Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 184: Peak Competition, I am the King (Part )
Duan Ran and Wang Meng were already sitting in the commentary seats specially set up for the media, behind the technical desk. This row was basically made up of commentators from various countries. Their positions were on the right side, which was relatively speaking, not very good.

But their attention was all on the court. It had been a long time since they had commented on a world-class competition with Chinese participants, and the peak competition was a big excitement.

Duan Ran was looking through the personnel lists of both sides. Although he knew many of them, he knew clearly that the twenty or so people on both sides were among the best under the age of 19 in the world.

In fact, many of them have the ability to impact the NBA.

"Here they come, here they come!" Wang Meng suddenly shouted, and looked up to see the World Team entering the stadium. The players filed out one after another, and finally, he saw Chen Fang.

According to the rules of basketball, the one who comes out last is the big shot. Even if you are thick-skinned, you can’t do it as long as your level is not high enough.

Today, the World Team wore all black jerseys, and the American Team wore all white. When Chen Fang came on the court, he immediately walked to the center of the court. Duan Ran and Wang Meng were surprised to find that three people came out at the same time from the American side.

Tatum, Fultz, Fox.

The two commentators were shocked by the scene of four people laughing and chatting in the middle of the court.

Then Ayton also came up. Although he was the tallest, from his expression and posture, it was obvious that he was willing to be the younger brother.

"What did they talk about?" asked Wang Meng, who witnessed the scene.

Duan Ran shook his head: "I don't know, probably just chatting about the game."

He guessed correctly. Chen Fang came up and said to the three people: "Hey, guys, I'm going to play the game with all my strength today."

"Come on!" Tatum was the first to laugh, then winked at Fox and Fultz.

Fultz said in a very honest manner: "We have been waiting for this for a long time. You will suffer today."

"Come on, come on, don't show any mercy, don't waste such a good stage."

After the verbal exchange, Chen Fang returned to his own half and said to Ayton who was following him: "If you play well today, there will be no problem in the NBA."

"According to your characteristics, I will pass the ball to you!"

"Yeah." Ayton also knew that today's game was of great significance.

The perspective turns back to Duan Ran. He has already obtained the starting lineups of both teams. He is cheered up. As expected, Chen is in the starting lineup. Although he was very confident before the game, he always feels empty without seeing it with his own eyes.

Although this game was recorded, the commentators still had to treat it as a live broadcast. The two of them were preparing nervously. There are usually two commentators and their responsibilities are divided.

One is highly professional, the other is good at talking.

One analyzes tactics and predicts the direction of the game, while the other stimulates the emotions of the audience based on the current situation of the game.

There were not many people entering the Moda Center today. Only the area near the stadium was almost full. There was almost no one sitting on the second and third floors.

There won’t be many spectators who actually watch the game, but mostly scouts and media.

Chen Fang also saw Harden and Rondo. They did not sit behind the American bench, but sat here opposite the technical table, not too far or too far, which was very interesting.

It was not convenient to get closer, so Chen Fang just waved.

Bearded Harden, along with a few playmates, waved his hands in response, and Rondo looked at Harden not far away in surprise, only to find that this brother also came to support Chen Fang.

"This little Chinese brother has a good network of contacts," said Garnett next to him with a smile.

"Yes, he has a very calm personality, but he is also very open-minded, which is rare among Chinese people."

"Then he's worth making friends with!" Garnett nodded.

The NBA is a world of personal connections. Both old-school and middle-class forces are trying their best to expand their personal connections in the league.

In many games between high school rookies and college players in the U.S., you’ll see some NBA stars coming to support them. That’s what they’re looking for.

Even after retirement, they are still happy to do this, just to leave a presence in the league and retain a certain voice. As people who have experienced it, they will use their remaining energy to help up-and-coming players and deepen their relationship with each other.

To put it bluntly, it's like the relationship between hunter and prey.

Because apart from making money from basketball, it is difficult for them to make money in other areas.

(The retired star podcasts that are popular nowadays are like this, constantly showing their presence and using some super-giant topics to attract traffic.)
Regardless of off-court factors, Chen Fang's warm-up was just to keep his body warm. As the game time approached, Roy called the players off the court and gave them a few simple instructions. He said, "This is an offensive and defensive battle. You have to show your own characteristics and strengths. This is the meaning of your coming here."

"But, follow the team spirit and don't work alone. I will replace you and let you sit on the bench."

"Pay attention, come on, kids, play to your full potential."

Roy's words made the players sober up a little. Yes, the winner of the Nike Summit is not important. The significance of holding it is to show whether their abilities can match the best peers on the planet.

Afterwards, the starting players of both sides returned to the court.

USA head coach: LJ Goolsby, full roster (first row starters):

Jayson Tatum, Markelle Fultz, Terrance Ferguson, Jarrett Allen, Frank Jackson.

Max Bolden, De'Aaron Fox, Winn Gabriel, Harry Giles, Jonathan Isaac, Josh Jackson, Payton Pritchard.

World Team Head Coach: Roy Larner, Full Team Roster (First Lineup):

Deandre Ayton, Chen Fang, Harry Florin, Justin Jackson, Ntilikina.

William McDowell, Wesley Silva, Martinas Varnas, Ziming Fan, Udoka Azubuike, Edin Fee, Andres Feliz.

When he saw the players from both teams standing in the center of the field, Wang Meng started.

"Dear viewers, welcome to the 2016 Nike Premier League, the World Team vs. the United States Team."

"Our player Chen Fang started the game as a point guard. He is 201cm tall and is our second tall guard after Sun Yue. He was born in August 98 and is not yet 8 years old. He plays at Chaminade High School in the United States and helped the school to become the top student in the United States. In February this year, he was rated as a five-star high school student in the United States with a score of 18, ranking fifth in the United States."

"Chen Fang has excellent shooting and athletic ability and often scores difficult goals on the court. OK, the game has begun, let's wait and see his wonderful performance."

After an opening statement, Duan Ran and Wang Meng quickly got into the mood and began to explain.

On the court, Chen Fang took the ball from his teammate, waved his hand to let everyone take their positions, and then glanced at his old opponent.

Fultz.

We meet again, cherish your healthy time.

After reciting it silently in his mind, Chen Fang dribbled the ball across half court. Fultz did not dare to be negligent. He had already experienced Chen Fang's shooting range. He did not choose to wait at the three-point line, but started to defend at the midline.

Facing Fultz's defense, Chen Fang turned around with a heavy heart, got rid of it slightly, came to the high position on the left wing, passed the ball to Ntilikina, and started to go to the top of the arc.

Then Ayton came out to screen for him, Chen Fang walked to the right wing, and Ntilikina also brought the ball to the top of the arc.

The coordination of the three caused a little confusion in the US team's high-position defense. At this moment, Chen Fang was facing Tatum. As an old teammate, Tatum thought he knew Chen Fang best. Usually at this time, once Chen Fang received the ball, he would make a transfer, so he paid special attention to Ayton's follow-up.

Sure enough, Ntilikina passed the ball to Chen Fang, and Ayton also moved down after completing the screen.

Tatum consciously took a step back, but the next second he saw Chen shooting from outside the three-point line on the wing.

"It's over!" Tatum immediately realized he was wrong.

There was no need to look, this three-pointer was bound to go in. He had never seen Chen Fang miss a shot at this distance.

Sure enough, there was a cry of surprise and the referee made a valid three-pointer gesture.

He chased after Chen Fang, shouting, "Change your tactics?"

"Haha, you want to change it too?" Chen Fang responded with a smile.

But before Chen Fang's smile faded, he saw Fultz dribbling the ball and rushing straight to the basket, making a shot and targeting Ntilikina who was guarding him.

Chen Fang didn't bother to listen to Tatum's ridicule as he ran back, and shouted to Harry: "Hey, pay attention!"

In the previous ball, Harry was distracted and did not provide assistance in defense, so Ntilikina was completely eaten away.

There is no way to change the speed of the United States. There is no slow player in their team. Even the center runs as fast as a rabbit.

Then the World Team served the ball from the baseline, Ntilikina crossed half court, Chen Fang received the ball in the center circle, and after getting the ball, he moved to the wing, and under Harry's pick-and-roll, he went to the top of the arc, but Fultz's squeeze screen was successful, resulting in Chen Fang not being able to completely get rid of it, so the next tactics could not continue.

Chen Fang could only retreat with the ball, return to the high position, wave his hand and reorganize the attack.

The rules of the peak competition took the world team into consideration and followed the rules of FIFA. At this moment, the attack time had reached the countdown of 10 seconds. Chen Fang immediately realized that it was impossible to use a tactic. It would be difficult to do so with such a temporary team.

If it is enforced by force, it will just be an act of passing the buck.

The thought was just a flash of thought. Chen Fang continued to dribble under his crotch, doing an IN&OUT dribble, trying to forcefully cut off Fultz. However, during the physical confrontation, he was pushed away by half a body length, and his ability to break through was limited. However, this was something Chen Fang had expected, so he took a step back and forced a shot.

The ball hit the side of the basket and bounced out.

"That's too much of a stretch!" Wang Meng shouted from the commentary booth.

"There's still enough time, you're too impatient!" He continued to express his opinion, but Duan Ran came to the rescue: "If the tactics haven't been implemented, it won't be the same for anyone, so you might as well believe in yourself."

Fultz was excited about the successful defense. He waved his fist at Chen Fang, but Chen Fang curled his lips.

Afterwards, Tatum used his height advantage to receive the ball on the wing and moved into the paint, taking a strong three-step and scoring 2+1.

The stands cheered. As the biggest star of the American team, he had the charisma. While shooting free throws, Tatum said to Harry, who was defending him, "You can't defend me. I'll blow you up!"

Harry pretended not to hear, but Chen Fang stood up and spoke for his teammates: "Come and provoke me, don't bully my teammates."

After the free throw was made steadily, the US team took the lead with 5:3.

But it also aroused the excitement of the rest of the United States. Allen challenged Ayton and scored the ball with a back hook, and then Terrence received the ball in the bottom corner and made his first three-pointer of the game. (In this previous game, Terrence made 7 three-pointers, 6 of which were consecutive.)
After scoring, he was very excited. He pointed at Chen Fang and made a three-point gesture. Chen Fang was puzzled, but then guessed that someone else told him that his three-point shot was very powerful.

One by one, they all jump out to mess with me and hinder my great cause?

Chen Fang sneered.

In the commentary booth, Wang Meng was still praising the American team: "The American team's high-level offense and defense from top to bottom is really unstoppable. The world team couldn't keep up at all, and the score was widened immediately."

"The world team needs some time to adapt to this offensive and defensive rhythm." Duan Ran also sighed. Apart from a three-pointer at the beginning, Chen Fang had already fallen into a round-trip run.

Three minutes into the game, the score was already 10:3 for the American team.

Afterwards, Ntilikina was double-teamed and the United States counterattacked again. Fultz was incredibly fast and once again performed a one-man show. Facing Harry's pursuit, he ignited the atmosphere of the whole audience with a one-handed slam dunk.

12: 3.

Roy frowned. He didn't expect his teammate to perform poorly on the court. It might be due to stress. Just when he was considering calling for a timeout, he saw Chen Fang waving at him.

The situation is not out of control yet.

Chen Fang dribbled the ball across half court, and it was no longer appropriate for Ntilikina to dribble the ball.

He must score because at this time, the whole team is mentally unstable and needs someone to comfort them.

This person can only be yourself.

He waved to let Ayton come up. Harry's pick-and-roll quality was too poor. There were problems in this link of his in both tactics. No matter who came up, the impact would not be so big. Together with Ntilikina, the problems of the two people may cause the world team to collapse.

The moment Ayton came up, the US team responded. Frank and Tatum both paid close attention and shouted to remind Fultz to keep an eye on Chen Fang.

Fultz leaned forward, trying to delay with his body, but Chen Fang pulled back and moved sideways, stepped forward to speed up, and took the opportunity to pass Fultz.

Chen Fang accelerated with an agility that was inconsistent with his height. He made continuous fake shoulder moves, like a dragon chasing a pearl. He passed two people from the top of the arc, dodged Frank, and faced Allen's last defense. He dodged with a European step and sent the basketball into the basket with a high shot with his left hand.

The series of moves shocked the audience and showed his ability to combine man and ball.

"Wow!" Garnett shouted twice exaggeratedly, "Such a good combination ability?"

"Yeah, the sweating games are even more intense, we're all flying in the sky." Rondo said with a smile.

In the commentary booth, Wang Meng immediately shouted, even if half of his excitement was fake, he shouted: "Oh my God, Chen Fang is as fast as lightning, his body movements are like a dragon, what a great score that penetrated the entire defense of the American team. This reminded me of the scene of Zhao Zilong of Changshan going in and out seven times. This ball is so beautiful!"

Duan Ran, who usually plays the role of praising others at this time, said: "Hey, it's really amazing."

"You've already scored five points, that's incredible! It's only been a few minutes, and you're indeed at the top five level in the United States." Wang Meng took the opportunity to praise him. Who could guarantee that there would be such exciting scores in the future? If he didn't praise him at this time, it might be a regret.

Just when Wang Meng was about to say something, the changes on the court suddenly made him stuck.

Frank's three-pointer was interfered by Chen Fang who was rushing over, and the ball bounced off the basket and fell to the free throw line. Ayton grabbed the rebound and saw Chen Fang rushing in front of him. The two passed the ball to each other, and Chen Fang moved forward at high speed. He was angry about the counterattack of the American team just now, and he was determined to fight back.

Among you guys, every single one of you, except Fox who is sitting on the bench, who is faster than me?

"Boooo!" Seeing No. 21 rushing forward, the stands suddenly became excited and many people stretched their necks to see the result of the ball.

Chen Fang did not disappoint them at all and even exceeded their expectations.

Chen Fang accelerated from the backcourt and rushed to the frontcourt at full speed. Ever since he saw Han Nuo's unreasonable turn and sprint, he has been trying to learn it very hard. However, most of the time, the game does not require him to do this.

Seeing Frank change direction from retreating to sprinting towards him, Chen Fang had no intention of stopping. He just randomly chose a direction and accelerated even faster to pass by him.

The strong wind brought by the storm even made Frank shiver, but when he turned around subconsciously to look, he was completely stunned.

Chen Fang has already made it to the three-point line. To his left is Fultz who is catching up with him, and outside the restricted area under the basket is Allen who has just taken position. The two of them, one still and one moving, are ready to contain him.

But Chen Fang had no other thoughts. He grabbed the bouncing basketball with one hand, pushed off the ground with his right foot, and rushed straight to the basket like a tiger rushing down the mountain.

No one could have expected that Chen Fang would be in a position slightly below the elbow area to do this. I can understand you talking about three steps, but why did you jump up?
Fultz's head suddenly exploded, as if hit by a hammer. He was stunned for a moment and subconsciously braked.

When Allen, who was under the basket, saw Chen Fang jump up, he also jumped subconsciously. When he was halfway through the jump, he saw the black number 21 in the air, like a high-speed train, whizzing towards him.

A quick reaction was a good thing. Allen immediately twisted his waist and turned sideways in the air, and retracted his hands.

The 21-plus people in the stands were completely shocked when they saw Black jump up. Chen Fang's jumping speed was so fast that before the sound was in his throat and his mouth opened, his super long-range gliding slam dunk had already hit the basket heavily.

"Ding!" The basket made an unusual strange sound. The huge kinetic energy, carrying Chen Fang's weight, was completely released on the hard basket. Immediately, the orange-red basket deformed and drooped.

Chen Fang loosened his grip on the basket and fell towards the floor. The huge momentum still affected him. He took several steps forward before he stabilized. This was more like a bully step, which made the cameramen at the baseline take pictures frantically and subconsciously retreat collectively.

This scene was too scary. Chen slowed down and started running towards his own field. He did not celebrate, but shouted to his teammates who were running towards him: "Return to defense, get into position quickly!"

"Oh my God...!" Wang Meng was really frightened. His innate rich emotions made him speechless and choked. Duan Ran, on the other hand, was able to continue the conversation.

"This ball was like a firecracker that was about to explode. Before my brain could react, it exploded."

"What kind of bounce is this? Did he jump from the three-point line?" Wang Meng recovered and asked in a panic.

"One step inside the three-point line." Duan Ran saw it carefully. He wanted to say something, but he felt like something was blocking his throat.

Chen Fang had never seen such a ball in his life. This happened during the game. It was really unbelievable.

"Chinese people know martial arts?" was the first thought in many people's minds, followed by various slow reactions and shouting, and countless people looked up to watch the replay on the central big screen.

After seeing the whole thing in slow motion, the entire stadium truly went crazy.

Think of the nickname of No. 21.

"It really looks like a big falcon, high and fast!" an audience member exclaimed.

Even the players on the court, whether they are from the United States or the world team, are the same.

It’s a pity that the game was still going on and not many people had time to appreciate this scene.

12: 7.

The score is getting closer and closer.

As the person involved, Chen Fang had no expression at all. He vented his anger and continued doing what he was doing.

The American team continued to attack, while in the commentary booth, commentators from various countries were still savoring this ball. Wang Meng only started talking now, praising the team endlessly. He used everything he could think of, without considering what to do if there was anything else in the future.
What else can I do? I repeat, it doesn’t matter. This game and this goal alone are worth the money.

Tatum did not make Chen Fang happy. In fact, he now has clearly known his strengths and weaknesses. Pure breakthrough is difficult, but through breakthrough plus physical confrontation, using his physical advantage, it is very useful.

Just like now, he moved with the ball, mobilized Harry, then turned around, squeezed Harry away, and hit back with a mid-range shot.

"Hey, it's two points too!" he shouted to Chen Fang.

This was a response to the dunk just now, but Chen Fang curled his lips.

"I know, just wait."

With Chen Fang's performance, the World Team found its backbone and its mentality stabilized. Five minutes after the start, the World Team entered the game state.

Ayton finally had his chance to perform. He kept getting the ball in the paint and playing against Allen. His flexible footwork and stable mid-range shots made many people see his unlimited potential.

The United States is also a basketball desert. They can produce many good guards and forwards, but the output of centers is too small. People like Ayton are already rare products.

Just as Ayton's performance stole the limelight from Chen Fang, the US team's defense began to shrink inward, which also brought vitality to the outside line.

Ntilikina finally scored, using a jump shot to break the inner pressure.

"Keep shooting like this!" Chen Fang high-fived him and encouraged him. Thanks to Chen Fang's attractive defense, he got the chance.

"Yes, yes!" he cried again and again.

Afterwards, Frank made his second three-pointer and went to find Chen Fang, but unfortunately the latter ignored him, which made him feel that his fighting spirit turned into anger.

What's so great? I'm almost catching up with you in points now.

In the final stage of the first quarter, the World Team was completely under Chen Fang's control. Under his arrangement, the team's tactics and positioning returned to normal.

The American team continued to maintain their lead in the score with their individual abilities and impact.

With the whistle, the first quarter ended.

21: 16.

The United States still maintains a 5-point advantage.

(End of this chapter)