Chapter 373: Battle Against Dream 8, Chen Yan Came to Fight for Everything!
August 10 was finally here, the night the Chinese men's basketball team opened its 2008 Olympic campaign.
Tipoff was scheduled for 10:15 PM, but the team arrived at Wukesong Arena early in the afternoon.
They wanted time to settle in, feel the rims, walk the floor, and lock into the rhythm of the building. Every detail showed how seriously they were taking this game.
The moment the bus doors opened, cameras exploded in a storm of shutters.
Click, click, click.
Media had been waiting at the entrance for hours, and the surrounding plaza was packed with fans. This was a true home game, and the attention felt different, heavier, louder, closer.
For the players, it was pressure and fuel at the same time.
When Chen Yan stepped down from the bus, reporters surged toward him with microphones.
The national team had been in closed training for days, so most outlets had not gotten a clean look at him since he returned. Questions had piled up, and now they all came at once.
"Chen Yan, are you starting tonight?"
"Will that massage place incident affect your condition?"
"I heard you have good relationships with Team USA players. Will that change anything in the game?"
"Have you fully adapted to the system?"
"This is your first official Olympic appearance for the national team. Do you feel pressure?"
Chen Yan did not answer a single one.
He put on his large headphones, lowered his head, and followed his teammates into the tunnel. With a major battle minutes away, he refused to let random noise crawl into his mind.
The other Chinese players did the same. No interviews. No distractions. Only the game.
…
Team USA, meanwhile, looked almost too relaxed.
To them, China was a game they expected to win. China had 3 NBA players, yes, but the overall depth and athleticism were clearly not on the same level as the Dream 8.
So the Americans were smiling, chatting, and taking interviews without a hint of tension.
Dwight Howard grinned like a kid on a playground. "We're ready. We only came to Beijing for 1 thing, gold."
Not far away, Carmelo Anthony spoke with the seriousness of someone carrying a mission.
"We're here to redeem American basketball," he said. "We're going back to the top."
He paused, then continued, "After Athens, LeBron, Dwyane, all of us, we got criticized and questioned. This time, we're not letting that happen again."
…
Before warmups ended, Yao Ming gathered the team into a tight circle.
Their country did not have a strong tradition of long pregame speeches, but tonight was different. Everyone understood what this meant. The opening game. Home court. The strongest team in the world across from them.
Hands stacked together, Yao's voice dropped into that calm, heavy tone that made people listen.
"We stand together now," he said. "Hands together now. We commit to this team. We carry this team on our shoulders."
He looked around the circle, eyes steady.
"China, go. Go. Go!"
The response came instantly, loud and united.
"Go! Go!"
"Go! Go! Go!"
Yao was the core, the anchor, the spiritual leader. When he spoke like that, the entire group tightened into one.
In the final minutes before taking the floor, Chen Yan felt a kind of nerves he had never truly felt before.
He had played in the NBA playoffs. He had played in the NBA Finals. He had won a championship.
But this was different.
This was not about a franchise or a ring. This was the flag on his chest, the country behind him, the weight of an arena full of people who were not just cheering for a team, but for pride.
His official Olympic debut for the national team was about to begin.
…
The player introductions moved quickly.
Wukesong was packed. The camera sweep across the stands caught familiar faces everywhere.
David Beckham. Former President George H. W. Bush. Former President George W. Bush. Former Secretary of State. The CEO of Microsoft. Deng Chao and Sun Li. Li Yifeng.
Politics, business, entertainment, China and the United States, the spotlight was everywhere.
Then the national anthem began.
The entire venue rose. Voices joined in unison, and for Chen Yan, the feeling was not just excitement.
It was awe.
Goosebumps climbed up his arms. Heat surged from his feet to his scalp. His chest tightened, and for a moment, his soul seemed to tremble with the sound.
It felt like the whole nation was breathing behind him, like 1.3 billion people had lined up at his back, shoulder to shoulder, becoming the strongest support he could ever have.
When the anthem ended, Chen Yan's eyes sharpened.
He opened the system silently and used a Status Improvement Card.
He had bought it before the game for 25 honor points. The odds tonight were slim, but he was not here to survive the moment. He was here to give everything he had.
This battle, to him, was not only for China.
It was also for the world watching.
Before tipoff, Chen Yan greeted every member of Dream 8. These were players he knew, players he had faced, players he had spoken with.
He also hugged Mike D'Antoni.
D'Antoni was his mentor, but tonight, he was also the man on the other sideline. Chen Yan did not say much. A quick embrace, a brief nod, and then he turned away.
Now it was time.
…
The arena announcer's voice boomed across the building.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the final game of Day 1 in the men's basketball tournament at the 29th Olympic Games is about to begin!"
"Tonight's matchup is the Chinese men's basketball team versus the United States men's basketball team, also known as the Dream Team!"
"The United States starts with Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard."
"China starts with Liu Wei, Chen Yan, Zhu Fangyu, Yi Jianlian, and Yao Ming."
"This Chinese lineup includes 3 active NBA players, a first in the history of the program."
The roar in the building rose again.
Then the whistle sounded.
The game began.
Yi Jianlian and Dwight Howard met at center court for the jump ball.
Even though Yao was the center, jump balls usually went to Yi. He had more bounce and quicker reactions. Yi's athleticism was elite among Chinese players, but against a beast like Howard, the gap was still obvious.
On the toss, Howard exploded upward and slapped the ball cleanly to LeBron.
LeBron did not dribble. He showed vision immediately.
A long lob sailed ahead to Carmelo Anthony cutting off the ball into the paint.
A perfect chance to score right away.
But Carmelo's rhythm was not fully open yet. The pass was slightly awkward, and he did not handle it cleanly.
Chen Yan and Yao converged instantly, closing the space like a trap snapping shut. Carmelo panicked and flicked the ball out of bounds.
Turnover.
Chen Yan and Yao slapped hands as they turned to run.
China's energy had forced Dream 8 into a mistake on the very first possession.
Zhu Fangyu went to the baseline to inbound.
Liu Wei received the ball, and Jason Kidd picked him up full court.
Team USA came out with real defensive pressure. Their other defenders denied lanes and crowded passing windows, ready to jump anything careless.
They had done their homework. They knew what Chinese guards had struggled with for years.
Kidd's defense was heavy and suffocating. Not just a passing genius, he was a defensive bulldog too, thick, smart, strong enough to guard bigger players, and quick enough to harass smaller ones.
Under Kidd's pressure, Liu Wei nearly lost the ball just trying to bring it up.
"Here, pass!" Chen Yan called, retreating to give him a safety outlet.
Protective reception.
Liu Wei stumbled and pushed the ball out.
The moment Chen Yan caught it, the trap arrived.
Kidd swiped in, trying to pick it loose. Chen Yan snapped into a behind the back dribble and slipped away.
Kidd missed.
And Kobe was already there.
Before the Olympics, Kobe had gone to the head coach and asked to take Chen Yan personally. Even if he had not asked, it would have happened anyway. Kobe was the best wing defender in that starting unit, and Chen Yan was China's sharpest perimeter blade.
Chen Yan met Kobe's pressure with a crossover.
Kobe's feet shifted, balance dipping for a fraction of a second.
Chen Yan hit the accelerator and drove hard to the rim.
The arena erupted.
His handle, his burst, the way he turned a crowded floor into open space, it was the kind of pure NBA style that electrified every fan in the building.
What had looked complicated became simple in his hands.
He used the space, changed pace, then leaned into another surge.
Carmelo Anthony reacted immediately. He knew how explosive Chen Yan was.
He left Yi Jianlian and slid over to cut off Chen Yan's line.
Chen Yan's eyes flicked to Yi, wide open now.
Then Chen Yan stopped.
Howard read the pass threat and stepped forward, ready to close the lane.
In the next instant, Chen Yan snapped his wrist and fired the ball into the paint with force.
It looked like it was going to Yi.
A feint.
The pass slammed into Yao Ming's hands instead.
Yao gathered and hammered a 1 handed dunk.
Boom!
The building detonated with sound.
On the sideline, Jonas threw his arm up, excitement pouring out of him.
China's first basket was not a lucky roll or a broken play.
It was a clean, powerful statement.
After landing, Yao pointed at Chen Yan, a clear message to everyone, beautiful pass.
For Chen Yan, it was a normal read. But for China's program, it was the kind of pass they had been starving for.
…
Team USA inbounded immediately, fast and sharp.
That was their identity. Quick decisions, quick pushes, no hesitation.
Yao had only taken a few steps back when Team USA was already flying past half court.
Dwyane Wade launched a long pass from near mid court.
LeBron sprinted onto it, caught it in stride, and took giant steps toward the rim.
One step outside the paint, Chen Yan was already there.
Waiting.
Set.
Hands protecting his body.
LeBron lowered his shoulder and crashed into him like a truck.
Chen Yan went flying.
The impact was brutal, the kind that made your teeth rattle. He slid across the floor and stopped near the baseline.
The referee made the call immediately.
Offensive foul.
LeBron shrugged as he walked back, complaining under his breath, frustrated that the whistle had taken away an easy finish.
Zhu Fangyu and Yi Jianlian rushed over to help Chen Yan up.
Chen Yan stood, brushed himself off, and looked back toward the court.
The camera found his face in close up.
His eyes were fierce.
He was not here to admire the Olympic stage.
He was here to fight for everything.