Volume 1: The Road to the European Emperor Chapter 49: Active European Emperor
Real Madrid were introduced first.
After the introductions, the fight song turned into the national anthem, and the fans went wild and cheered even more than during the warm-up.
Then, there is Panathinaikos.
By the time the host introduced Bodiroga, the fans at the scene could no longer hold back their emotions.
First, the fans stood up collectively and began to shake the big cloth poster of Bodiroga wildly.
Then the fans in the front row picked up the oversized team flags and began waving them wildly from side to side.
The battle song started, and the chorus was so loud that it shook the sky and blew off the roof of the stadium.
Then, fireworks filled the sky.
Roars, white smoke, and colorful ribbons thrown into the field.
Sun Hao felt the pungent smell of gunpowder all around him, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable when it entered his lungs.
This scene doesn't look like playing basketball, it looks like fighting on the battlefield!
Under the white fog, the stadium has turned into the Roman Colosseum.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Sun Hao suddenly became a little worried about how to leave the field after winning.
What a bunch of lunatics.
By the time their opening ceremony was over, the stadium was covered with streamers.
Fortunately, the organizers were well prepared. After the ceremony, while the head coaches of both teams were arranging the opening tactics, a group of staff came on stage to clean up the venue.
It seems that the Greek team's pre-match style has become notorious.
The final tactical arrangements before the game were completed and the starting players of both teams came on the field one after another.
Panathinaikos fans...it's started again.
The roaring sound was like the encouragement of a medieval legion before a battle.
This is really forcing people to fight with shields and spears!
Jump ball from Garbajosa to Zeljko Ribraca.
Libraca is 2.15 meters tall, and with his long arms he pushed the ball back to Panathinaikos' half, officially opening the curtain of the Champions League final.
It was at this time that the fans of Panathinaikos began to reach their climax.
The roar reached a peak and the flag-waving people began to wave their flags.
Sun Hao felt tired for them just watching them, it was just the beginning.
Can you withstand this one?
This is not a football match. If you do that every time a goal is scored, your throat will be ruined after a game, right?
However, Sun Hao's attention was quickly drawn back because Bodiroga started showing off as soon as he arrived at the frontcourt.
Bodiroga plays the three position and the one defending him is Trinidad, who is the strongest perimeter defender of Real Madrid.
Trinidad is a swingman, 1.96 meters tall, not much shorter than Bodiroga.
But it seems that height is not the key factor in this matchup.
Bodiroga didn't even call for a pick-and-roll. He just changed direction and broke through Trinidad, then bent over and rushed into the inside.
That speed and change of direction are simply not what a 2.05-meter-tall man should have.
Gabayosa came over to assist in defense, but Bodiroga was not in a hurry and made a fake shot with a quick stop.
The action was too realistic, and Gabayosa was directly knocked flying.
Bodiroga turned around on the spot and lightly put the ball into the basket with his right hand.
Smooth, so fucking smooth!
From changing direction to sudden stop, to fake shot and turn, the series of technical moves are natural.
It’s not that Trinidad’s defense is bad, nor is it that Gabayosa is stupid, it’s that Bodiroga’s strength is too superior.
Just like the Nascent Soul fighting the Golden Core in fantasy novels, the all-round strength crushes the opponent.
Your full speed looks like slow motion to me. I can judge calmly and then make a choice.
To be honest, Sun Hao was a little shocked at this time.
Because this is even more awesome than what you see in the video.
This is the current European Emperor who led the team to win the La Liga championship when he first arrived at Real Madrid three years ago.
Now, three years later, at the age of 27, he has reached the peak of his personal strength.
The reason he doesn't go to the NBA is not because he doesn't have the ability, but because he really doesn't want to go!
Real Madrid advanced forward with the ball.
It was at this time that Sun Hao noticed that Panathinaikos had adopted a 3-2 zone defense at the start of the game.
The center stands in a high position, the two guards stand at two 45-degree angles on the left and right, and the two forwards fall to two low positions.
In contrast to the 2-3 zone defense that Bologna Virtus used before, the 3-2 zone defense is a defense that focuses on defending three-point shots.
If Real Madrid is compared to a car, Prigioni is the engine and Sun Hao is the transmission.
The two most critical parts come from the outside.
And because they have Ribraca in the interior, they don’t have to worry about losing the interior like Virtus Bologna did in the previous game.
This defensive formation is too targeted.
Panathinaikos not only has excellent strength, but also did enough homework before the game.
Real Madrid had no chance from the outside. Prigioni dribbled the ball and made a layup, but his layup was blocked by Ribraca, who grabbed the defensive rebound.
Although Libraca is tall, he is faster than you might think.
Panathinaikos dared to set up a double team defense at the start of the game, and was quite confident in the strength of the new MVP.
At this time, Sun Hao turned his head to look at the Panathinaikos bench and found that the coach looked familiar.
After comparing them carefully, he quickly remembered who this was.
Panagiotis Yiannis.
Not only him, I'm afraid most Chinese fans know him because he had a very unpleasant cooperation with the Chinese men's basketball team.
There are also many controversies about him, saying that he does not live up to his reputation and that he has no control over the team.
But in the end he found out that the team members were not selected by him, the team members did not follow the tactics as required, and they had to play in the competition after only a few months of training.
He was just dragged in to take the blame from the beginning to the end.
Sun Hao had not deliberately learned about it before, but judging from the tactical deployment at the beginning, he was a true European coach.
He is only 39 years old, but he led the Greek team to the semi-finals of the World Championships last year and played overtime with the eventual champion Yugoslavia.
Facts speak louder than words.
After defending Real Madrid's attack, Bodiroga started to show off again in the frontcourt.
This time he had his back to Trinidad and asked for the ball.
After seeing this, the other players of Panathinaikos all moved to the weak side.
Bodiroga has the advantage of weight and strength. After receiving the ball, he shot with his back and made a half turn to quickly get to the low post.
The two of them are in the same position, but it seems like they are misplaced.
Reaching the low post, Bodiroga made a quick turnaround shot toward the baseline.
Trinidad lunged out.
But the next second after he pounced, Bodiroga turned around and came back right next to him.
And just when Gabayosa came over to assist in defense, he took a small step forward and squeezed through, then easily scored by hitting the backboard.
The show is flying.
The Panathinaikos team on the scene started to explode again.
The large cloth poster of Bodillo used at the opening was pulled up again, and all the fans stood up and began to roar.
It was as if what had just been scored was not a goal, but a gladiator kicking his opponent down.
4 to 0.
Bodiroga scored 4 points in the opening minutes, helping the Greek team to a perfect start.
And Real Madrid still failed to score in the next round.
Gabayosa received a mid-range pass from Prigioni and shot the ball out of the rim.
It has to be said that the crazy Greek fans caused enough psychological interference to Real Madrid.
In comparison , Real Madrid fans felt completely suppressed.
The third party's home stadium turned into Panathinaikos' home stadium.
Ribraca protected the defensive rebound and passed it to Bodiroga immediately.
Bodiroga received the ball and turned around to go for a fast break.
Prigioni tried to steal the ball, but Bodiroga didn't stop while advancing, dribbled behind his back with his right hand, and passed Prigioni with the ball.
Sun Hao saw the opportunity and pounced forward, but Bodiroga changed his left hand and dribbled the ball behind his back and actually passed him!
This guy is simply not a human being!
Bodiroga advanced to the frontcourt and saw Trinidad in front of him. After starting the layup, he made a direct pass from under his hip to the middle in the air.
The guard followed up to receive the ball and made a layup.
6 to 0!
It's so beautiful that it makes people's scalps tingle.
Sun Hao's expression at this time was somewhat helpless.
After four years in Europe, he met a real European superstar for the first time.
Compared to Ginobili who has not yet fully matured and Gasol who has just become a main player, Bodiroga in front of him is simply not on the same level.
Although Sun Hao had made sufficient mental and physical preparations, Bodiroga's performance still exceeded his expectations.
This is the strength of the current European emperor.
Lazo had already walked from the bench to the sidelines, his eyes full of anxiety.
He knew Panathinaikos was strong, but he didn't expect them to be that strong.
Especially Bodiroga, because he left just after coaching Bodiroga, and like Sun Hao, it was the first time for him to experience it personally.
Coupled with the crazy cheers from the Greek fans around him, he was already confused.
Sun Hao saw that Lazo did not call a timeout, so he took the ball from Prigioni. After reaching the frontcourt, he signaled the team to set a double pick-and-roll in the high post.
The 3-2 zone defense is not so easy to break, he has to use his brain.
Seeing the action on the court, Yannakis, who was sitting on the sidelines, smiled.
He knew that Sun Hao was very good at three-point shooting, but even if Danilovic shot three-pointers against a 3-2 zone defense, he would not be able to guarantee the hit rate.
Real Madrid was completely thrown into disarray by Bodiroga's attack.
