During the offseason of the NBA, the market was full of rumors . Possible new signings, contract renewals, and transfers were discussed . Unless the team announced something themselves, it would be difficult to distinguish what was true .
Most of the team's staff was on vacation . The new players recruited by Dai Li )Hall, Raymond, Noel, Gray, Wood, and Osef) did not go to Clippers training, but instead went to Dai Li's fitness training center . They currently did not meet the physical requirements set by the NBA . It would take some time to restore them to their previous states .
Many athletes trained at Dai Li's center . With so many stars training there, no one was surprised that these NBA players started going there too . Even though rumors were abundant in the offseason, no one suspected they were joining the Clippers .
At the same time, the Asian Games had also started . In this Asian Games, the Chinese men's basketball team was determined to become the champions .
The overall standards of basketball in Asia were relatively low . There were not many teams that could play well . The group stage of the competition was divided into four groups . Advancing through the group stage was not hard for strong teams . For example, the three opponents of the Chinese team were from Central Asia and Southeast Asia . These teams were so bad they had basically gotten a free pass through the group stage .
The Chinese team easily advanced to the top eight and then entered the quarter-finals . The Chinese team faced a team that got second place in another, so their opponent was not that strong . The team easily advanced to the semi-finals .
Their opponent in the semi-finals was the team from the Philipines . They were finally playing a decent opponent .
In actuality, the Philippine men's basketball team was not strong . In fact, none of the countries in Southeast Asia were athletic countries . However, in recent years, the Philippines had naturalized many American basketball players . Some mixed-race players played on the Philippine team .
The U . S . military had been stationed in the Philippines for many years . Everyone knew about the U . S . military . Their soldiers weren't able to control their sexual desires . For example, the U . S . military stationed in Japan often had sexual scandals . After the Vietnam War, there were a large number of mixed-race babies in Southeast Asian countries where the U . S . military had been stationed .
There were large numbers of American troops stationed in the Philippines, so it was expected that they would have many children of American descent .
Some U . S . soldiers stationed in the Philippines were responsible and fulfilled their duties as fathers . They brought back the children that had Filipino mothers to the United States, made them Americans, and gave them an American education . Most American troops were not this responsible . They would leave their own children who were born in the Philippines with the Filipino women . These children lost their father from a young age . Their mixed-blood appearance also subjected them to judgment from other Filipinos .
However, the genes of these soldiers were better than those of most Southeast Asians when it came to physical activities . Therefore, when these mixed-race players grew up, some became outstanding athletes .
However, these basketball players did not receive formal basketball training at an early age . They, of course, did not have the chance to receive basketball training when they were young . Therefore, their skills were rusty and they were far from having the skills of a professional player . These players mainly relied on pure physical strength . They jumped higher than others, ran faster than others, and had a stronger outburst of energy when needed . This was more than enough to dominate the native Filipinos in the Philippine national league .
Most of the naturalized players were unable to make it in the United States or Europe . They wouldn't even be able to last in the Chinese or Japanese leagues . They were only able to play in the Philippines .
. . .
In the Philippine team's locker room, the players seemed very relaxed . Meanwhile, their head coach looked dignified .
As the head coach of a national team, he knew that the Chinese team was strong . In the absence of Australia and New Zealand, the Chinese team and the Iranian team were the strongest teams in the competition .
He looked at his players, especially the mixed-race players, and saw that they were still joking around . They were not serious about the upcoming game . This made him a little angry . However, he did not use his authority to get the players to get serious . In fact, his title as coach was almost worthless .
The key players on the team were naturalized, with dual American and Philippine citizenship, but the Filipino nationality was just for show . They might not even know the name of the President of the Philippines . Why would they care about what a Filipino head coach said?
More importantly, the strategy that this team had was very bad .
In the past, the players on the Filipino team and other Southeast Asian teams were not tall enough . It was considered good for the center to be at least two meters tall . Many of the players were around 160 cm . Such heights were disadvantages for the players . Their shots were easy to block . If their shots missed, they wouldn't be able to get the rebound . When they got into a physical confrontation, they were at a disadvantage . So the Southeast Asian teams always had to deploy the fast break strategy . The players played smart and executed their tactics well .
Of course, it wasn't possible to make this happen through pure willpower . In a confrontational sport, if one was not as strong their opponent, then the only way to win was a strategy . To put it bluntly, if their bodies were inferior, they could only rely on their smarts to play ball .
The current Philippine team's physical fitness had improved a lot, but their tactical literacy and tactical execution had gotten worse . The Filipino team's physical fitness was much better than before . In the Philippine league, they could easily get 34 points by relying on their physical strength .
Since they could easily dominate the other players without having to think, they didn't need to use any tactics . It was similar to a high-level professional video game team encountering a team of newbies . They easily defeated their opponents so they didn't put in any effort towards cooperation . Everyone on the team just tried to get as many kills as possible .
This was the case for the Philippine team . In the group stage, no strategy was used at all . Almost everyone relied on their physical strength . They were all eager to try to improve their statistics as well . The opponents were really weak, so they were basically abused by the Filipino team .
This gave the Filipino team players the illusion that Asian teams were weak . To defeat their opponents, they didn't need a strategy, only physical strength .
The players on the Filipino team were accustomed to playing solo . Their tactical literacy and tactical execution had degraded . Even if they were holding the ball, they had no awareness .
Basketball was a five-person sport . It required cooperation between players . For the five people to work as a single entity, they needed to employ some sort of strategy .
There were many "systematic players" in the NBA . They weren't skilled, and their physiques weren't great, but they were able to do well through a systematic approach . Their statistics reflected that .
There were also players whose statistics weren't great . They might have played for more than ten years, but their numbers weren't even in the double-digits . They were still able to last in the NBA . There would always be teams that were willing to sign them . They were also able to get pretty good contracts . Most of these players had strong tactical execution . They were able to do precisely what the coaches wanted them to .
On the other side of the spectrum, there were players who had good physiques and were skilled but were less intelligent . They would be eliminated . Many fans always wondered why teams didn't want some of the players who had good physiques, techniques, and performance stats . The reason was probably that their tactical execution was poor .
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If they were not superstars and they were not able to carry out the coaches' tactics, they might hold back the entire team . Of course, if they were superstars, they would be able to affect the entire team's performance positively . In that case, it was not necessary to talk too much about tactics .
These players on the Filipino team were the kind of people who had no knowledge of tactical execution . If they had a strong understanding of it, they wouldn't need to stay in the Philippine domestic leagues .
. . .
Both teams entered the venue . The players in the Filipino team were still talking and laughing, while the Chinese team was more serious .
"The players on the Chinese team are really tall . They have more than one seven-footer in their team!"
"What's the use of being tall? They are all thin bamboo poles . I could easily shove them down!"
"Why do I feel that the Chinese team is much stronger than our previous opponents?"
"Even if they are stronger, they aren't stronger than us . We can definitely defeat them . "
The players of the Filipino team discussed this quietly .
. . .
In the stands, the Iranian players were watching this game .
An hour ago, in the same venue, the Iranian team had defeated the South Korean team and advanced to the final . The winner of this game would be their opponents in the finals . They must, of course, observe them carefully .
The Chinese team and the Iranian team were old rivals . Both sides often encountered each other in Asian competitions . Iran had players playing in the CBA . Both sides were familiar with each other .
"Why do I feel that the Chinese team's players are stronger than they were a few months ago?"
"I agree . Look at the big ones, they have muscles . They didn't have them before in the CBA league . "
"It seems they must have gotten better training than the teams in the CBA! I think the Filipino team should prepare to lose . "
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"This is expected . the Filipino team is no opponent for the Chinese team . Weren't we always planning on facing the Chinese team in the finals?"
. . .
While everyone was talking, the game had begun .
The Filipinos' first attack was, of course, a solo attack .
A mixed-race player held the ball and rushed forward . In his opinion, this was similar to the games in the Filipino league . The Chinese defensive players were like paper . be able to handle a physical confrontation with him .
However, he did not expect the Chinese team's defensive player would rush forward to meet him . It was as if they were not worried about getting into a physical confrontation with him .
Be careful not to get hit by me! The Filipino player thought . He then rushed forward . He wanted to give the defender a bit of trouble .
The next moment, their two bodies slammed together . The toughness of the Chinese team's defender surprised him . What surprised him, even more, was that the defender's body seemed to be stronger than his .
With his experience in the Philippines, Asians could not compete with him physically . However, he met an exception today . Although the opponent was Asian, he was much stronger than the Filipino players .
His rush ended in failure . When he stopped, the Chinese defensive player was already in front of him . He had no openings to shoot, so he had to pass the ball .
After several passes, the basketball came to the hands of a Filipino player inside the three-point line .
The player inside the three-point line, Eppes, was a naturalized mixed-race player . He was six feet and nine inches tall . He grew up in the United States . He had once played in the NCAA at Western Kentucky University . He also tried to enter the Austin Spurs' NBDL team . He later participated in the Philippine League PBA draft . When he became a professional player in the Philippine League, he gained a very high status .
Being able to play in the NCAA, and being able to participate in the NBDL tryouts, indicated that he had a good physique He had been exposed to American basketball culture since his childhood . This was something that could not be matched by an Asian player . In the Filipino national league, Eppes used his outstanding physical talent to become a player that was hard to defend against inside the three-point line .
It was a pity that, although Eppes had played for many years, his technique was still a bit rough . He made no progress throughout the years . Of course, with his physical strength, playing in the Filipino League did not require any technical abilities .
Eppes caught the ball in the low post area, but he didn't possess the skills to attack the low post area . He could only rely on his body to rush at the basket . This was a trick he used in the Philippines' domestic league . The Filipino players would be stunned . They would not be able to stop his offense and he would always easily rush towards the basket to do a layup or dunk .
Today, Eppes felt that he was facing a wall, despite using his body to push against the other party, the other party was still with him . He did not retreat and he did not move from his position .
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At this moment, Eppes felt that he had returned to the United States . The opponents he met there had physiques comparable to his and each of his opponents dared to get into physical confrontations with him . This meant that a player who had bad technique became useless and it was difficult for him to score .
"hen did the Chinese team become so strong? Eppes thought anxiously .
The time for the offensive was almost over and Eppes had no choice but to force a layup against the defensive players .
He may be a giant in the Philippines with his height of six feet and nine inches . Faced with a team of seven-footers, he had no advantages . His layup was blocked .
. . .
After the first half, the Filipino team was 12 points behind . The audience was not surprised by this result . After all, the Chinese team was the top team in Asia .
However, the course of the game had been unexpected . In everyone's opinion, the physical strength of the Filipino team players was better, and they would undoubtedly focus on this fact and use it as their advantage . The reality was that the Filipino team had no advantages when it came to physical confrontations . On the contrary, this Chinese team preferred to engage in physical confrontations . They were aggressive in their defense . They used their bodies to push against the Filipino players .
In the stands, the Iranian coach was furrowing his brows . He was able to sense that the Iranian team was not going to do well from what he had seen from the current match .
This Chinese team is much stronger than before . The naturalized players on the Filipino team are restricted in their movements when faced against the Chinese team . The players inside the three-point line are not afraid to get into physical confrontations . This is not good news for us . The Chinese team has never lacked players with big physiques . Their players inside the three-point line are more talented than ours . Our players inside the three-point line are still quite green . If we have to play against the Chinese in the finals, our players inside the three-point line will not be able to last .
The head coach of the Iranian team sighed . Worry flashed in his eyes .
"Coach, what's wrong? Why did you sigh?" A player next to him asked .
As the head coach of the team, he certainly shouldn't infect the players with his negative emotions . He should not damage his own prestige with his ambition either . The Iranian head coach quickly explained, "I think the Filipino team's tactics are really bad . "
"You said it . Everyone is playing by themselves . The fast and flexible tactics that were used by the Filipino team in the past has been completely abandoned . Teams that relied purely on their physique can only do well in Asia . When you get to the international stage and you meet a team whose players have the better physique, you will definitely lose," the player said .
. . .
In Los Angeles, Dai Li came to the office early and watched the Asian Games basketball match between the Chinese team and the Iranian team on the Internet .
The Chinese team really defeated Iran! The young men on this national team are much better than I thought . The players inside the three-point line are quite daring and the players outside the three-point line are very accurate .
The Chinese team won the game, so Dai Li was in a good mood . He closed the live stream of the game and went to the training ground .
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