usa:china quote

Story Notes Quotes Box Score




UNITED STATES

Head Coach George Karl
Opening statements:
¡°China showed that we were tested. We were down 10-12 points at one time. They made some great shots ¨C over 60 percent in the first half. The difference was the defense. ¡­ We showed some great intensity, and pushed the Chinese players out a little. ¡­ This is a building block, a continuing adventure, a journey.¡±

On Yao Ming:
¡°Generally, all around, he¡¯s surprisingly impressive. He consistently plays a lot of minutes, and has the ability to stay on the court, even in foul trouble. He can pass, dribble. ¡­ Houston has to be happy. He¡¯s a young force, a strong player with the will, the size. He¡¯s extremely impressive.¡±

On Ben Wallace:
¡°I¡¯ve told him often that I have respect for him. I voted for him for Player of the Year. He¡¯s better than I thought he was. Ben Wallace is such a winner. He has to be on the court. He¡¯s a no-nonsense, quiet man. When I have the chance to talk to him, he says, ¡®Coach, don¡¯t worry about me. Go worry about another player.¡¯ There¡¯s a lot of possibilities with him out there because of his physical strength. It¡¯s good to have him on our side.¡±

Guard Paul Pierce
On USA depth and defense:
¡°We¡¯re a favorite here. Ultimately, our depth wears them down so we can run away with it at the end. The second quarter when we brought on the defensive pressure ¨C that was the difference in the game.¡±

On strong 3rd quarter:
¡°I always try not to get off to a slow start in the 3rd quarter. That is one of the most important quarters. You don¡¯t want to come out flat and lose the momentum.¡±

Forward Ben Wallace
On slow start:
¡±Nobody said it was going to be easy. We figure that every game that we play it¡¯s going to be our opponent¡¯s biggest game of their career. We came out a little sluggish in the first half and they hit some shots. We had to pick it up on the defensive end We realized that in the second quarter, and we were able to wear them down a little bit.¡±
¡°We know everybody is out here trying to beat us. We need to get out there and take control of the game.¡±

On his defense:
¡°That¡¯s what I do. That¡¯s the reason they got me here, to play defense. So I just go out and do my job. That¡¯s how I was taught to play the game, so that¡¯s what I came to do.¡±

CHINA

Head Coach Wang Fei
Opening statements:
¡°Today was a good day. We played a lot of extremely young players. We lost a lot of good chances, offensively and defensively. Because we¡¯re young, we must be better trained. Our guards are young. I hope they can lead our offensive game better in the future.¡±

On play of China center Menke Bateer
¡°Today, he played a good game. He focused on attacking inside in the key. Defensively he did a good job assisting others to defend.¡±

Forward Zhu Fangyu
Opening statements:
¡°China played to the standard we usually play. Most importantly, we played with no pressure. We went through a lot of our game plan and practiced it. We knew we did not have a big chance to win. We used this game to train ourselves and to work toward a better level.¡±