Chapter 401: Do Not Teach the Barbarian Horses to Cross Yin Mountain

James Harden has recently become a bit thin, and his relationship with Kolle Kardashian is progressing rapidly; they plan to get engaged after the Olympics, and Kolle Kardashian has also followed her lover to London.

She and her sister have some events in London; as socialites, they are never short of various dinners or parties, and of course they are invited to attend some high‑fashion brand shows.

Fan Xi has also received offers; Fan Xi is a spokesperson for several major European luxury brands, but he says he will not take part in any commercial activities during the competition.

Dream Team is very concerned about this matchup because the two sides are respectively the team they most want to defeat and the toughest opponent.

That is why they sit in front of the TV, focused.

The Spaniards remain cautious; Pau Gasol's guiding philosophy influences them, and they play the game methodically.

At their own pace.

They start scoring.

They show no hint of aggression.

This keeps the Zhongguo team constantly ahead; they seem to be waiting for the Zhongguo team to show a flaw first.

But Fan Xi is a perfect fixer; he leads the national team's starting lineup to maintain an aggressive offensive stance, executing defensive counters to the fullest. From the on‑court view, the Zhongguo team overwhelmingly presses Spain.

Spain's conservatism is like a nun tightly wrapped in a habit.

The Zhongguo team's lead continues to widen; although they cannot fully stop Spain from scoring on defense, their efficiency is slightly higher than Spain's.

At the end of the first quarter, the Zhongguo team leads 35–23, a 12‑point advantage.

Fan Xi himself did not expect it.

He thought the first quarter would be a needle‑on‑a‑haystack showdown, so he would start both Yao Ming and Lao Wang. But who could know that Pau Gasol immediately put a tightening spell on Spain, adopting a cautious style of "restrain urgency, fortify defenses".

In the second quarter, Fan Xi made personnel changes, his classic move—four in, four out. Guo Ailun in, Wang Shipeng in, Yi Jianlian in, Zhang Zhaoxu in.

Such substitutions would not be so aggressive from any ordinary coach, because proper coaches always emphasize gradual progress and never make a sudden turn. But Mike Brown is not a proper coach; he only cares about defense. Coach Li Nan, though he finds it too risky, trusts Fan Xi.

For Fan Xi, there is actually no other way. The national team players are too low on stamina; if Yao Ming could play a bit longer and Lao Wang had slightly better stamina… Fan Xi also does not want to change the lineup so quickly.

Thus, in a sense, Fan Xi is even mentally prepared for Spain to catch up in the second quarter.

"Increase the tempo, tighten defense," Fan Xi says from the bench to the teammates about to enter.

Fan Xi is about to run‑and‑gun.

Many think run‑and‑gun is simple; just run and you're done.

But it's not entirely so; it demands a lot from players, especially a team like the Zhongguo team that has long relied on half‑court offense. They can run, yet while running they cannot maintain a high shooting percentage in a fast pace.

The clearest example is Yi Jianlian, an outstanding power forward for the Zhongguo team; his physical condition is excellent, even comparable to Black players. He also has mid‑to‑long range shooting ability, but he plays too mechanically.

Before the game, Fan Xi specifically told him, "Catch and shoot, no hesitation."

He nodded.

The second quarter began quickly.

Spain also made adjustments, substituting out Marc Gasol for Ibaka, swapping Caron Dron for Lugo, and also bringing in a scoring guard unknown to Fan Xi named Navarro, replacing Fernandez.

After the game started, Lugo made a brilliant pass; while moving steadily, he suddenly launched a long pass that dropped the ball straight into the paint, Ibaka caught it and immediately dunked, catching the Zhongguo team's interior defense off guard.

That shows Lugo's astonishing passing sense and court vision.

And his passing technique is superb.

Many of his contributions don't show up in the stats.

"Beautiful pass."

Fan Xi praised him.

Then he quickly turned, caught the ball, and surged forward.

The national team's follow‑up speed wasn't as fast as he imagined, so he simply dove into the paint; Ibaka chased immediately, and after Fan Xi penetrated the basket, he suddenly passed the ball to Yi Jianlian.

Yi Jianlian received the ball and, following the routine, bent his waist, squatted, and then shot… his movement was textbook.

Navarro leapt to block, but he was too short… swish!

The ball went in.

Fan Xi turned back to praise Yi Jianlian: a beautiful mid‑range jumper.

Meanwhile, Ibaka suggested to Gasol, "Let's also speed up."

"No!" Gasol firmly objected, saying, "Jie Ke is the world's best run‑and‑gun player; don't match them against him."

"Ricky, keep our set tempo."

Pau Gasol said confidently.

This puzzled Ibaka; he thought the team should speed up, because once the Zhongguo team's defense spreads and speeds up, it becomes vulnerable.

Chris Paul in front of the TV thought the same: "Why doesn't Spain speed up? Why do they pretend to stand still and take hits passively?"

Paul can't understand, and his Dream Team teammates beside him also can't grasp it.

Soon, Pau Gasol received a pass, used agile footwork to fake out Zhang Zhaoxu, drew Yi Jianlian's help defense, then passed to Ibaka, who dunked again.

He displayed his physical qualities unmistakably.

Durant said in front of the TV, "Any NBA blue‑collar player who reaches the international stage has the ability to carry. Ibaka's dribbling is even better than many countries' guard ball‑handling, but in the NBA he can only do those jobs. The NBA's intensity is too great."

Durant's sentiment is correct.

The NBA is, after all, the world's premier basketball arena; even a pure blue‑collar center like Dwight Howard, if placed in an Asian league, could play like Le Bu Lang Zhang Si, using his physique to execute passing, cutting, shooting, and dunking.

Thus, Ibaka feels on the court that the Zhongguo team is riddled with holes.

He hopes the team's speed will rise, to quickly close the gap, and not drag things out.

But Pau Gasol is cautious; he has seen Fan Xi create miracles, and "once bitten by a snake, one fears the well rope for ten years."

He still demands the team play steadily, winning like slicing sausage.

His method can't be said to be ineffective.

The Zhongguo team's run‑and‑gun effect is not obvious; even with a top point guard like Fan Xi, offensive efficiency isn't high.

Spain plays steadily; they are indeed gradually catching up in points.

They even cut the deficit to just three points with one minute left before the end of the first half.

But at that moment, General Guo of Liaocheng suddenly nailed a three‑pointer.

He shouted excitedly, as if he had just hit a game‑winning shot.

The Spanish players were stunned, thinking, "It's just a three‑pointer, what's the big deal?"

Who could have guessed that the momentum would swing? Back in the second half, General Guo of Liaocheng, like a blind cat stumbling onto a dead mouse, read Lu Biao's passing intention, sprinted forward and stripped the ball he was passing to Navarro, then bolted down the court, surged into the paint, and, under Navarro's chase, dunked the ball.

He also committed a foul.

He walked to the free‑throw line.

General Guo recited two lines on the spot: "As long as General Guo of Liaocheng stands, no barbarian horse will cross the Yin Mountains!!"

"Damn, this kid really showed his face…" Lao Wang, sitting on the bench, laughed and scolded.

"Little Guo really has a bit of American flair; his aura is naturally perfect. Even Gilbert should be glad Guo wasn't born in California." Bilupusi remarked to Mike Brown.

Mike Brown gave a knowing smile and nodded.

He also thought that Guo Ailen was a lucky boy.

The CCTV commentator also said on TV: "Little Guo really is a Lucky Charm; when Spain was about to catch up, he pulled the lead back to six points. It was puzzling why the national team picked him over Sun Yue and Liu Wei, but now it's crystal clear!"

…