East University Men’s Basketball Team lost in the finals to Persia in 2009, marking the first time since 1975 that they had been defeated in the Asian Championships.
Now, it was not just a matter of losing games, but they had lost in the quarterfinals, not even making it into the top four.
This was not only an ugly loss, but more importantly, it directly resulted in East University Men’s Basketball Team losing the qualification to participate in the first Men’s World Cup in 2014.
If previously losing to Iran was only somewhat shocking to the fans, now it was absolutely devastating.
This huge blame certainly affected many.
First and foremost was the head coach, Yanakis.
Criticism heavily targeted him, saying he did not understand the local players, and his tactics did not match the player’s skills; he was not living up to his reputation as the legendary coach who led the Greek national team to the top four in the 1998 World Championship and blocked the United States Dream Team in the 2006 World Championship.
But obviously, such a significant blame could not be shouldered by a foreign head coach alone.
And the players representing East University Men’s Basketball Team were the ones whom you would count on to continue participating in international games; it was not fair to blame them excessively.
So naturally, Hansen became the perfect scapegoat.
Some domestic media began condemning Hansen, stating he had never played a single game for the national team, yet with the support of East University fans, he entered the all-stars and achieved his current success.
If Hansen had played for the national team over the years, maybe the results would not have been stellar, but the team would not have steadily plummeted into the abyss.
Especially this year; if Hansen were to play, the team definitely wouldn’t have lost this World Cup qualification.
Moreover, in the reports, they started comparing Yao Ming and Hansen. Yao Ming, at the risk of ending his career, once represented the national team, but Hansen was unwilling even to participate in the Asian Championship while in good health.
Some even brought up Hansen’s trash talk against Green in last season’s playoffs. The source of this content ɪs 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝔫𝔢𝔱
"You should learn Chinese, because you’re about to go play in the East University CBA."
Others can look down on the CBA, but Hansen, as a member of East University, how could he disrespect his own country’s basketball league?
Earlier, Hansen led the Grizzlies to defeat the Heat and secure a consecutive championship, sparking a frenzy among domestic fans.
East University not only won the NBA championship but also secured a consecutive one, something unthinkable before now happened before their eyes, making Hansen a godlike figure to basketball fans.
However, the appearance of these articles left many fans perplexed, as this godlike figure had never served in the national team.
At this point, fans were split into two factions.
One faction believed Hansen initially wanted to play for the national team, but the basketball association messed it up, and then, the association and detractors used Hansen as a scapegoat for the team’s failures each time, making anyone reluctant to play for the national team.
The other faction believed no matter what, playing for the national team was the responsibility of an East University individual, and Hansen was just selfishly considering himself, not taking on the responsibilities he should have, such a star not only unworthy of their adoration but should even be more severely criticized.
This caused Hansen’s negative popularity to skyrocket.
It was at this time that Yao Ming visited Hansen in Memphis.
Hansen invited him to dine at his own Chinese restaurant.
Similar to what Yao Ming had done in Houston, this was also part of Hansen’s business plans in Memphis.
Except there were far fewer Chinese in Memphis than in Houston, and the food here was not Americanized, so it essentially acted as Hansen’s private restaurant.
Yao Ming visiting Hansen at this time clearly had a significant purpose.
"To be honest, I thought we might lose to Iran again this year, but I never expected to lose the World Cup qualification," Yao Ming couldn’t help but express as he sat down.
The qualification for this period’s World Cup was different from before Hansen’s time-transgression; there were a total of 24 spots, besides the host nation and the Olympics champion, 22 spots were allocated based on the strength of each continent.
Asia still hadn’t merged with Oceania at this time, having three spots total; the only theory was that the men’s team could not beat Iran.
Even if they had bad luck and met Iran in the semifinals, losing there, as long as they won the third or fourth place game, they could still obtain the qualification.
Who could have imagined East University Men’s Basketball Team would prove everyone wrong in the end?
"I’m not that surprised," Hansen, as a transmigrator, was quite familiar with the infamous "Manila Disaster."
Changing coaches just before the game, Yanakis had been coaching for less than three months before the team lost; could you really expect him to lead the team to success under such circumstances?
Basketball games are not just playing games.
Moreover, just in the selection phase, the basketball association was already making it difficult for Yanakis.
As head coach, Yanakis couldn’t even pick the players he wanted.
Yanakis’s strict training demands caused significant complaints among the team members, with discord between officers and soldiers even before the game started.
Under such conditions, even without theorizing that the players wanted to overthrow Yanakis, losing was expected.
"Those people really are too much, bringing you out to take the blame at this time," Yao Ming first voiced his disapproval for how Hansen was treated, then he suggested,
"I think if possible, it would be best for you to participate in the Asian Championship in 2015; winning the championship would be easy for you, and that would silence the doubters."
Yao Ming didn’t finish his words completely; it wasn’t just about silencing the doubters, Hansen could even become a hero who saved the men’s basketball team.