One Year Left to Play-Chapter 77 - 24: Divine Shot vs. Unstoppable Mid-range Shot (Part 3)
Garnett immediately asked for the ball from Bibi, and as soon as he got it, he made a move to accelerate, drawing the opponent’s attention, then pushed the ball towards the left side of the basket.
When Zhang Hao rushed in, there was someone who reacted, and it was someone Zhang Hao didn’t expect—206 cm tall Odom!
This time, Odom suddenly focused, keenly analyzing the opponent’s intention, and immediately shrank in.
But the ball had already flown over, and it was unstoppable, so Zhang Hao jumped up to meet Odom!
On Odom’s side, he only predicted Zhang Hao’s cutting path and filled in defensively, but he didn’t expect Zhang Hao to actually dare to jump into an alley-oop against him!
As the thought "this senior is actually so bold" flashed through Odom’s mind, his vision went black...
Odom, who had been focused for two seconds but spaced out for most of the quarter, was dunked over by Zhang Hao!
"Bronze Medal: Dunk Master, effect triggered..."
As Zhang Hao smashed the ball into the basket over Odom’s head, subtitles flashed!
At the same time, the referee’s whistle blew, Odom committed a defensive foul, the basket counted, and Zhang Hao got an additional free throw!
In the cheers of the fans, the teammates on the court rushed over to chest-bump Zhang Hao in celebration, the teammates on the sidelines shouted, and even stepped onto the court.
Zhang Hao came to the free-throw line, smoothly made the shot, and the additional free throw was successful!
to 64, with this 2+1 play, Team B extended their lead to 5 points!
Using this posterizing dunk, Zhang Hao once again boosted morale for Team B!
After that, Team B continued to use Zhang Hao’s amazing mid-range shots to launch attacks, focusing on winning rather than playing beautifully.
They played decently; although the mid-range shots were plain, Zhang Hao’s dunks served as excellent highlights!
As the game went on...
It was Team A that first started thinking, "Can we really make a comeback?"
Gradually, Team B regained control!
The fans were just there for the excitement. In critical moments, every basket made the fans cheer, and Kobe indeed won over many fans present with his personal performance.
Anyone who watched Kobe play could tell he had a limitless future.
And Zhang Hao truly made this place his home court.
Moreover, his performance was genuinely terrifying; he made the fans believe one thing—that even a pure shooter can crush the opponents!
Kobe didn’t want to lose! He was unwilling to lose! With 1 minute and 19 seconds remaining, Kobe made two consecutive steals, scoring 7 points, helping Team A close the gap to 74 to 77, and then Team B missed a three-pointer!
Of course, Team A gave the ball to Kobe, who had already scored 30 points and 8 assists, and Kobe, naturally, also believed in his ability. Facing Corey Benjamin’s defense, Kobe continued to play one-on-one. When Zhang Hao immediately went up for a double team, startling the rest of Team B, worried that Kobe might pass to Hamilton, Kobe still chose not to pass the ball.
He wanted to do it himself!
He trusted himself more!
But if you don’t have the strength to match your confidence, that’s arrogance.
This time, Kobe’s step-back three-pointer to tie the game, under Zhang Hao’s significantly larger physical presence, resulted in an airball!
Garnett grabbed the ball, and seeing Zhang Hao rushing down the court after their "gambling" defense succeeded, Garnett was ready if Hamilton made the three-pointer from Kobe’s pass to tie the game, but surprisingly, Zhang Hao had bet correctly, and that 16-year-old kid named Kobe didn’t pass in such a situation.
Garnett seized the moment, delivered a beautiful long pass, Kobe, after a forced fade-away, fell to the ground sliding backward, Zhang Hao charged to the frontcourt with no one defending him, or perhaps Team A no longer had the motivation to sprint back, as Zhang Hao caught the ball and jumped from a step inside the free-throw line!
Amid the gasps of the fans, Zhang Hao smashed the ball into the basket from near the free-throw line!
This dunk made those who had watched Zhang Hao’s dunk contest live or on video feel it was even better than the free-throw line dunk during the contest!
Although he didn’t step on the free-throw line, because this was in a real game, it was more thrilling to watch!
With 8 seconds left, 79 to 74, Team B led by 5 points, sealing the victory! They didn’t give the opponent a chance for a tactical foul!
Why are NCAA games so easy to turn around?
Because an ordinary foul, if it reaches the number of fouls for free throws, allows for a second free throw only if the first one is successful; a tactical foul is just an ordinary foul, meaning that at the last moment, a tactical foul counts as a successful defense as long as the first free throw is missed.
In reality, Team A, a team made up of high school students, didn’t even have the concept of tactical fouls by this point, but Zhang Hao played it safe, not only scoring two points but also using his physical advantage, pulling off a free-throw line dunk, completely overwhelming the opponent from the score to the morale, sealing the win!
Team A stopped struggling, released the ball, and Marbury ran the clock down until the game ended, while Team B, as Marbury didn’t push forward, everyone gathered to celebrate, and the 4 players on the sidelines had already rushed in!
The referee didn’t stop it; it was a scene that appeared every year and would become part of the highlight reel. When the final 8 seconds ended, the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the game, signaling with gestures that Team B had won!
Zhang Hao, who was celebrating with his teammates, saw he had more life ahead, even happier.
As the key player for victory, Zhang Hao successfully won over these teammates with his performance in this game!
Was there any benefit to winning? Actually, for most people, there was no benefit, and losing had no downside either, for example, graduates like Bibi, Raheem, and Corey Benjamin, who had already secured full scholarships.
But winning is joy!
The joy of men is always that simple...
With some experiencing joy and others sorrow, on the other side, Kobe watched Zhang Hao; he noticed something unusual about Zhang Hao the day before the training camp started, but he only loved comparing his strongest point against others’ strongest points, he never really thought that Zhang Hao would decide the outcome in the elite game.
Celebrating with these temporarily allied teammates, Zhang Hao suddenly felt a prickly sensation on his back.
Following the uncomfortable air, Zhang Hao saw Kobe...
The two exchanged a glance, and it seemed as though something in destiny was telling them: this will be the rival you cannot avoid!
