want to take care of you, they can just do it. Ignore it, so Colangelo has long been accustomed to this situation.
"Okay, let's get down to business." Colangelo coughed dryly and continued: "The opponent we are about to face is the host Chinese team. I personally wish you in advance the Olympic championship. But since the opponent is the host, I still hope You can be a little more merciful, take care of the host country's face, and don't let the host country lose too ugly. In fact, I think in the first round of the group stage, we won by 41 points when we played against the Chinese team for the first time. It's a bit too heavy. There is a big gap between the opponent's strength and ours, so there is no need for you to play so seriously. I think a casual win of thirty points is enough, at least let the host country lose less than what they lost in the group stage. , we would like to thank the Chinese people for their warm hospitality these days!”
Everyone burst into laughter. For these NBA stars, there is no difference whether they win by 30 points or 40 points.
Colangelo then said to Krzyzewski: "I think the Olympic final is an unforgettable memory for each of our players, so we hope that every player can experience the Olympic final. The process, just like the NBA All-Star Game, can leave a beautiful memory."
Krzyzewski nodded, indicating that he understood what the other party meant.
There is an unspoken rule in the NBA All-Star Game, that is, every player selected needs to play, and every player must score. If it reaches the second half of the game and there are still players who do not score, Then both teammates and opponents will help this player get a two-pointer.
In this Olympic final, the American team felt that there was no suspense about winning, so they also issued two internal indicators. The first one was the same as the Chinese team, that is, every player must have a chance to play and must personally compete. To experience the feeling of an Olympic final. Another indicator is that every player must score, just like playing in the All-Star Game.
…
In the cheers of the audience, the second round of the competition between the Chinese and American men's basketball teams finally kicked off.
"Athletes have already stepped onto the court, and the game will begin immediately. Let us first introduce the starting lineups of both sides. The US team has not made any changes as in the previous game. It is still Kobe, James, Kidd, Anthony and Howard. As for China On the team side, it’s Dayao, Ah Lian, Zhu Fangyu, Sun Yue and Liu Wei! Yunus has changed his lineup again. Zhang Guan, who started the first two games, is not in today’s starting list!” The commentator was a little surprised. said.
"From the perspective of physical confrontation, Zhang Guan is definitely the best choice to deal with the American team. Among our outside players, apart from Zhang Guan, we can't find anyone else who can compete with that kind of strong American defender. I I think Zhang Guan did not appear in the starting lineup today, probably because he failed to win the ninth gold medal yesterday, so he needs some time to adjust." The commentator said.
The commentator immediately winked at the guest and signaled him to pick up which pot he did not want. The guest immediately understood and changed the topic as soon as his voice changed: "Let us review the records of both sides. Since 1984 , the Chinese team played against the U.S. team 5 times in the Olympics... "
There were changes in the Chinese team's starting lineup, but the American team didn't care. For them, everyone on the Chinese team looked the same.
At the beginning of the game, the first few attacks of both sides went very smoothly, the pace was not too fast, and the intensity was not too high. Both sides hit a few goals each, and the game was tied at 13. This opening was similar to the first match between the two sides. In the first game of the group stage, the scores of the two sides in the first quarter were basically even.
The two sides seemed to be playing back and forth, but in fact the American team obviously did not try its best, while the Chinese team also maintained a good touch from the beginning, especially driven by the home atmosphere, they played even harder.
In the VIP seats on the sidelines, President George W. Bush had a smile on his face. He said: "It was a wonderful game. Both sides played at a very good level. These young people reminded me of myself when I was young. I have a certain I feel the urge to go out and play!"
"You are still very young." The comrade accompanying him said politely.
"Hahaha, thank you for the compliment!" President Bush continued: "The U.S. team has not won an Olympic basketball gold medal in eight years, so I really hope to present the award to the U.S. team in person today. I wonder if it is an honor? "
For this game, the original award guests have been decided. The person who will present the award to the champion will be the president of FIBA, so this request made by President George W. Bush is considered an unexpected event. Ordinary foreign guests might not make such a request on the spur of the moment, but judging from President George W. Bush's face-conscious, arrogant and willful character, it is in line with his character for him to make such a request.
President Bush's request will be a big challenge to the on-site security system. However, there must be several sets of security plans for such occasions to deal with various emergencies, so the comrade will not Don't worry about safety issues.
"If there is no problem with FIBA, as the organizer, of course we are very honored that you will personally present the awards to the athletes." The comrade said.
"We at FIBA are also very honored." The president of FIBA, who was sitting not far away, said immediately.
Although President George W. Bush's approval rating in the United States has hit rock bottom, he is still the most powerful president in the world. Based on this status, President George W. Bush proposed to present the award in person. Not only did the president of FIBA not object, he even He also readily gave up his position as the award presenter. The President of the United States personally awards awards for basketball games, which can also be seen as a support for the sport of basketball.
"Thank you very much." President George W. Bush breathed a sigh of relief. He could present the award to the American team as he wished. But this was not the end. President George W. Bush said to the comrade: "I wonder if you are interested in awarding an award to the Chinese team?"
The translator translated President George W. Bush's words to the comrade. In fact, the comrade had already understood it. Translation was just a necessary form for the occasion. At this time, he looked like a humble gentleman. There was no trace of emotion on his expression, but he had already understood in his heart that President Bush had proposed to award the American team before. It turned out that he was just drunk and not interested in drinking!
It sounds like there is nothing wrong with giving awards to athletes from your own country. But don’t forget that the identity of the event’s award-giving guests is particular. Under normal circumstances, the person who presents the award to the champion must be more distinguished or of a higher level than the person who presents the award to the runner-up. For example, if a certain school holds a competition, the principal awards an award to the champion, and the vice-principal awards an award to the runner-up. That is normal; but if the vice-principal awards an award to the champion, and the principal awards an award to the runner-up, it is definitely inappropriate.
In the current situation, both parties are leaders of a country, and their status is equal. If they are to be the awarding guests, they should both be gold medal awarding guests. Maybe President Xiaobu can go in front as a guest. , but if any one of them awards an award to the runner-up, wouldn’t it be equivalent to losing their worth
In the basketball war between China and the United States, the American team had an absolute advantage. President George W. Bush only rushed to award the American team an award. He also wanted to drag that comrade into trouble. He obviously had no good intentions.
President George W. Bush has always been a person who cares about face. This time the American team did not win the first place in the gold medal list, which made President George W. Bush feel very shameless. His proud and arrogant Western cowboy character has long wanted to regain his reputation. , so this scene happened. Xiaobu had already made a plan in his mind. If that comrade did not agree to present the award to the Chinese team in person, he would have won for a while, and when the news spread, it would be good or bad; and if that comrade agreed to present the award to the Chinese team, Once the American team wins the game, and two people of equal status, Xiao Bu awards the gold medal, but the comrade awards the silver medal, doesn't it mean that China can only succumb to the United States
The U.S. team is far stronger than the Chinese team, but President George W. Bush is thick-skinned and accustomed to hegemonism. If a foreign guest is a little more shameless, he will definitely not do such a thing.
"Xiao Bu has defeated my army!" the comrade thought to himself. He knew that it wouldn't matter if it was just a simple sports event, but if a leader-level figure went up to present the award, then some interested people would interpret it with different meanings, especially those unfriendly foreign media, which would definitely use this. This matter will make a big fuss and even set off a new round of hype.
If the Olympics were being held in another country, of course he could find other reasons to shirk it, but now that the Olympics is being held in his own country, it's like people are coming to call for help. As the saying goes, if you lose, you don't lose. At this time, there is absolutely no reason to retreat.
"The imperialists are determined to destroy me! They can just make irresponsible remarks all day long. If we host the Olympics ourselves, they will not forget to cause trouble for us!"
The comrade looked at the athletes struggling on the court. He knew how difficult it was for the Chinese team to reach this point. With this historic breakthrough of Olympic silver medal, this Chinese team deserves its own award.
"It is also an honor for me to be able to award awards to the athletes of my country!" he said decisively.
PS: On the last day of the month, if you still have monthly votes, please vote for "All-Around Athlete". Thank you everyone!
(End of chapter)