boyutpedia Chapter 60: Group Stage Concludes! Three Consecutive Wins Secure Top Spot in the Next Round
Chapter 60: Group Stage Concludes! Three Consecutive Wins Secure Top Spot in the Next Round
On the afternoon of June 26, at the Harbin Convention and Exhibition Center Gymnasium.
A mix of languor and anxiety hung in the air. This was China's final opponent in the group stage – Lebanon.
Previously, Hebei China Fortune had won both of their matches, securing their qualification for the next round. Lebanon, on the other hand, had one win and one loss, making this match a do-or-die situation for them—a win would secure their advancement as the second-place team in the group; a loss could even lead to their elimination due to a lower point differential.
In order to allow the key players to get sufficient rest and prepare for the more brutal knockout stage, Coach Jiang Xingquan made a bold decision: to rotate players for rest.
Neither Lin Hao nor Yao Ming, the two core stars, appeared in the starting lineup. Liu Wei partnered with Battier, leading a group of substitutes into the game.
This decision immediately caused a stir among the fans at the scene.
"What's going on? Why aren't Lin Hao and Yao Ming playing?"
"Maybe it's a rest rotation. Anyway, we've already qualified, so there's no need to push ourselves too hard."
"But the Lebanese team plays very dirty. Eugene Haddib, that big black guy, can the substitutes handle him?"
"Don't worry, the Chinese team's substitutes are also top-notch in Asia. Besides, Lin Hao and Yao Ming are on the bench, so they can come on anytime if we really lose."
The atmosphere in the players' tunnel was somewhat awkward.
Lin Hao, dressed in a black sports jacket, wasn't eating canned peaches as usual. Instead, he stood with his hands in his pockets, coldly staring ahead. He had a bad feeling. The Lebanese team, comprised of overseas players, played an extremely aggressive, even filthy, style of play. Without him and Yao Ming on the court to intimidate them, the bench would likely suffer greatly.
"Brothers, this game is in your hands." Lin Hao looked at the substitute players, his tone heavy. "Don't feel pressured, play freely. But if the opponent makes a big move, don't act rashly, retreat to defense immediately."
"Don't worry, Haozi!" Liu Wei clenched his fist. "We can definitely win and buy the main players some rest time."
Battier patted his chest and said, "With me in the paint, as long as we don't let those black centers get going, we've already won half the battle."
Game start.
The jump ball sees Battulga facing off against Lebanon's key center, Haddib, known as the "Camp of the Middle East."
Hadib is 2.03 meters tall and weighs 110 kilograms, with bulging muscles and dark, shiny skin. During the jump ball, he directly elbowed Battul in the ribs with such force that Battul groaned in mid-air and lost his position. Lebanon gained possession.
"Beep!" The referee blew his whistle, and it turned out that Battier had committed a foul.
"What?!" Battier looked at the referee in disbelief. "He elbowed me!"
The referee remained expressionless and didn't even bother to explain.
Liu Wei dribbled the ball past midfield, and Lebanese defender Fahad swarmed him like a mad dog. When Liu Wei attempted to break through, Fahad grabbed him and even choked him with his arm.
"Beep!" The whistle blew again.
This time, the call was for a foul on Fahd. But the careless call felt more like a perfunctory one.
The first few minutes of the match were extremely close. The Lebanese team displayed terrifying physicality. They weren't playing football; they were fighting.
With seven minutes left in the first quarter, Haddib backed down Battier. Using his weight advantage, he bulldozed his way in like a bulldozer. Battier tried to push him in twice, but Haddib suddenly thrust his backside forward and then swung his elbow into Battier's temple!
Batel staggered backward and almost fell.
"Beep!" The referee blew his whistle again.
This time, everyone thought a foul would be called. But the referee just made a regular foul gesture and didn't even give Haddib a warning.
"Black whistle!" Zhao Dabao shouted angrily from the stands. "Why isn't he calling a foul?"
"Is the referee blind?"
"This is clearly intentional assault!"
Boos erupted. But the Lebanese players acted as if nothing had happened, even flashing provocative smiles at the Chinese team's bench.
Lin Hao sat on the sidelines, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. He realized that the referee team for this game had been bribed, or rather, that FIBA Asia was deliberately suppressing the host team to prevent the Chinese team from demonstrating their dominance too early.
"Coach," Lin Hao turned to Jiang Xingquan, "if we continue like this, our players will get injured."
Jiang Xingquan's face was ashen, but he pressed down on Lin Hao's shoulder: "Don't be impulsive. This is the group stage; we need to conserve our strength. As long as we win this match, get first place in the group, and avoid the South Korean team in the knockout stage, we'll be fine."
"But..." Lin Hao looked at Jiao Jian, who was being maliciously shoved by Hadib on the field, and his anger was burning.
With 3 minutes left in the first quarter, the Lebanese team took advantage of a screen, and Hadib even used his knee to strike Jiao Jian in the waist while he was jumping to block!
Jiao Jian landed painfully, clutching his waist and collapsing to the ground.
"Beep!" The referee finally blew the whistle; Hadib had committed the foul.
"This is fucking murder!" Battier roared from the sidelines, but Lin Hao held him back tightly.
Using this almost brawl-like style of play, the Lebanese team surprisingly took a 17-19 lead over the Chinese team by 2 points at the end of the first quarter.
The conflict escalated in the second quarter.
Coach Jiang Xingquan had to adjust his tactics. Since the referee wouldn't let them fight, they decided to retaliate in a tougher way.
Lin Hao stood up on the sidelines and shouted at Liu Wei on the court, "Liu Wei! Don't reason with him! Fight back!"
Liu Wei, a man of spirit, started the second quarter by using screens to break through on offense, only to be tugged at by Fahad like glue. Liu Wei simply stopped dribbling and engaged in direct physical contact, slamming his shoulder into Fahad's chest!
"Bang!"
Fahd was knocked so hard he landed on his backside.
"Bravo!" The whole audience cheered.
But the referee immediately gave Liu Wei a technical foul.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Hadib continued his rampage in the paint. After receiving the ball, facing Battulga's help defense, instead of passing, he jumped up, using his body to block Battulga, tossing the ball into the basket with one hand, and slamming his other elbow hard into Battulga's eyebrow!
"Ah!" Batel's brow bone split open, and blood flowed freely!
Medical staff rushed to the scene to handle the situation.
The fans in the stands went wild, hurling water bottles at the field like raindrops.
"Corrupt referee! Get out!"
"The Lebanese team's murderer!"
"Lin Hao! Get on the field!"
Despite this extremely unfavorable situation, the Chinese team's substitutes displayed remarkable resilience. Li Nan and Du Feng hit consecutive three-pointers from beyond the arc, managing to keep the score close.
At halftime, China led Lebanon 48-33 by 15 points.
But this 15-point lead was built on countless physical collisions and the referee's tacit approval. Lin Hao looked at the bruises all over his teammates, his eyes growing colder and colder.
The second half begins.
The Lebanese team panicked. They knew that if they lost, they might go home. At the start of the third quarter, their actions couldn't be described as "dirty"; they were downright "brutal."
With 6 minutes left in the third quarter, during a Lebanese attack, Hadib elbowed Zhang Yunsong in the abdomen while vying for a rebound!
Zhang Yunsong was in so much pain that he curled up on the ground and couldn't get up for a long time.
The referee still made no call.
Just then, Lin Hao stood up.
He took off his coat and began to move his wrists.
"Coach," Lin Hao's voice was as cold as ice, "if we don't go up now, our players will be crippled."
Looking at the unbridled Lebanese players on the field, Jiang Xingquan finally nodded: "Go, Lin. But remember, don't get sent off."
Lin Hao has entered the game.
The moment he stepped onto the field, the entire stadium erupted in deafening cheers.
The Lebanese coach sneered on the sidelines, signaling to Hadib to deal with Lin Hao.
Hadib looked at Lin Hao, muttering trash talk, probably in Arabic, as a provocation.
Lin Hao remained silent, observing. He noticed that as long as he didn't actively attack the referee, the referee would selectively turn a blind eye.
That being the case...
Lebanon attacks. Fahd has the ball, and Lin Hao immediately marks him closely. Fahd tries his old trick, elbowing Lin Hao in the lower back.
This time, Lin Hao didn't dodge. He twisted his wrist and grabbed Fahad's wrist, simultaneously thrusting his knee upwards!
"Snapped!"
With a crisp sound, Fahad's wrist was snapped hard by Lin Hao, and the ball flew out of his hand!
"Great steal!" the commentator exclaimed.
Lin Hao launched a fast break with the ball. Haddib chased after him from the side and behind, charging towards Lin Hao like a runaway truck.
Lin Hao remained calm and rushed to the free-throw line, then suddenly stopped. Haddib lost his footing and flew through the air, crashing heavily to the floor.
Lin Hao easily scored a layup in front of the fallen Haddib.
"Beep!" The referee blew his whistle, Hadib committed a blocking foul.
A penalty kick, and it's in!
This goal not only scored a point but also dealt a heavy blow to the Lebanese team's arrogance.
Hadib got up and angrily rushed towards Lin Hao, wanting to attack him.
Lin Hao stared at him coldly, his eyes devoid of any warmth, filled only with murderous intent.
Looking into Lin Hao's eyes, Hadib felt a chill in his heart for some reason, and he actually backed down and turned away.
In the following game, Lin Hao took over everything. He not only responded with points, but also instilled fear in the Lebanese players with his defense. In every confrontation, Lin Hao was like a steel plate, leaving the Lebanese team with no room to use their dirty tricks.
With three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Lin Hao intercepted Fahad's pass and launched a fast break. Haddib retreated on defense, spreading his arms to try and block the shot.
Lin Hao leaped into the air, pulled back in mid-air to dodge the block, and slammed the ball into the basket with his right hand!
"Clang!"
Violent dunk!
The entire venue erupted in cheers!
Hadib was forced to sit on the ground, his eyes filled with terror.
This spike completely shattered the Lebanese team's will.
In the end, the match concluded with China defeating Lebanon 89-69 by 20 points, securing first place in their group and advancing to the knockout stage!
The players' tunnel after the game.
The Lebanese players walked by with their heads down. Hadib even instinctively shrank back as he passed Lin Hao.
Lin Hao watched their retreating figures, then turned to Jiang Xingquan and said, "Coach, if we face Lebanon in the semifinals, I'll show them what true despair is."
Jiang Xingquan nodded heavily: "You saw the referee's whistle just now. They'll be even more ruthless in the knockout stage. We need to be mentally prepared."
Lin Hao sneered, "It doesn't matter. As long as the referee dares to give the whistle, I'll kill him for his spirit."
At this moment, Lin Hao's eyes no longer saw a simple basketball game, but a war.