ace marshal

Chapter 1535 The Meaning of a Champion

The Stankovic Intercontinental Basketball Championship is one of the highest official international basketball tournaments held in China.

Beginning in July each year, six teams from different continents compete for the final championship.

Since 2005, it has been going on for eight years, and it is also held in eight different places in China.

And when it comes to Stankovic, he is not the founder of this game, but the former Secretary-General of FIBA.

In order to thank him for his contribution to the development of international basketball, the event was named after him.

In the previous seven competitions, the Chinese team has always played against the host, but unfortunately, facing an opponent that is not very strong, the Chinese team has never won the championship in this competition at home .

The best result is only the runner-up.

For example, in order to prepare for the Olympics last year, the men's basketball team even sent a second team to participate, so they couldn't win the championship at all.

There is still half a month before the start of this year's Stankovic Cup. Lan Shengli leads the men's basketball training team and has already started preparations.

Looking at Lan Shengli's intense preparations this year, it seems that he wants to make a difference in the game.

"After getting the backcourt rebound, don't put it down, lift it high, and then look at the frontcourt to see if any of our players are making a fast break. If there is, just pass it directly. Our The high point of the pass ensures that the ball will not be cut off. If there is no pass route, then give it to the nearby defender to advance, instead of grabbing the rebound and then directly to the defender. It is unwise to do that, and you will not be able to maximize Let’s make full use of our height advantage~”

Lan Shengli explained and demonstrated in person.

"This doesn't look like the head coach of a national team~, this is clearly a grassroots, or the head coach of a youth team~"

The director of the basketball management center, who was watching the training, sighed at the assistant coach Li Nan.

"No way, even at the level of the national team, we still have too many problems to solve. The basic skills of current players, especially young players, are really poor~"

Li Nan sighed.

The director heard what Li Nan said, so he didn't say anything more.

In the following time, the men's basketball training team has been conducting closed training at the base of the Basketball Association to prepare for the Stankovic Cup.

"Finally looking forward to you coming back~, how is your body doing~?!"

Five days before the start of the game, Yi Jianlian returned to China and joined the men's basketball team.

"There is no problem with my body, I can go to battle anytime~!"

Yi Jianlian looked at Lan Shengli with a boyish smile and responded.

With Yi Jianlian as the backbone of the team, I believe the men's basketball team will burst out with the strongest offensive power.

"Argentina, Nigeria, and Puerto Rico don't even have a European team. It's a bit disappointing. However, the average height and style of play of these teams are quite similar to those of Asian teams. It is still a reference and exercise. worth it~”

In the middle of the night, the endless chirping of cicadas and crickets could not disturb Lan Shengli.

Lan Shengli, who was analyzing opponents in his dormitory, was very focused.

As the start of the competition got closer, Lan Shengli's preparations became more and more intense.

"It's a pity that you can't go with the team for the next national team game. Go back and continue to practice hard. Being able to come here has shown that you are much better than others, but it is not enough. You must continue to work hard. I look forward to seeing you in the future." You guys are different~!!"

Before the expedition, the Chinese team completed another round of layoffs, and Lan Shengli sent blessings to these laid-off players.

There are only 18 people left in the roster, ready to go to the venue of this year's Stankovic Cup - the capital of GS Province, LZ City.

But before departure, the director of the basketball management center found Lan Shengli, and it was a one-on-one situation.

The director seemed to have something to explain.

"Coach Lan, I think players like Yi Jianlian, Liu Wei and Wang Zhizhi don't need to go to competitions like the Stankovic Cup. We use this kind of competition every year to train young players, or to put it another way. Training with games~, after all, these young players don’t have much playing time in the league, if this kind of game is not given them a chance to show off, perhaps the biggest meaning of this game will be lost~”

the director said.

"That's right. Two years ago, when I first came into contact with the head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team, I already said that the men's basketball team is not a place to train new players. We need to win the game, instead of letting young players to exercise, the stage for them should be the league. This kind of putting the cart before the horse has not been resolved, or no one realizes the seriousness. I am really sorry ~"

Lan Shengli responded.

Judging from Lan Shengli's tone, it seemed that he would not accept the director's idea.

"I have always been advocating the establishment of a team's winning culture. This is a good start and an important foundation. We have never won the Stankovic Cup held at our doorstep for so many years. I think the reason is That's it, it doesn't make much sense for young players to exercise in such games~"

Lan Shengli continued to respond.

"This,,,"

Hearing that Lan Shengli was so strong, the director didn't know what to say.

"This trip to Lanzhou, the only goal of me and the team is to win the championship, nothing else~, we are going for the championship~, I will use practical actions to let the players know the meaning of the championship~!!"

Lan Shengli continued to speak in a very strong tone.

"Of course, if I have the chance to win, I will try my best to give young players a chance to play. Don't worry about that~"

Lan Shengli continued to add.

This last sentence can be regarded as a little bit of comfort to the director.

Soon, the men's basketball team arrived in Lanzhou safely by plane.

Two days later, the ninth Stankovic Cup ushered in the opening ceremony.

After half an hour of theatrical performances, the tournament organizers announced the official start of the cup competition.

The opening game is for the hosts against a team from South America - Puerto Rico.

"The average height of our three opponents is much shorter than ours, so remember to make good use of our height advantage and think about the content of our previous training~!!"

Before the game started, Lan Shengli reminded the players.

In fact, although Puerto Rico has a small population, it has a lot of basketball talents.

Barea and Arroyo are both NBA players from Puerto Rico.

But like this kind of game, they definitely won't play.

So it's hard to say how effective the Puerto Rican national team is.

At least from the appearance ceremony, the height of the players is indeed generally "short".

(End of this chapter)