Chapter 120 Flag bearer for the Olympic opening ceremony! First match against Spain!

Chapter 120

The content of the national team’s training is different from that of regular training in professional leagues, and what is needed is quick success.

Because in theory, the national team players are basketball elites who have been carefully selected.

Therefore, we have to play a competition match every day to hone tactics and allow players to adapt to the national team's style of play as quickly as possible.

Every player is the core of his respective club and the whole team revolves around you.

But when you join the national team, the coach may let you play as a support, and your role will change.

For the first two days, everything was normal.

But ever since Wang Yan warned Sun Yue, Sun Yue has been holding a grudge.

In the competition that afternoon, Wang Yan led four substitutes, Guo Ailun, Wang Shipeng, Yi Li and Liu Wei, to compete against the other four starters plus Zhou Peng.

During one of Wang Yan's breakthroughs, Sun Yue should have strictly guarded Guo Ailun according to tactical requirements.

But he suddenly gave up Guo Ailun and rushed over from behind, trying to block Wang Yan's shot!
Sun Yue's chase-down block is his signature technical move, and he has demonstrated it even in his short playing time in the NBA.

Wang Yan heard footsteps behind him, tilted his head slightly, and found that it was Sun Yue.

He was very dissatisfied. In fact, if Wang Yan passed the ball to Guo Ailun at this time, it would be an empty basket and Sun Yue was just trying to commit a foul.

But Wang Yan was very smart and he immediately understood that Sun Yue wanted to show his power to him.

Giving Wang Yan a chase-down block in front of so many people was such a slap in the face!

After all, Sun Yue has an NBA championship ring, so he is still a little dissatisfied with Wang Yan.

Wang Yan sneered in his heart. In that case, I will let you see what kind of ability a person who wins four MVPs in one season has!
Miso!

Wang Yan did not pass the ball to Guo Ailun, but took three steps and rushed directly to the basket.

This is exactly what Sun Yue wants.

Look, I'm going to knock you flying!

Snapped!
Just when Wang Yan was about to dunk, Sun Yue's hand slammed Wang Yan's ball.

Of course, at this time, the player also patted Wang Yan's hand.

The other players were watching and knew that Sun Yue did it on purpose, so they were all waiting to see Wang Yan make a fool of himself.

But the next scene left everyone dumbfounded.

I saw Sun Yue hanging behind Wang Yan, his movements remained unchanged, and he still slammed the ball into the basket.

Sun Yue bumped into Wang Yan and bounced back.

Wang Yan hung on the basket and looked back at Sun Yue.

At this time, Sun Yue was lying on the ground with his four legs up in the air, looking extremely embarrassed.

Deng Huade was angry.

He served as a referee in the team's competition.

Sun Yue just gave up Guo Ailun to chase a big center, which was not the established tactic at all.

What the coach hates most are players who are unorganized and undisciplined. This is not a basketball court, so everything must be done in a strict manner.

Of course, when the game comes, you can adapt to the specific situation of your opponent.

But this is a training camp, and the goal is to quickly strengthen the tactics. You don't need to change the tactics casually.

And Deng Huade was not stupid either. He could see that Sun Yue was not convinced by Wang Yan.

"What's wrong with you? Who asked you to chase and defend?"

Sun Yue's face flushed red. He slowly stood up, lowered his head, and said nothing, like a child who had done something wrong.

Wang Yan waited for Deng Huade to finish scolding and said a few simple words.

"Sun Yue, you are very active in pursuit and defense, which is a good thing. It would be great if you could also be as active in physical training!"

These words are spoken with great sincerity and are what Wang Yan really thinks. They are also very helpful to the national team.

Deng Huade nodded vigorously, agreeing with Wang Yan's statement.

"Sun Yue, stop training for now. Go to the side and reflect on yourself. I'll punish you by making you run 3,000 meters!"

Deng Huade knew that he was lazy, so he punished him.

Sun Yue was completely convinced by Wang Yan because when he was chasing the shot just now, his body collided heavily with Wang Yan.

This was the case when Wang Yan did not exert any effort, but Sun Yue took the initiative to exert effort.

Wang Yan's movements did not change, but Sun Yue was bounced away. The force was too great and Sun Yue felt unbearable pain in his body.

If Wang Yan took the initiative, the consequences would be disastrous.

Sun Yue was a little scared.

So he obediently went to the side to rest for a few minutes, and then finished running 3,000 meters.

After this little episode, Sun Yue became more obedient and no longer dared to slack off during physical training.

The other players saw this and obeyed obediently.

Two weeks later, Olympic athletes arrived in London one after another to make final preparations.

The head of the Celestial Olympic Committee notified Wang Yan and invited him to serve as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony of this Olympic Games!

This is the highest honor for an athlete.

Wang Yan readily agreed.

In fact, with Wang Yan's current achievements, value, and personal image, he is very suitable to be the flag bearer of the opening ceremony.

What’s even more impressive is that Wang Yan has extremely high commercial value in the sports world, and those big international brands also hope that Wang Yan can get more exposure at the Olympics.

. . . .

The grouping of the Olympic men's basketball team has also been released.

Group A: United States, Argentina, Lithuania, Nigeria, France, Tunisia.

Group B: Spain, China, Australia, Brazil, England, and New Zealand.

After receiving the grouping, Deng Huade held a meeting within the team to analyze the situation.

Everyone thinks that the biggest opponents in Group B are Spain and Australia.

There are many NBA players on these two teams.

Needless to say, Spain has always been a strong team in world basketball and has almost always been one of the top four teams.

Australian players are more difficult to deal with because of their rough style and emphasis on physical confrontation.

Before the Olympics began, the NBA held its annual draft.

The No. 1 pick in this draft is Davis, the thick eyebrow brother ridiculed by fans.

Since the Cavaliers won the championship last season, there were no good signings.

But as a time traveler, Wang Yan still had a keen eye for talent and strongly recommended that the team select Chris Middleton with the 38th pick in the second round.

This two-meter-tall small forward has great impact, good skills and is good at shooting.

He will definitely become a core player for the Cavaliers in the future.

Wang Yan is really too worried. Not only is he the backbone of the Chinese national team, he also has to help the Cavaliers plan for next season.

. . . .

Opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

The Celestial Empire's athletes came out in formation, with Wang Yan holding a Celestial Empire sign and walking in the front, which aroused cheers from the audience.

The shouts of these fans even exceeded those of the host team's athletes.

This shows how popular Wang Yan is internationally.

Strangely enough, basketball is not a sport that the British like, football is their favorite. But Wang Yan has become famous.

His handsome face, muscular body and sunny temperament have fascinated countless people.

This is also the reason why international brands choose Wang Yan as their spokesperson.

The camera language used in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games also proves this point.

When the camera focuses on other athletes, even the most famous ones, it is only for one or two seconds.

When the camera was pointed at Wang Yan's face, it couldn't be moved away.

Wang Yan personally enjoyed a long shot of more than ten seconds.

This can't help but remind people of the long shot of Kobe during the Chinese Olympics.

This is enough to illustrate Wang Yan’s popularity!

After the opening ceremony, Wang Yan was interviewed by local media in London.

In fact, there are no basketball players from any country that need to be interviewed, even the US team which has the most stars.

However, Wang Yan received the invitation because he was so popular and the locals also wanted to know his impression of London.

The Chinese officials wanted to refuse, but there was no other way as the media was very sincere.

Wang Yan was sitting in the press hall when he suddenly discovered that the person interviewing him today was actually Britain’s national football player, Beckham!

In 2012, Beckham was already 37 years old and was about to retire.

At this time, Beckham no longer has the immaturity of his youth, but has a mature and handsome look.

I guess the British media thinks Wang Yan is too handsome and wants to compare the two to see who is more handsome.

Beckham looks more elegant and masculine in a suit compared to when he wears a jersey.

Wang Yan was just wearing a Tianchao sportswear and didn't dress up in any special way.

Even so, when the two stand together, Beckham is still overshadowed.

In terms of height, Wang Yan's handsome face is more in line with the aesthetic tastes of most people in the East and the West.

"Hello, Wang Yan, wow! You are so tall!" Xiaobei's opening remarks caused laughter from the reporters on the scene.

Indeed, the 2-meter-tall Xiao Bei looks like a child in front of the 1-meter-tall Wang Yan.

Wang Yan didn't expect Xiao Bei to come and interview him in person, and he behaved very appropriately.

He squatted deliberately and said jokingly: "Oh, this is almost the same height!"

The reporters burst into laughter again.

Beckham held up the microphone and asked, "Wang, first of all, welcome to London. I watched your game live. Do you remember?"

To be honest, Wang Yan couldn't remember clearly because there were too many celebrities watching the Cavaliers game.

Celebrities from all walks of life, not only from the sports world but also big names in the film and television industry, flock to it.

As a rookie, Wang Yan was not familiar with them, so he seldom greeted them. Even if he knew them, he would not pay attention to them.

But these stars are proud to be able to talk to Wang Yan or take photos with him.

Wang Yan has a high EQ and nodded, "Of course I remember. The handsome Xiaobei is an idol for many people in our country, including me!"

This answer made Beckham feel comfortable. He smiled and said, "It's such a pleasure to watch your game. You are so dominant. It's the first time I've seen such a strong player in so many years. You are really a natural basketball player!"

What Xiaobei said was sincere and not flattery.

The reporters also nodded vigorously, agreeing with Beckham's praise.

Wang Yan smiled and shook his head, and replied modestly: "You flatter me. I think everyone hasn't adapted to my style of play yet. Next season will be very difficult. I will work hard!"

The two chatted for a while, and Xiaobei suddenly asked a question: "Wang, I heard that the goal of the Chinese men's basketball team is to reach the semi-finals or even the finals. Is this true?"

It seems that the Chinese are very sensitive to gossip, and those reporters will spread Wang Yan's words as soon as possible.

Wang Yan nodded calmly and said, "Yes, this is our goal!"

Xiaobei shrugged and asked skeptically, "But your best result before was only the quarterfinals. Where does your confidence come from?"

Wang Yan raised his voice and replied: "The past is the past, and the present is the present. Our national team is very unique, and every player is very strong. We will definitely achieve our set goals!"

The confident answer shocked the media present.

Xiaobei gave a thumbs up and praised: "Then I wish you good results!"

"Thank you!"

After the interview, the Chinese men's basketball team began closed training and no longer accepted any interviews.

China's first match in the group stage was against the European powerhouse, Spain.

Whether or not the national team can win the opening game is very important.

Now everyone knows that the goal of the Chinese men's basketball team is to reach the top four.

The match against Spain is a chance to test the Chinese men's basketball team.

It doesn't matter if they lose, after all, Spain is a top team in the world, but if they lose by a large margin, it would really be a joke.

One night before the competition, a staff member suddenly came to inform that someone was looking for Wang Yan.

Wang Yan was stunned. He remembered that he didn’t have many friends here!

"Who?"

"Two big guys, they look like Gasol and Pau Gasol."

"Big Gasol, Big Gasol?"

Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol are brothers, and they are the main players of the Spanish national team.

In the NBA, they are also doing very well.

Pau Gasol was an important contributor to the Lakers' two consecutive championships.

Marc Gasol is one of the Grizzlies' two bears and is very powerful.

"Okay, I'll go meet them!"

No matter what, we are all colleagues in the same alliance and we cannot be rude.

"Wang! Haha, it's great to see you here!"

Gasol was very enthusiastic and took the initiative to come forward and give him a big hug.

After Wang Yan hugged the two men, he half-jokingly asked, "Why, did you come to me today to ask me to show mercy?"

Gasol smiled and said, "No, no, I hope you can do your best. We two brothers came to you today because we were asked to do something for you."

Wang Yan didn't understand. He blinked and then realized that two more people were walking behind them.

"Xavi? Montoya?"

Wang Yan recognized that these two people were Spanish football stars.

When the two heard Wang Yan say their names, they felt very honored and immediately stepped forward to shake hands with Wang Yan.

"Hello, King. We have wanted to meet you for a long time, but we never had the chance. Now we have finally come to London, so we, the brothers Gasol, have come to see you. Sorry to bother you!"

Seeing the two being so polite, Wang Yan waved his hand and said, "You're welcome. I want to see you, too. We're all friends!"

Wang Yan really didn't expect that these two football stars would come to see him. He was too embarrassed to come by himself, so he asked the Gasol brothers for help.

The few of them had a very happy chat, and Wang Yan invited them to the Tianchao cafeteria to try the local food.

Wang Yan really has more and more friends, and he has fans wherever he goes, which is amazing.

After finishing their meal, the four of them said goodbye.

Before leaving, Gasol told Wang Yan that the game would be exciting and they hoped that no players from both teams would get injured.

Wang Yan smiled faintly: "No one wants to get hurt, I wish you all good luck!"

(End of this chapter)