http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/19072008/3/china-lose-angola-basketball-stankovic-cup.html Only Article I could find so far... Yao had 16 and 7 in 20 minutes and China lost to Angola by 1 point. Yi Jianlian missed the gamewinning shot and Yao missed the tip.
For those watching Yao closely at this time, how effective is he expected to be in the Olympics? I assume he won't be 100%, maybe not even close.
He will just get better and better with another 4 to 5 warm-up games coming up. 1 game remaining in FIBA Stankovic Continental Cup (Against Russia U20), then 3 games more in FIBA Diamond Cup (July 29 ~ August 1 in Nanjing), and final warm-up game against Argentina on August 5. Performance wise, he is shaking off some of his rust in his first game with Serbia U20, and he dared to do quite a bit of tough defense. But given that his partner and starting point guard in the China national team, Liu Wei, injured with a bruised waist in the first game, sat out for this game, the back-up point guards, regardless whether it is Sun Yue or Chen Jianghua or Zhang Qingpeng had no clue to pass the ball to him. And Angola played very clever, always double-teaming Yao in defense, and in offense, they often tried to draw Yao out from the low post, and rely on their speedy guard to penetrate and score in the paint, or their sharp-shooters to score 3-pointers from the perimeter. China will be grouped together with Angola and Australia in the FIBA Diamond Cup, meaning Yao & Co. will have a chance for revenge over Angola, as well as Yao will have to meet Andrew Bogut & Co. Argentina will be in another group with Iran and Serbia in FIBA Diamond Cup, which means if Argentina finishes in the same position in their group as China, they will meet each other on August 1. If that happens, it will mean Yao Ming will square off against Luis Scola TWICE before Olympics commences.
I was able to find links to the game by searching today's date in a popular Chinese video sharing site: 7月19日. First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter
it's good that yao is getting better. good thing is, china has no chance in the olympics -> less chance for yao. angola???
doctors have suggested 15mins per game for this tournament for Yao. Is that extra 5 mins he played is good for him or bad for him. I wonder. Oh and the next game will be against russia tmr.
That's about his average, anyway. Per 32 minutes: 25 ppg and 11 rebs Per 35 minutes: 28 ppg and 12.2 rebs.
I admit that China has small chance to go beyond top 8 in Olympics, but I am pretty sad to see, again and again, this kind of selfish comments. "China can't go far, which is good. Yao can play one game less", so what? Champion team only plays 2 more games than top 8 team. Is that a big difference? I understand you guys are Rockets team fans only, but you really don't understand (although some people claim they do) how important national team victory and breakthrough is for Yao, and how much it will boost his confidence as a Bball player. Yao is different from other NBA players, and his success will always be measured by his NBA career and his national team career. Like it or not, you must accept it.
As to the first part of your post don't think that all Rox fans think that these Olympics are not integral to who Yao is as a person and a player. I really think the pressure and even his frustration over the injuries can bear fruit for Yao's game. And that will benefit any fan of Yao's including we "Rox first" guys. As to the second part, no we don't have to like it and also I firmly believe that Yao's basketball legacy isn't going to have much to do with the success of the CNT. Maybe he'll be credited for being the foundation of the CNT eventually being a prominent force in international competition but that's still years away. Despite China's huge population, the world is going to remember Yao for his career and impact in the NBA. If Yao's fondest bb memory ends up being the CNT's 4th place finish at the WBCs, then we're all in for a huge disappointment - including Yao. So don't get freaked out by some posts that criticize everything that happens when he's not under Rox supervision, because fans are going to complain about that. And in the final alaysis, Yao's going to write his own check on this. I also seriously doubt he'll be under any authority when he does.
You do understand this is a BBS located in Houston Texas USA, right? No one cares how far China advances beyond normal basketball interest. Most Americans dont care any more about CNT than about Argentina or Australia. As a FACT, it would be better if Yao wasn't playing at all coming off his injury so logically for a lot of fans one less game is indeed better. It's not selfish... are you being selfish over there in China if you dont hope Iran or someone does better than China in the Olympics? I'll admit I do not see how a CNT victory will boost Yao's confidence in the NBA seeing as the players are not as good, the rules are different, and he has entirely different teammates in the Olympics. The only players the Olympics are likely to benefit are Yi and that kid that got picked up the lakers. IF they kick major ass confidence may carry over to the NBA season. As for yao, plz dont get injured
That's where I think you're being short-sighted. Yao's been looking forward to these Olympics since before he was a Rocket. If you were Chinese and at the vanguard of your country changing and being accepted and recognized maybe that might mean something to you. It clearly does to Yao. Confidence comes from performing under pressure and like this or not he's under more pressure now than he ever will be in an elimination game in the 1st round of the NBA playoffs.
man, i just get the feeling yao is never going to be fully healthy ever again... he won't ever get a chance to heal all the way, and that will probably lead to more injuries.
This is why the Rockets should let him rest for the first couple of months and not send him out there at full-speed ahead...i would rather him miss games in meaningless Nov and Dec games than April and May games.
November and December games are not meaningless. Since when did they not count November and December games?
Well November games can keep you out of the playoffs also, example Golden State.But I get your point, its just I think if Yao is healthy in November he should be playing in November. In the West every month is meaningful.
