Watching the Olympic basketball match in Wen Jiabao： Don’t hesitate to applaud for both sides.

　　The fifth round of the men’s basketball group match of the Beijing Olympic Games was held in Wukesong Basketball Hall on August 18th. The China team led by Yao Ming and the Greek team, the world’s strongest team, fought fiercely for the quarter-finals. In the end, the weak China team lost 77-91. Spanoulis, who once partnered with Yao Ming in the NBA Rockets, commanded the team to defend Yao Ming closely and scored a game-high 19 points. China News Agency issued Ren Chenming photo

　　China news agency, Beijing, August 18 th: Wen Jiabao watched the basketball match of the Beijing Olympic Games: I did not hesitate to applaud for both sides

　　China News Service reporter Song Fangcan

　　Today, he walked into the Wukesong Basketball Hall, where the world famous basketball players gathered. Before the Olympic group match between the China men’s basketball team and the Greek men’s basketball team, he quietly stepped into the stands of the "Olympic family" and waited for the start of the match. Wen Jiabao looks cheerful.

　　Wen Jiabao, the Prime Minister of the State Council, China, is well known for his love for basketball. Before the opening of the Olympic Games, he visited the national basketball team and tried to make a layup on the basketball court. He held Yao Ming’s hand tightly and was concerned about the NBA center’s recovery from injury. When he left, he gave a message to the China men’s basketball team: "We should win honor, dignity and friendship for the motherland with wonderful games."

　　At the Beijing Olympic Games, China’s men’s basketball team broke through the "death group" with the top three Spanish, Greek and American teams and the fifth German team in the World Championships, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympic men’s basketball team one round ahead of schedule. In the competition, the China men’s basketball team showed a high-spirited and enterprising spirit.

　　Since the start of the Olympic Games, the China men’s basketball game has attracted many politicians from all over the world to watch. Earlier, US President Bush watched the contest between Chinese and American men’s basketball teams. During the match between the China men’s basketball team and the German team, Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), and the Supreme Leader, Vice President of the State, also attended the match.

　　At the beginning of today’s game, the China men’s basketball team was not adapted to the full-court press of the world runner-up Greek team and fell into a passive state of being beaten. Throughout the first half, China scored 24 points. Wen Jiabao seems to be anxious about the game situation on the field. Whenever he sees China’s men’s basketball team throw in a goal, he applauds warmly and cheers for the players. The DJ at the scene encouraged the audience to applaud together, and he also beat the beat with everyone to create a warm and hot atmosphere for watching the game. During the intermission, there was a wonderful air dunk performance, and Wen Jiabao gave applause to performers from all over the world from time to time.

　　With the cheers of the audience including Wen Jiabao, the China men’s basketball team was once 24 points behind its opponents, but it was not discouraged and played its own momentum. After the start of the third quarter, driven by Zhu Fangyu’s three-pointers and Yao Ming’s continuous scores, the score was gradually narrowed. Every time a China player hits a goal, Wen Jiabao applauds for the players. Sometimes, as long as the China team has excellent performance, even if the goal is not scored, Wen Jiabao will applaud.

　　The game was brilliant, and the fans at the scene shouted. The Greek team gave an excellent performance on the court and staged an aerial relay dunk. Wen Jiabao gave them a high five. China’s men’s basketball team was led by the opponent in the first half, and then the game got better and better, and its performance was not inferior to that of the world runner-up. Among them, the China men’s basketball team scored 30 points in the third quarter, exceeding the score of the first half. Finally, although the China men’s basketball team lost to its opponent by 77-91, the performance behind the China men’s basketball team made the Greek head coach give heartfelt applause after the game.

　　After the game, Wen Jiabao didn’t leave immediately, but stood up and applauded the players from both sides for playing such a wonderful game in the Olympic Games, and waved to the players from both countries.

Editor: Lu Wei