Chapter 387: A Taste for Contact, Built to Swat Jumpers and Shut Down Drives
"That was explosive!"
"That is superstar level!"
"The force behind it is terrifying!"
"We finally have a guard who can actually fly!"
Wukesong shook. Fans were on their feet, flags whipping through the air, and even the bench looked like it wanted to check into the game. Teammates yanked at each other's sleeves, laughing and shouting, hyped by the sheer violence of Chen Yan's dunk.
Nobody cared about the technical.
Navarro walked to the line to shoot the technical free throws. He had been money at the stripe in the NBA, 84.9% last season with Memphis, and he looked just as steady here.
Swish.
Swish.
No drama. Spain cashed both.
FIBA rules were different, too. In the NBA a tech meant 1 free throw plus possession. Here it was 2 free throws plus possession, a heavier price tag for a moment of emotion.
And Spain took it personally.
Over the next few trips, Chen Yan could feel the contact ramp up. Bodies bumped harder, hands lingered longer, and every cut came with a little extra shoulder. His dunk and the backboard slap had lit up the building, but to Spain, it looked like a challenge.
The funny part was, Chen Yan did not back off. If anything, he leaned into it.
After surviving Kobe in the playoffs, he had discovered something about himself that was slightly alarming in a way he did not plan to discuss with any therapist. The tougher the game got, the more it pulled him in. More contact meant more adrenaline. More adrenaline meant more focus. It was like his game had a switch labeled "pressure," and somebody had just kicked it on.
The third quarter turned choppy. Fouls piled up. The rhythm broke into fragments.
With 3:57 left in the quarter, Jonas took Chen Yan out, partly tactics, partly protection. Spain immediately tried to make a run with him on the bench, piecing together an 8 to 3 burst to steal some life back.
Still, the early work mattered. China carried an 11 point lead into the fourth.
72 to 61.
…
During the break, Spain's huddle felt tight. The deficit sat on their shoulders like weight.
Pau Gasol, usually calm to the point of gentle, finally snapped into voice.
"Wake up," he barked. "This is the Olympics. The whole country is watching us. We have 1 quarter left. Play like it."
He was furious with their first 3 quarters, not because China was playing well, but because Spain had not played like themselves. Too slow to settle in. Too hesitant to execute at their tempo.
Then he got specific.
"No clean looks. Especially him," Pau said, nodding toward Chen Yan. "Stay attached. Contest everything. If he gets into the lane, I'm there. If it comes down to it, foul him. Do not let him play comfortable."
That message landed.
…
The fourth quarter started with China's starters back out, Jonas refusing to flirt with complacency. Everyone in the building knew Spain would push hard now.
China had first possession.
Spain picked up full court, pressure immediately different. Pau's words had sharpened them, and the Spanish players moved with urgency, like a team that had finally heard the alarm.
Liu Wei nearly lost the ball. Yi Jianlian stepped up to help, but the timing was messy. Liu Wei wanted to throw forward while Yi was trying to sprint ahead and receive. The pass turned into a turnover in principle, except Spain could not secure it either.
Reyes, behind Yi, fumbled the loose ball and tipped it toward the baseline.
Chen Yan was the one who reacted first. He scooped it up and attacked instantly.
A lot of players panic when a gift possession drops into their lap. They rush, they force, they make the free chance complicated.
Chen Yan stayed calm.
He took 1 jump step into the paint and finished with a smooth reverse scoop, the kind of finish that looked effortless and also slightly disrespectful.
61 to 74.
Wukesong loved it. The crowd roared like they had just watched a magician pull a card from someone's ear.
Some fans shouted jokes from the stands about how he could not be satisfied without a scoop finish. Others said he was not showing off the shot, he was showing off the flexibility.
Maybe it was extra. Maybe he could have finished simpler.
But that was Chen Yan's style. He wanted the bucket, and he wanted it clean.
…
Spain answered.
Fernandez attacked off a screen from Reyes on the right side, driving hard into the lane. He chopped his feet and shifted his shoulders, trying to wobble Yao Ming off balance.
He still passed.
Not everybody had the courage to shoot directly over Yao Ming. A giant in the paint changed decisions.
Reyes caught and floated a runner, waiting for it to reach its peak.
Yao Ming turned and erased it anyway, swatting the ball away like he was offended the attempt existed.
The arena went insane.
But the play did not die. Reyes recovered and kicked it to Pau at the high post.
This time, Pau finally showed his teeth. He put it on the floor left, drove into the paint, and finished with a 1 hand slam.
63 to 74.
He landed and roared toward the baseline, a rare flash of raw emotion. Spain needed that, something that looked like belief.
…
China came right back to what worked.
As soon as Chen Yan crossed half court, the ball found him. In the half court, it always did. It was the only similarity between this national team and the Suns that mattered, the offense had to run through him.
Teammates spaced out, clearing the floor for isolation.
Chen Yan dribbled between his legs 2 steps beyond the arc at the top, reading Fernandez. When he saw the lane, he dropped his shoulder and blew by him.
Spain's perimeter defense was decent, but their real strength lived inside. Pau and Reyes collapsed quickly.
Chen Yan took 1 step, then kicked it to Liu Wei on the perimeter, and immediately moved again, curling out to the arc without the ball. His legs were fresh, thanks to that rest late in the third, and Spain's pressure was not the relentless swarm Team USA could bring.
Liu Wei hit him back.
Chen Yan did not even pause, he snapped a pass that sent Liu Wei cutting backdoor for a layup.
Easy finish.
The commentator's voice rose over the noise. "That's beautiful basketball. With Chen Yan on the floor, China's offense is just smoother."
His co followed, as usual, with a full endorsement. "Only Chen Yan can make that read on this team. That is superstar value."
Liu Wei jogged back grinning and slapped Chen Yan's hand. He needed this game. Against Team USA he had looked rattled, 4 points and 4 turnovers, and he had worn the criticism afterward. Tonight he was responding, already at 10 points with 2 made 3s.
…
Spain's next trip ended with Rubio taking a midrange jumper after a string of passes.
Liu Wei reached from the wing to contest. The shot missed.
Rubio was still struggling, 0 for 7 from the field, with just 1 point at the line. He stayed on the floor anyway because Spain's other point guard had been even quieter. Calderon had 0 points, with 5 assists as his only real impact.
…
On the next China possession, they ran an off ball screen set to free Chen Yan.
Spain sniffed it out. Fernandez hugged him tight, denying the catch. Chen Yan tried once, did not get it, paused, then cut again toward the baseline.
This time Yi Jianlian's screen hit perfectly. Fernandez got clipped just enough.
Chen Yan caught at the top with 12 seconds on the shot clock.
Yao Ming stepped up to screen.
Chen Yan drove a step, then fired a no look pass back to Yao.
Yao was beyond the arc.
He lined it up and shot.
Clang.
A hard miss, and the rebound came down right into Pau Gasol's hands.
That was the risk when Yao stepped out to run action. If the shot missed, there was no offensive rebound coming. Everybody was spaced and nobody was near the rim.
Pau immediately outlet to Rubio.
Rubio had already picked his lane for the break, like he had been waiting for a starting pistol.
Fernandez ran left, Reyes ran right, and China was late getting back. Only Chen Yan had sprinted to the defensive half in time.
Rubio hit the 3 point line, gathered, and lifted, then whipped an underhand pass to the trailing Fernandez.
It was clever, perfectly timed.
Fernandez took a step and rose.
From his body language, he wanted to dunk.
Not just dunk, dunk on Chen Yan.
He was confident in his bounce. He wanted to light up the Spanish fans watching.
Fernandez jumped first. Chen Yan jumped after, and the difference was immediate. Chen Yan's lift was quicker, sharper, like he had springs in his ankles.
When Fernandez tried to slam it, he did not get cheers.
He got rejection.
Bang.
Chen Yan met the dunk head on and swatted it away with brutal force. Fernandez lost balance in the air and crashed to the floor.
The building exploded, and somewhere on a basketball forum, people immediately started typing like their lives depended on it.
They joked that this was the definition of a head on blow, the kind that left your soul in the paint. They joked that Fernandez had tried to compare vertical leap with Chen Yan and learned a painful lesson. They joked that Spain brought 3 guys to run 1 break and still got stuffed.
…
China turned defense into points.
Liu Wei collected the ball near midcourt and pushed. A 3 on 1 instantly became 4 on 2 as bodies joined the play.
Yi Jianlian caught and finished with a strong open dunk.
And as China ran back, the big screen replayed the block again, slow motion, loud contact, Fernandez meeting the wall.
Spanish fans watching could only sigh.
Fernandez used to be the guy who made people look up.
Until he met Chen Yan.
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