On the morning of the 12th Beijing time, southeast Melbourne Phoenix defeated the same city rival Melbourne United 94-86, and Zhou Qi gave 22 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks of gorgeous data. The third game of landing in the NBL, the moment that belongs to Zhou Qi has arrived.
"I know I'm in the jungle and need to be tougher and harder!" That's what I'm here to learn, I'm the last gate, but I'm not afraid of any confrontation. A week ago, Zhou Qi, who made his NBL regular season debut, left such a paragraph on social media.
In that game, southeast Melbourne Phoenix defeated the opponent 89-65 to get the season opener, while Zhou Qi appeared less than 21 minutes and had 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Considering that Zhou Qi had just left the team before the start of the season to compete in the Men's Basketball World Preliminary Tournament with the Chinese men's basketball team, his run-in and chemical reaction with his Phoenix teammates was forced to slow down. And Zhou Qi himself also twisted his ankle in the first game against Japan, and his own state also needs to be adjusted. Therefore, Zhou Qi's playing time in that battle was controlled and his performance was decent.
In the second game, the Phoenix defeated the New Zealand spoilers, but Zhou Qi was plagued by fouls and played less than 23 minutes. After making 3 early offenses, he had to play again with limited time, and the full-court stats were fixed at 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks. As long as Zhou Qi appears, his effect of protecting the basket on the defensive end is visible to the naked eye, but the first two games of his NBL career are not smooth.
'I got along well with my teammates, even better than I had imagined before I came here. Zhou Qi said in an interview earlier, "This is a new environment, I am surrounded by new teammates, and everyone is friendly. I didn't expect us to get together in such a short period of time. ... It was my first time playing in Australia, the first time I'd partnered with these guys, and we were still learning how to work with each other. ”
Zhou Qi was already prepared for difficulties, so he did not suffer a blow because of the situation in the first two games. Similarly, his teammates trusted him enough. Crick, the team's best striker with Zhou Qi, said just after the last game: "I know the opponent scored some goals against Zhou Qi, but he is trying to defend and make the opponent's attack as difficult as possible, they scored some goals very early, but we know that as the game progresses, the opponent's shooting rate will definitely fall into the range we expected." ”
Zhou Qi and Phoenix teammates all said that this needed a process, they would not be in a hurry, but everyone was naturally looking forward to Zhou Qi's first declarative mark on the NBL. To this day, facing the defending champion, the same city opponent, Melbourne United, who eliminated the Phoenix in the playoffs last season, the time for Zhou Qi has arrived.
With 22 points, 10 rebounds, 7 blocks, 2 steals, and 10 of 13 shooting, Zhou Qi left such a data sheet that dominated the attack and defense, and his performance on the court was even more impressive.
The Phoenix's opening point came from Zhou Qi, Crick's turn jumper was deflected, zhou Qi topped Melbourne United center Ruvar Aquil to pick up the offensive rebound, forced to jump up to complete the two-handed dunk, directly knocked the opponent's long man to the ground. This ball not only ignited the home fans, but also seemed to ignite Zhou Qi himself. In the round that came back, Zhou Qi gave the opposing defender a nail board hat!
This attack and defense is the epitome of Zhou Qi's game, and it is also the picture that the Phoenix team longed to see when they signed the Chinese interior lineman. Throughout the game, Zhou Qi did not fall behind in the face of melbourne United's three major internal lines, followed up with cakes, secondary attacks, mid-range shots, close basket hookers, bottom ball air cut dunks... Zhou Qi showed all his characteristics on the offensive end, which was something that people had not been able to see in the first two games. Everyone knows that Zhou Qi's defense will be extremely reliable under the FIBA system, but he used such a battle to tell everyone that in the Australian basketball arena, which is known for its confrontation, his offensive end can still not fall behind.
As for the defensive end, Zhou Qi's performance is familiar to Chinese fans, but the game has changed from the CBA to the NBL. The Phoenix's 7 blocks all came from Zhou Qi, 4 of which were given to the opposing center Ruvar Aguire, and several times they were one-on-one single anti-split heads to cover the opponents, igniting the morale of the whole team. The remaining 3 covers have a shot of assisting the defense to block the opposing defender, which is also where Zhou Qi's dominance lies.
'Protecting the penalty area is one of my most important tasks in this team and I will always do what I'm good at. Zhou Qi said this before the game, and after today, he has sent 12 blocks in 3 games.
"Big Zhou Qi, I love that guy to death, I really want to go up and kiss him." Crick, the teammate who has the best relationship with Zhou Qi, joked after the game, "He is too tall, his athletic ability is also very strong, and he played very well tonight." ”
Australian coach Rod Anderson also issued such an exclamation on social media: "Imagine Zhou Qi winning the NBL's MVP will not be a bit crazy? Roy Ward, a journalist covering the Phoenix and NBL matches, commented: "He can win DPOY, and then (as for MVP) let's see how high the Phoenix can fly (rankings) in the end." Crick is also in the MVP discussions. ”
In the third game of landing in the NBL, Zhou Qi left his mark for the first time, and this speed may be faster than people think. In this jungle, Zhou Qi has already made up his mind to cut through the thorns, and the next thing to do is to play and talk with the ball. After the opening whistle sounded, Zhou Qi did just like he joked after the game, "just shoot the ball".
Wen | Kong Dexin
Edit the | DBSQ