jdhmnovel Chapter 701 China vs. Serbia, Quarter-Finals, Begin!
Chapter 701 China vs. Serbia, Quarter-Finals, Begin!
January 8, 6 p.m.
8 PM China time.
Paris, Bercy Stadium.
There is still half an hour left before the match.
The match between Germany and Australia has just ended.
Newly crowned World Cup champions Germany defeated Australia 76-63 to advance to the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the players warming up on the field were from the Chinese national team and the Serbian team.
The fan area had just opened, and fans of the Hebei China Fortune vs. Serbia match entered the stadium after having their tickets checked.
"Sisters, so many Chinese stars have come to this competition."
After sitting down and taking photos with a few fans, Yang Mi pointed to an area across the street and said...
Liu Shishi, Liu Yifei, and Tang Yan all went to look.
On the opposite side of the stands, there were about twenty people sitting together, and they all knew each other.
Deng Chao, Chen He, Li Chen, Bai Lu, Sha Yi, and others, dressed in Dragon Team uniforms, were quite conspicuous sitting there.
Even more noticeable was that Fan Chengcheng and his sister Fan Bing were sitting right behind Yao Ming.
How should I put it? This position is very close to the field, but can you really see the ball from here?
Fan Chengcheng didn't care at all and kept shouting at Wang Xiucheng in the arena.
Fan Bing tugged at her younger brother, then sat down somewhat awkwardly, ignoring him completely.
“Song Yi manages what is known as the largest Wang Xiucheng fan group in China. She also personally created a celebrity group, which now has more than seventy members, all of whom are Wang Xiucheng’s celebrity fans,” Yang Mi explained softly.
"How did you know?" Tang Yan suddenly asked.
Yang Mi was slightly taken aback, and then said, "Song Yi also wants to add me, but I'm not in that group."
"How do you know so much if you didn't even go in? And you even know there are more than seventy people?" Tang Yan asked incredulously.
Yang Mi suddenly turned to look at Tang Yan, "Sister, something's not right with you. You're talking a lot today."
"I didn't," Tang Yan immediately shook her head. "You guys insisted on dragging me to see Wang Xiucheng, it wasn't my idea to come."
Yang Mi reached out and took Tang Yan's hand, placing her fingers on Tang Yan's pulse.
A few seconds later, Yang Mi said, "Sister, I never mentioned Wang Xiucheng's name. You're the one who keeps bringing him up."
"And your pulse is a bit fast right now... Look, it's even faster. Why do you get so nervous when I mention Wang Xiucheng..."
Liu Shishi and Liu Yifei also turned to look at Tang Yan.
Tang Yan immediately pulled her hand back, her face slightly flushed, but she still stubbornly said, "You three guys, you said you came to watch the Chinese team's game, but who doesn't know what you're really thinking?"
Tang Yan seemed to have found an opportunity to take the initiative, so she immediately asked, "Do you have feelings for Wang Xiucheng?"
"I should be asking you that." Yang Mi reached out and grabbed Tang Yan's body. "Do you have ulterior motives towards Wang Xiucheng?"
"I do not have……"
The women's playful banter on the court created a beautiful scene.
"Hello everyone, welcome to watch the quarter-final match between China and Serbia at the Paris Olympics during this prime time tonight."
"We have invited Professor Yang Yi again today."
"Hello everyone."
Yang Yi greeted them, and the Yu family continued, "There's still some time before the match. Let's ask Mr. Yang Yi to analyze whether we have a chance to win tonight."
Yang Yi didn't waste any words and gave the answer directly: "It's very difficult."
"Basketball is a team sport. No matter how strong an individual is, if the others don't perform well or are not good enough, it will still be difficult to win."
"We can say that Wang Xiucheng is the strongest player on both teams, or at least one of them, but what about the others?"
"Although we have many players in the NBA, to be honest, we are still not as good as a team like Serbia."
"Unless, our individual abilities are strong enough to defeat all five of them."
After Yang Yi finished speaking, even he himself couldn't believe that Wang Xiucheng could be that strong.
Yu Jia took over the conversation, saying, "Actually, we have already achieved the best result in Olympic history. I would say that even Chairman Yao Ming is very satisfied with this result."
The camera was focused on Yao Ming, who was sitting in the stands with the fans.
He was chatting and laughing with the uniformed staff, and didn't seem nervous at all.
"Alright, the match is about to start. Let's take a short break and then get back to the game."
Inside the arena, Wang Xiucheng came onto the field and hugged Bogdan and others who had been waiting on the sidelines.
Then others came over and shook hands or hugged the Chinese players, including Wang Xiucheng.
They certainly know what happened at last year's World Cup.
If it weren't for Wang Xiucheng, and if it weren't for the Chinese medical ship, their good brother Simanić from the national team would have lost a kidney.
What this means is self-evident.
Therefore, their gratitude towards Wang Xiucheng is genuine.
However, this does not mean they will hold back on the field.
They also believed that Wang Xiucheng would disdain competing against such an opponent.
Therefore, they must bring their strongest performance tonight to defeat the Chinese team.
This is the greatest respect you can show to your opponent.
“Cimanić is watching this game at home right now. He told me to do everything I can to beat you because you deserve respect,” Jokic said as he walked over and hugged Wang Xiucheng.
Cimanic was not selected for this Olympics not because of physical reasons, but because of his lack of ability.
This year, Serbia has become too strong, and there's no place for him.
Wang Xiucheng smiled wryly upon hearing Jokic's words.
You never thought China would win, did you?
That's true, no one in the world had high hopes for the Chinese team.
Even commentators and pundits in China wouldn't think so.
Wang Xiucheng also saw the odds offered by Las Vegas yesterday. The odds for Serbia were around 1.1, while those for China Fortune were as high as 3.7 or more.
This means that if you bet 100 yuan on Serbia and win, you can get around 110 yuan including your initial investment and profit.
With such extreme odds, most fans bet on Serbia.
But there are still some fans who don't follow the usual path.
For example, Wang Xiucheng's friend Bruno Mars showed off a bet he placed in Las Vegas, betting $100 million on China Fortune Wins!
In fact, Bruno had already bet on three matches, all of which were Hebei China Fortune wins.
Bruno lost both his first match against Germany and his second against France.
The match against Brazil earned him a small profit, but it wasn't enough to make up for his previous investments.
This caused some of the fans who bought his tickets, as well as his music fans, to leave the market.
This thing is indeed a bottomless pit!
Inside the court, Wang Xiucheng said "See you on the court" and returned to his own half of the court.
The referee came to the center circle, counted the number of players, and then tossed the basketball high into the air.
The quarter-final match between China and Serbia has officially begun.
With a snap, Zhou Qi was the first to tap the ball.
The Serbian player who contested the ball was not Jokic, but Petrushev, who is also 211cm tall.
Despite jumping with all his might, the center forward who plays for Olympiacos managed to get the ball from Zhou Qi, who has a better height and wingspan.
The basketball flew to David Mullaka's feet.