Chapter 397: Main Quest, Reverse Breakthrough?
The locker room felt like it had been drained of oxygen.
Nobody wanted to hear about "historic" right after a loss, even if they had just reached the Olympic semifinals for the first time. The silence was heavy, the kind that made every shuffle of sneakers sound loud.
Chen Yan was the first to speak.
"Brothers," he said, voice steady, eyes moving across the room. "That game is over. But our Olympics are not. Look forward. We still have the bronze medal game."
There was weight behind his words.
He was the youngest guy in the room, the least experienced by age, yet he was the most qualified to say it tonight. Without him, China probably would have taken a beating that ended early and ugly.
Yao Ming, who had been sitting there blaming himself for the foul trouble, lifted his head. He clapped hard, like he was trying to wake up the whole team.
"Chen Yan's right," Yao said. "Now is not the time to hang our heads. Get it back. Prepare for the next one. Let's do this together and get on the podium."
The effect was immediate. Players who looked empty a second ago suddenly had light in their eyes again.
That's right.
It was not over.
Even if it was "only" bronze, it was a medal China's men had never dared to imagine in a team sport at the Olympics. If they pulled it off, it would not just be a basketball moment. It would be a national moment.
Jonas stayed nearby, still working, still talking, still pushing. He was the kind of head coach who treated every minute like it mattered. And this was not some meaningless placement game, this was a shot at an Olympic medal.
…
Back in the Olympic hotel, Chen Yan lay down, and the familiar system prompt rang in his mind.
Ding.
Main Quest Updated: Shine on the Olympic stage and win your first Olympic medal.
Quest Reward: 50 Honor Points, [Spiritual Leader] Team Skill. After use, boosts the entire team's fighting spirit for 3 minutes, and slightly increases the entire team's defensive awareness, rebounding ability, stealing ability, and blocking ability.
The reward was generous.
Chen Yan exhaled and smiled, just a little.
Now he had one more reason to fight for bronze.
…
The next morning, the semifinal loss still made the front pages, but the tone was surprisingly kind. Compared to football, basketball was being treated like a favorite son who tried his best.
China had exceeded every expectation and every pre Olympic target. They had already shattered the ceiling.
And the contrast was brutal.
Fans saw Chen Yan's Olympic run and felt China's men's basketball could breathe easy for the next 10 years. Meanwhile, men's football still looked stuck in the same fog. Even the once hyped Dong Fangzhuo showed no sign of a real breakout.
Soon, China's opponent for the bronze medal game was set.
Spain had narrowly lost to Team USA in the semifinals. That meant China vs Spain for bronze, August 26.
The next few days were less about tactics and more about the mind.
Jonas repeated one message over and over. Do not carry pressure. Do not carry fear.
Chen Yan helped in his own way during interviews.
"We beat Spain once in the group stage," he said. "Now we just need to do what we did then."
He was not disrespecting Spain. He was protecting his teammates' confidence. In sports, skill matters, but the mind decides what you can access when the moment gets sharp.
…
August 26 arrived.
Wukesong was packed like it was a final. People wanted to see it, one last night, a chance to watch China win a medal at home.
Spain was not coming for a consolation prize, either.
Before tip, Pau Gasol gathered his team and delivered a fiery speech. Bronze meant a medal, points for the country, pride for the program. Fourth place meant nothing but a long flight and a bitter story.
The game began, and Spain looked nothing like the version China saw in the group stage.
They scored inside and out right away. Gasol finished a hook. Calderón drilled a 3. Spain was locked in, and they treated China like an equal from the opening possession.
China didn't panic.
Liu Wei walked the ball up with patience. Tonight, Jonas did not start Sun Dasheng. His defense was valuable, but his shooting over the last few games had been too unreliable.
As Liu Wei crossed half court, his eyes instinctively searched for Yao Ming.
Spain was fronting Yao with Marc Gasol playing a half circle denial behind him. Liu Wei stayed cautious and did not force it.
He swung the ball to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan caught it and immediately bounced a pass to Yi Jianlian at the free throw line.
Yi turned fast, took 1 hard dribble, and attacked with a decisive 3 step finish. Pau Gasol met him in the air, and the whistle blew.
A hacking foul.
Two free throws.
"Good," Chen Yan said, clapping Yi's hand. "That's us."
When their eyes met, Chen Yan could see it clearly.
Yi Jianlian had been getting roasted by fans and media for his quiet stretch. Tonight, he wanted to answer every word.
Swish. Swish.
2 to 5.
…
Spain came down again. Calderón called out the set with his hands. The moment he crossed half court, Chen Yan stepped up.
China switched assignments on the fly, Chen Yan pressed Calderón full body, forcing contact and shrinking the floor.
Calderón's fundamentals were clean, but he was not built for that kind of sudden pressure. For a second, the ball looked loose.
He called for a screen to escape.
Chen Yan read it instantly, slipped around the screener, and stayed attached anyway.
Calderón's rhythm broke. He hurried the pass to Navarro.
It was not clean. Navarro had to adjust, took a dribble, and floated one up.
Miss.
Yao Ming boxed out and secured the rebound with both hands.
He outleted to Liu Wei, who brought it up and paused at the top, waiting for Yao to carve position.
Then the lob went in, soft and accurate.
Besides Chen Yan, Liu Wei was the one who fed Yao most comfortably.
Yao caught, bumped once, turned fast, and rose into a jumper.
Spain didn't dare double immediately because Chen Yan was lifted to the corner, and Yao had the vision to find him.
Swish.
4 to 5.
…
Spain answered.
This time Chen Yan backed off Calderón. Calderón was ready now, repeating the same pressure would waste energy for less return.
Calderón felt the difference and breathed easier.
Off the screen, he hit Pau Gasol at the high post.
Pau rose and stroked a long 2, soft touch like always.
4 to 7.
…
On the next trip, Liu Wei handed it to Chen Yan.
Navarro picked him up. Navarro was not a defensive stopper, and Spain did not pretend he was. Against Chen Yan, it had to be team defense.
The floor spaced out.
Isolation.
Chen Yan started his dribble, trying to find a rhythm, and then, a rare mistake, the ball slipped during a between the legs transfer from left to right.
Navarro pounced like he'd been starving.
But Chen Yan touched it first and spun away in one smooth motion, leaving Navarro grasping at air.
For a split second, it almost looked like the fumble was intentional, like a setup.
Chen Yan drove into the paint, but it was packed. Yao, Yi, Jiménez, Pau Gasol, bodies everywhere, no clean lane.
Then Chen Yan's eyes flicked, and the idea hit.
He burst again, not toward the rim, but back out toward the 3 point line.
A reverse drive.
The crowd reacted instantly, half shocked, half delighted.
Navarro looked like he wanted to file a complaint with the Olympic committee. He had just chased him into the paint, and now Chen Yan was accelerating back out like he was playing a different sport.
By the time Navarro recovered, it was too late.
Chen Yan rose into a 3.
Swish.
Right through.
Wukesong exploded.
To fans of that era, the shot selection looked insane.
To Chen Yan, it was just another way of saying the same thing.
This is not over.
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