Liu Yudong Hu Weidong's letter to the Chinese men's basketball team Did the players really read it?
When Wang Zhelin led the Chinese men's basketball team to trot into the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, the fans who had been waiting for a long time in the audience held their mobile phones and responded with the warmest cheers and shouts in an instant.
This is the first appearance of the Chinese men's basketball team under Jordjevic after losing the World Cup, and even if the opponent is only the Mongolian team, which is composed of mostly young players, fans still fill the stadium to create momentum for the Chinese team.
Jordjevic in an interview after the game. Video Editor Xu Chuli (00:51)
On the evening of September 26, the Chinese men's basketball team made its debut at the Hangzhou Asian Games, unsurprisingly defeating Mongolia 89-50, ushering in a "good start". However, the process of the game was not as easy as the huge point difference, and the "slow hot" Chinese men's basketball team in the first half was even behind for a while...
'We're slow to get into shape, but once we find the rhythm to pass the ball, we get some open shots.' Jordjevic did not avoid the problems of the Chinese men's basketball team after the game, and also felt the mixed emotions conveyed by the fans during the game, but he still warned every member of his team:
"Fighting for the fans and playing alongside the fans will be the best experience of your life."
Zhang Zhenlin scored a game-high 19 points.
Two letters from Liu Yudong and Hu Weidong
When the final whistle against Mongolia sounded, Wang Zhelin, Cui Yongxi, Fu Hao and Zhang Zhenlin, who stayed in the mixed interview area, were almost all asked the same question, that is, "What are your thoughts and feelings about 'aspiring to be the hard bones of the Chinese men's basketball team'?" ”
The origin of the problem comes from two letters Yao Ming brought to the young players during the last training session of the Chinese men's basketball team before its debut at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
It was a message from Liu Yudong and Hu Weidong, members of the first Chinese Basketball Hall of Fame.
"In the past period, everyone in the Chinese men's basketball team has not been easy. We are at a low point right now, facing difficulties. As a former member of the national team, I was also very anxious. But I would say that there is no team that has not accumulated strength in the trough! The more difficult it is, the more you have to forge ahead! That's what decades of basketball have taught me, and it's what I want to say to you the most. ”
Liu Yudong said in his message, "Since you put on the national team's shirt, you must strengthen your belief in winning glory for the country." They all say I'm tough, but I want to say that everyone in the Chinese men's basketball team should be hard; Each and every one of you must aspire to be the hard bones of the Chinese men's basketball team! ”
Zhao Jiwei read a letter to the players. (01:27)
At that time, Zhao Jiwei, as the new captain of the team, read Liu Yudong's letter aloud, and other players and coaching staff members gathered around him, quietly listening to the instructions and expectations of the "God of War". So, there was this question and answer in the mixed interview area after the debut.
"I think the older generation of athletes has set a good example for us, we are in adversity now, so we have to learn from the older athletes, and the most important thing is to be ourselves."
This was Fu Hao's answer after the game, and not far from him, Zhang Zhenlin, who scored a team-high 19 points in the game, also talked about his feelings after hearing "hard bones".
"For this national team, we may lack some experience, lack some major baptism, but the only thing we can do is believe in each other, trust the coaching staff, play 100% well, and then give our best on the field every second of every round, and I think this may be some of the spiritual inspiration left by the seniors."
In the World Cup in Manila, the Chinese men's basketball team, which played a dismal record of 1 win and 4 losses, was most criticized and questioned for their hard work, blood and concentration on the court, but as Hu Weidong gave advice to this group of players who went to the Asian Games:
"Every tournament is a new journey, each journey has nothing to do with the past, every journey never says die, and every race can be won by hard work and hard work."
Captain Zhao Jiwei in the game.
Pressure, mistakes, adjustments
The Hangzhou Asian Games is not only a new beginning for the Chinese men's basketball team, but also a new journey of "finding oneself" and "proving oneself". However, there seem to be some small twists and turns at the beginning of the new journey.
Facing the Mongolian men's basketball team, where most of the players are from the youth team, the Chinese men's basketball team played inextricably with the opponent at the beginning of the first and second quarters, and even fell behind in adversity for a while...
At the beginning of the game, coach Jordjevic was still sitting in the dugout to watch, but when Mongolia overcame the score in the opening 5 minutes, Giordević could not sit still.
Chinese men's basketball coach Jordjevic.
"It's still a little bit of pressure, but we've tried to do what we can well." Choi, 20, put it bluntly in an interview after the game, "We are mentally prepared. ”
Fu Hao also said, "The pressure will exist every game, and everyone's expectations for us are relatively high, which also proves that everyone pays attention to this team, but we hope to transform these pressures into good." ”
Obviously, in the opening quarter or so, these young players of the Chinese men's basketball team did not handle the pressure well - according to official statistics, the two sides had seven alternating leads, and the Chinese team even made one more mistake on the court than the Mongolian team.
After the tragic experience of the World Cup, Wang Zhelin and the Chinese men's basketball team stepped on the Asian Games.
Fortunately, the Chinese men's basketball team quickly adjusted.
'The tension in the players' bodies and faces is normal in the game, we had a lot of mistakes for a while and our defenders have to play better under pressure.
In his post-game press conference, Djordjevic revealed that the team's adjustment was mainly twofold: "We found the rhythm to pass the ball, we knew how to use the big man, we got some open shots, and then our defense became tougher and tougher in the last three quarters." ”
In the whole game, the Chinese men's basketball team made 9 more fouls than opponents, made 11 more free throws than opponents, and scored 17 more points than opponents in interior scoring... After knowing how to take advantage of the advantage, the Chinese men's basketball team controlled the rhythm and finally got rid of the embarrassment of falling behind before the end of the first half.
Yao Ming on the sidelines thought thoughtfully.
Hold your cheek with one hand and frown
Despite the final victory over the opponent by 39 points, the Chinese men's basketball team still exposed many problems in the "good start".
Facing the Mongolian team, which is not high defensive intensity, the Chinese men's basketball team only shot 25% from three-point range and did not reach 70% from the free throw line; When the opponent's interior player was only 2.03 meters high, the Chinese men's basketball team forced them to steal 14 frontcourt rebounds.
Outside players can't shoot, inside players can't protect rebounds, free throws that should have been scored are smashed into the basket... The "stubborn disease" brought back by the Chinese men's basketball team from the World Cup once made the fans of the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center sigh and even accusations.
Such a scene also made Yao Ming, the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, who personally supervised the game, once held his cheek with one hand and frowned.
'You should have heard some of the fans, which I thought was interesting, but no matter what, I'm definitely going to play for the fans who support me, do my best and play every round.'
When Wang Zhelin was asked after the game about the pressure since the end of the World Cup, Wang Zhelin admitted that his current state is relatively normal. However, judging from the form of the first game, Wang Zhelin is still a certain distance from his performance in the league.
In his Asian Games debut, he scored six points in nearly 14 minutes, but his efficiency was only -2, making him the only two players in the team with negative efficiency, and the other was Du Runwang, who was in the final list before the Asian Games.
Fortunately, it is not difficult to feel from Wang Zhelin's post-match interview that his emotions have not been affected by too many external influences, "My goal is to play every game well, strive to win the gold medal, and go all out to do my best in a limited time." ”
Chinese men's basketball fans cheering on the scene.
"Fight for the fans, and fight alongside the fans"
In fact, during the preparation of the team for the Hangzhou Asian Games, the coaches and players of Jordjevic emphasized the most that they had to learn to enjoy what the fans gave them.
"I've always told the players, fight for the fans and play alongside the fans. It was the most wonderful experience of your life. In a press conference after his Asian Games debut, Djordjevic left these meaningful words, "There are emotions that no one other than the fans can give you, so go and enjoy the process." ”
Chinese basketball is indeed at a low point now, only by facing all the doubts, ridicule and even abuse, and facing up to their own problems, and then cherishing the applause and shouts that do not give up, can Chinese basketball return to the peak.
As Yao Ming once said as a player, "If you play like this, you don't want others to say whether it is... The only way you can change these disadvantages is to play the game well. ”
The "good start" against Mongolia has already sounded another wake-up call for this group of young players - that is, even in Asia, Chinese basketball cannot take any opponent lightly.
"One day you will also write such letters to your next generation, and sometimes you can think about what you want to write." This is Yao Ming's admonition when he brought Liu Yudong and Hu Weidong letters to the players before the game, "Then first you have to show it on the field. ”