When the Argentine players returned to the court, Oberto and Scola tightly boxed out Yao Ming, one on each side. Scola positioned himself forward, making it easier to receive passes near the basket, while Oberto provided support for Scola from behind. Andre roamed the paint, forcing Yi and Dazhi to drop back to help defend.
With both teams crowded in the paint, the open spaces on the wings increased, giving Ginobili room to drive.
Ginobili, when given a chance to sprint, was incredibly challenging to defend. Even Tang Long, facing Ginobili's lightning speed and explosive power, couldn't stop him every time.
The moment Ginobili charged towards the basket, he was like a cannonball.
Using the screen from the players inside, Ginobili finally sank a jump shot.
Immediately after, Sun Yue hit a three-pointer.
After the exchange, Ginobili came back for more.
Players like Ginobili have very distinct strengths. When he's playing well, even with focused defense, he finds ways to perform.
What makes Ginobili truly formidable is his body's flexibility.
This guy could change his body movements at will during offense. When the pace of the game speeds up, everyone's attention follows the ball, making it easy for Ginobili to deceive defenders with feints.
Strong players usually lack flexibility, let alone grace. James, for instance, gives off an impression of immense power, but Ginobili makes offense look like an art form.
After faking out Tang Long once more, murmurs began to surface from the crowd.
"If Ginobili had played like this earlier, Argentina wouldn't be so far behind."
"Ginobili's play is so cool. Only Ginobili plays with such artistic beauty; no one else is as elegant as him."
"Tang Long is just a machine; he's not as exciting to watch as Ginobili."
Although Tang Long couldn't hear the whispers from the stands, Argentina's momentum had regained a little after Ginobili's consecutive baskets.
Soon, after a mistake by Team China, Argentina staged another comeback.
Facing Tang Long's defense, Ginobili stopped abruptly, then changed direction suddenly, his shoulder feinting sharply to the left.
Tang Long, however, reacted in the opposite way. His body turned diagonally, his lower half blocking to the left while his shoulder moved to the right.
"Tang Long, that big oaf, got tricked by Ginobili again."
"It's only because they didn't know him well in the first few games. Tang Long really thinks he's the best in the world now. Look at him, getting schooled by Ginobili."
"Don't be fooled by the current lead; they'll lose to Argentina soon."
In a flash, Ginobili pulled the ball back with his left hand, then quickly pulled his body back and drove to the left.
He had initially planned to draw Tang Long to the left and then break to the right. But upon seeing Tang Long's shoulder move right, Ginobili went with the flow and cleanly drove to the left.
This is the value of a star player; their reaction time is incredibly fast. Moreover, Ginobili's flexibility ranks among the top three in the league. He could adjust in a fraction of a second.
"See, Tang Long always tries to be too clever for his own good."
"He really thinks his steals are amazing. This is an international tournament, not the NBA. Everyone is fighting for their country with full effort, not slacking off like in the NBA."
As they spoke, Ginobili had already driven into the paint.
Seeing this, Dazhi quickly came out from the paint to block him.
"Whoa."
The crowd gasped.
Ginobili's drive was simply spectacular.
Despite Dazhi's intense focus on Ginobili, he was nutmegged. By the time he turned to chase, Ginobili was already shooting at the basket.
"So cool, he's truly a star averaging 30 points."
Ginobili's offense was undoubtedly brilliant, but in a game featuring Tang Long, everyone else was destined to be a supporting character. Only Tang Long was the true protagonist.
*Slap.*
Ginobili's layup was swatted away by the backtracking Tang Long.
Sun Yue caught the ball and almost simultaneously charged towards Argentina's basket. Ginobili, having just had his shot blocked, seemed determined to redeem himself and surged from the backcourt like a leopard.
At Argentina's basket, Sun Yue jumped to shoot, and Ginobili leaped to block.
They collided in mid-air.
Sun Yue slammed the dunk home, while Ginobili swung his hand, hitting Sun Yue.
*Beep.*
The referee's whistle blew.
It would have been a three-point play, but Ginobili was moving too fast, intensely focused on blocking the shot. He jumped with momentum and, while hitting Sun Yue, crashed into him.
They landed almost one after the other.
Then came Ginobili's cry: "Ouch, my ankle."
Ginobili clutched his foot, hopped a couple of times to shed momentum, and then sat down heavily on the ground.
Argentine players rushed over, demanding an explanation from Sun Yue.
"You're despicable."
"Why did you hurt him?"
"F**k, you did that on purpose!"
The Argentine players surrounded Sun Yue, their emotions running high as they shoved him. Tang Long, Yao Ming, and Dazhi also rushed over. Tang Long shoved the Argentine players surrounding Sun Yue forcefully and pointed at them, saying, "What do you want? Ginobili jumped too high himself; it has nothing to do with our player."
"You're from China, of course you'll side with China. Don't think we didn't see it. This guy fouled him, that's why Ginobili got hurt."
"Tang, get out of the way. We're going to teach him a lesson."
"What are you talking about? Ginobili's injury has nothing to do with our Chinese player." Tang Long stood in front of Sun Yue, his eyes fixed on the enraged Argentine players. "Do you know what you're saying? If anyone disagrees, you can meet us at the boxing gym after the game. Focus on playing now."
"F**k, get out of my way."
"If you don't move, we'll deal with you too."
The Argentine players were too agitated to listen to Tang Long. At this point, the Chinese players joined in, pointing at the Argentine players and saying, "Do you want to fight? Come on!"
"If you're not coming, you're a coward."
The tension between the players escalated, and the referees rushed in to separate them. However, this time was different from before; the referees had little effect as no one listened.