Chapter 8 The Strongest Team China Lineup

Generally speaking, tournaments like the Stankovic Cup serve as a great opportunity for the Chinese national team to test the waters, regain their rhythm, and gear up for the World Championships.

Lin Fei had risen to overnight fame with a single stellar performance, instantly commanding a level of media exposure in the country that remained unmatched. Without a doubt, people now regarded the young man as a savior-like figure for Chinese basketball, and indeed, for the entire realm of Chinese sports. It felt as though Lin Fei was a single spark igniting amidst cold ashes.

The Chinese team's coaching staff was acutely aware of the impact Lin Fei had made. His off-ball movement, passing, and shooting all radiated an NBA-caliber brilliance. Perhaps the only question mark was whether his defensive intensity could also match the NBA standard. Yet, the head coach maintained a calm composure, largely because Liu Wei had been a loyal veteran with the national team for so long. Initially, the plan had been to give Liu Wei a breather in the previous game and slot Lin Fei into the starting lineup, but no one could have anticipated that Lin Fei would exceed all expectations. Even his playmaking ability—which had faced some criticism during his stint in the NBA—produced astonishing results on the national team.

Next up, the Chinese team was set to face Iran. Iran was traditionally a powerhouse in Asia and had given China a hard time on numerous occasions, particularly through their center, Hamed Haddadi. Although Haddadi sometimes struggled to secure regular minutes off the bench for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, whenever he went up against Yi Jianlian, he seemed to transform, dominating Yi time and time again in a rather baffling fashion. Meeting Iran once more, however, instilled a much greater sense of confidence in the Chinese squad, largely due to their dynamic inside-out combination of two players currently competing in the NBA.

To everyone's utter shock, the Chinese coach's tactical arrangement for the starting lineup featured the backcourt duo of Liu Wei and Wang Shiping once again, leaving the sensational guard pairing of Lin Fei and Sun Yue—who had performed out of their minds in the previous match—glaringly benched on the sidelines. Frustrated fans began chanting for the coach to be sacked, questioning whether someone had lost their mind to make such a foolish and counter-intuitive choice in the face of an obvious solution.

As the game tipped off, Yi Jianlian showed intense aggressiveness against Haddadi. Perhaps it was his burning desire to prove himself, but upon receiving a pass from Liu Wei near the free-throw line, Yi drained a midrange jumper. Yi possessed a phenomenal physique capable of banging down low in the paint, complemented by a reliable midrange shot. Under normal circumstances, this would be an ideal asset; yet in his case, it somehow took on a tragic tint. He had grown overly accustomed to operating on the perimeter like a guard, thereby squandering opportunities to establish position and score inside. This directly translated into inconsistent shooting percentages and occasionally left China's interior offense lacking in physical punch. Although Yi made that opening shot, it was hardly a promising omen for the team.

Yi attempted another midrange jumper shortly after, but this time it missed. Confronted by Haddadi in the paint, Yi toyed with the idea of a physical drive before ultimately settling for another perimeter jumper.

The opening quarter remained a tightly contested affair. Strictly speaking, the Chinese team possessed a higher overall ceiling than Iran, yet the Iranians seemed to execute better under pressure.

Halfway through the first quarter, the Chinese coach instituted a wholesale substitution, yanking Yi Jianlian and both guards off the floor simultaneously. Removing three starters at once begged the question: weren't they afraid of completely losing their offensive rhythm?

In stepped Lin Fei and Sun Yue, bringing an audible sigh of relief from the anxious fans. Having an NBA player on the hardwood always provided a measure of reassurance.

The moment Lin Fei caught the inbound pass, the opposing guard immediately swarmed him with full-court pressure. Make no mistake, this was deep in the backcourt, yet the Iranians had tailored their defense to press him full-court—a clear reaction to Lin Fei’s mesmerizing performance in the previous game, prompting a tactical redesign by the Iranian coaching staff.

This promised to be a spectacle. The Chinese backcourt now possessed an exhilarating dynamic: Lin Fei brought blistering speed and scoring prowess, while Sun Yue offered exceptional height and court vision.

Facing the stifling, full-court blanket defense, Lin Fei showed not a shred of intimidation. Driving straight ahead, he executed a behind-the-back dribble to shake his primary defender. To his surprise, the defender managed to recover his footing—a testament to national-team-level pedigree. Unfazed, Lin Fei followed up with a crossover, spun gracefully, and immediately transitioned into a between-the-legs dribble. In the blink of an eye, he had reeled off two distinct ball fakes and three consecutive crossovers, leaving even world-class defenders utterly helpless. Having shaken his pursuer, Lin Fei accelerated like a charging steed, his figure cutting through the air like an arrow as he pierced deep into the Iranian paint. Slipping past the rim protector's outstretched block, he floated in an effortless layup.

A coast-to-coast masterpiece driven entirely by raw speed and instinct.

Although Haddadi had not shared the court directly with Lin Fei during their respective stints in Memphis, players of Lin Fei's caliber left a permanent, unforgettable impression after just a single encounter. Seeing Lin Fei score sent an involuntary shiver down Haddadi's spine as memories of Lin Fei's previous miraculous exploits came rushing back.

Capitalizing on the absence of Yi Jianlian in China's paint, Haddadi began drawing fouls in rapid succession, treating trips to the free-throw line as a formality. Yet, looking at the broader picture, the Iranian side failed to gain any real advantage. They had simply never witnessed such ferocious perimeter firepower from a Chinese team. Historically renowned for their traditional center-oriented play, the two guards on the floor today were seemingly broadcasting to the world that China had finally produced elite backcourt talent.

On the sidelines, head coach Bob Donewald nodded approvingly, while Liu Wei wore a faintly dejected expression—perhaps lamenting how the relentless waves of the Yangtze River push those ahead, with each new generation replacing the old, or perhaps pondering his own career trajectory and future.

At the start of the second quarter, the coach brought Yi Jianlian back into the fray, pairing him with Du Feng, rounding out the frontcourt with Zhu Fangyu, and anchoring the backcourt with Sun Yue and Lin Fei. As this unit took the court, Donewald nodded repeatedly. To put it bluntly, this lineup was essentially the previous rotation with Lin Fei swapped in for Liu Wei, while Wang Shiping and Sun Yue occupied similar tactical niches. This was undoubtedly China's most formidable current lineup—their ultimate trump card.

The crowd erupted into roaring cheers. It had been an awfully long time since fans had roared with such fervent passion for the national team. Reflecting on it, back when Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi still donned the jersey, a championship-caliber core had somehow morphed into the landscape of the present day.

Regardless of the composition, winning was the ultimate truth. The scoreboard remained the sole yardstick for testing any lineup.

Lin Fei began orchestrating the offense, immediately signaling his teammates to leak out for a fast break upon securing the ball. As it turned out, Yi Jianlian possessed strong ball-handling skills and excelled in transition; with capable teammates pushing the pace, the offense hummed along swiftly, making fast breaks off defensive rebounds far more potent and effortless.

Lin Fei slowed the tempo slightly as he crossed the three-point arc. Sun Yue arrived at the perimeter just in time, while Yi Jianlian fought his way deep into the post to establish position. Lin Fei leaped into the air, instantly drawing two defenders who rose to contest his shot. Realizing his shooting window was compromised with no open teammate in a clean passing lane and defenders collapsing rapidly, Lin Fei experienced a flash of inspiration. Mid-air, he hurled the ball directly against the backboard. Yi Jianlian, initially positioned with his back to the rim, whirled around in a panic just as the ball caromed off the edge of the glass, dropping straight into his waiting hands. Seizing the golden opportunity, Yi took one powerful step and exploded upward for a thunderous slam dunk over Haddadi, drawing a foul in the process and triumphantly venting all his pent-up frustration.

Teammates rushed over to high-five Yi Jianlian, who eagerly sought out Lin Fei for a celebratory chest bump. Yi knew full well that attempting a direct shot at the basket from that angle had been nearly impossible; Lin Fei had intentionally executed a "backboard assist" to gift him the dunk.

The Chinese team was finally tasting sweet success. Lin Fei followed this up by setting up Sun Yue for a cleanly converted three-pointer, forcing Iran to burn a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Lin Fei dialed up his individual aggression, proving even more unstoppable.

He was a walking glitch in the system—completely unsolveable. Haddadi, who usually enjoyed mocking the Chinese squad, was left utterly speechless. Though his statistical output mirrored Yi Jianlian's, Yi ultimately had the last laugh.

Sometimes, sports simply worked that way: a minor substitution could trigger a cataclysmic shift. And just like that, the Chinese team ignited, accelerating faster than the rate of national inflation.