Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 396 Fierce Battle Against Spain (Part 4)
"Three minutes have already passed in the fourth quarter!"

"China is trailing by 12 points, 76-88!"

"Chen Wang is about to enter the arena. Is the final battle about to begin?" Yu Jia, who was giving a low commentary, suddenly became excited when he saw Chen Wang walk to the technical table.

"We have to go in. With only 7 minutes left, China, trailing by 12 points, is on the brink of elimination!" Su Qun said.

"Yes, Yi and Li Kai'er also came to the technical station with Chen Fang."

"Let's fight to the death, in these 7 minutes!" Yu Jia shouted passionately.

Chen Fang communicated with Yi and Li Kaier, and because of Li Kaier, Chen Fang spoke English.

"The three of us passed the ball around to each other!"

"No matter who has the ball, the other two move, one down and one up. If they're on the sideline, one moves closer and the other goes to the far corner."

"If you get the ball, if it's Yi, attack directly. If it's me, you all go for the rebound. If it's Kyle, find me and Yi."

Chen Fang explained the attack strategy in just a few words, and now it's unlikely that a five-man tactic will be effective immediately.

The three of them were able to hold off Spain; it was a last resort, a risky move to survive in dire straits.

"There's only one principle to defense," Chen Fang said, raising his index finger.

“I’m at the top of the key, Kyle is on the wing, and Yi is in the short corner.”

“The three of us will always stay on the same side and follow my direction. You guys adjust your positions. Kyle will guard the basket, and Yi will come over to help defend. Similarly, if Yi is under the basket, Kyle will go over. You guys will have to work harder.”

"No problem, I'm fit enough."

"I'm fine with that, 7 minutes is enough."

Chen Fang scanned their faces and read their resolute expression.

"Okay!" Chen Fang nodded, extended his hand, and the three of them shook hands.

"Seven minutes is enough!" Chen Fang said.

"Beep!" Sun Minghui committed a foul, resulting in a dead ball situation.

He was panting heavily. After only five minutes of fighting, his whole body was burning up and his legs were weak and sore.

The intensity was immense. In that moment of entanglement, one had to use all their strength to resist in order to maintain their balance. Every second felt like a weightlifting squat. Only then did Sun Minghui realize what level of confrontation Chen Fang had experienced.

The moment Sun Minghui was substituted off the field, he felt a great sense of relief, but when he saw Chen Fang, he felt ashamed.

He didn't score.

Chen Fang hugged him: "It's already very good. At least we didn't lose points because of you."

Sun Minghui nodded: "Give me some time."

"I will always wait for you!"

The moment I stood on the field, thunderous applause erupted, first from the east stands, then from the south stands, quickly spreading out.

Amid the applause, Chen Fang looked up to check the score.

78:90.

12 points, 12 points!
He silently repeated it twice in his mind, his eyes suddenly lit up, he took a deep breath, and exhaled heavily.

Instantly, I felt my lungs getting hot, but my heart was beating slower and slower.

Chen Fang could practically sense that he didn't know what was going on, but he couldn't care less about it anymore!

Fight them back!
We must reclaim everything we've lost; failure is not an option!
With burning faith, Chen Fang began his most dazzling competition!
Rubio dribbled the ball across half-court, Guo Ailun followed, and Belan came up to set a screen. Rubio handed the ball to the opponent with a handoff and then went to the wing.

A few steps later, he suddenly cut across to the top of the arc. Belan passed the ball in an instant. Rubio suddenly felt threatened and took the initiative to go forward to receive it. The moment he caught the ball with both hands, a hand ruthlessly cut across his wrist.

Rubio was shocked to find his hands empty, only then realizing who it was.

Chen Fang, number 21!
After winning the ball, Chen Fang did not accelerate. Instead, he moved sideways to avoid Rubio's tackle before running towards the frontcourt.

As the Spanish tide receded, Belan came up to interfere, but Chen Fang made a half-turn feint, causing him to lose his balance, and then he saw Chen Fang pass by him.

Chen Fang glanced around and noticed that his teammates' positioning was too straightforward, and Spain had subtly cut off their passing lanes, so he continued to push forward.

He wasn't fast, but every step he took brought him closer to the three-point line.

Rudy came from the side, and Chen Fang didn't dodge, but instead pressed close to him.

Belan was right behind him, but Chen Fang made a blunder, switching the ball to his left hand right in front of Belan's eyes and nose.

The next second, Chen Fang took a big step forward, and Rudy quickly retreated to react, only to find that there was nothing in front of him, which terrified him.

It turned out that Chen Fang had actually stopped and gathered the ball, then dribbled between his legs, causing Belan, who was sneaking up from behind, to miss again.

At this moment, the three were positioned in a triangle formation, with Chen Fang's front and left flanks surrounded and blocked. However, Chen Fang made a breakthrough to the right and accelerated. At the moment when Rudy moved laterally, he skillfully changed direction in front of his body and broke through with a Ross-style step that barely slowed him down. He forcefully rushed through the gap that Rudy and Belan had deliberately given up.

No sooner said than done, in the blink of an eye.

Having completely shaken off the two defenders, Chen Fang now faces Juan at the top of the key, Gasol under the basket, and Rubio on the wing.

Without hesitation, he pushed the ball straight toward Juan, but in the process, he used a hesitant step in front of his body to freeze his opponent, and then sped past him.

It was so fast that before Gasol could react, Chen Fang had already jumped up.

The shadow in his heart made Gasol hesitate, and so the opportunity was lost.

Chen Fang leaped high into the air, executed a mid-air layup, and displayed his aerial prowess right in front of Gasol.

The ball was practically tipped into the basket; the whole process was flawless.

As soon as Chen Fang landed, he turned around and ran back to his own half of the court. At this moment, his teammates had not even finished taking their positions, so he hurriedly turned back.

80:90.

Yu Jia was shouting, and the fans were cheering, but Chen Fang could no longer hear any of it.

In his eyes, there was only the scoreboard and the red Spanish army.

As Spain crossed the halfway line, Rubio was cautious this time. He deliberately created space, moving away from Chen Fang to form a strong flank, leaving his four teammates crowded on the other side.

By repeatedly feinting and identifying Guo Ailun's footwork weakness, Rubio made an inside cut, creating half a body length gap, and then resolutely ran towards the basket.

On the other side, four Spanish players went to the basket, some to the free-throw line, some stood still in the corner, and some sprinted towards the other side.

China's defense became chaotic, with Zhou Qi and Yi Jianlian both heading to the basket, while Li Ke'er resolutely chose to defend the corner.

Only Chen Fang managed to catch up with the fleeing Rudy.

Rubio passed the ball to Gasol at the free-throw line, who immediately slid along the baseline to the corner.

With the ball in Gasol's hands, the threat was greater than with Rubio's. Yi immediately pounced on him, while Zhou Qi seemed somewhat lost, unsure whether to move or stay under the basket.

Gasol didn't even look at Yi, and instead passed the ball ahead of time in the direction of the predetermined tactics.

The moment Rudy received the ball, he was unable to stop. He dribbled in and cut inside. He sensed someone behind him, but he was not afraid at all.

Zhou Qi finished the play, only to see Rudy slip away from him.

Where did the ball go?

Gasol, like a god descending to earth, raised the basketball high with one hand, striding with the physique of a brown bear, his unstoppable momentum completely overwhelming Zhou Qi.

Yi didn't have time to fill in, as Juan beside him got entangled with him.

Gasol leaped fiercely toward the basket; with his height and wingspan, even a few dozen centimeters would be an overwhelming force.

But, above Mount Tai, the sun still shines!
The moment Gasol swung his arm down towards the basket, two large hands suddenly appeared, rising from behind him at an angle, and a huge number 21 rose up.

Just before the basketball hit the rim, Chen Fang slammed it down on the backboard with both hands.

The elasticity of the basketball and the backboard didn't budge it an inch. Chen Fang used the force of wanting to crush the basketball to snatch it from Gasol's hands.

"A nailed hat! My God, what happened?"

"Where did Prince Chen come from?"

"Jordan descends, a god-like block?"

The fans were stunned, the commentators were stunned, and everyone in the VIP seats gaped open.

Gasol jumped up and down, gesturing wildly to indicate that it was a foul, but the three referees made no call and instead stared intently at Chen Fang under the basket.

Like a god of war being born, Chen Fang, standing under the basket, caught the basketball with one hand and casually swung it to avoid the interference of the unwilling Juan. He turned around and glared at Juan, who immediately fell silent.

Chen Fang ignored Gasol and turned to pass the ball to Guo Ailun, who looked at him with obvious admiration, as if he were a god.

The fans in the stands finally reacted, and they were swept up in a huge wave of jubilation. The extreme change in their emotions made them jump up and down, and their unrestrained shouts blended together, making the Shanghai Sports Center Stadium truly scorching hot.

Even with 88 air conditioners set to 16°C, the enthusiasm of the 16,000 people at the scene could not be dampened in the slightest.

"Chen Wang is everywhere! He's a superstar on both ends of the court. Steals, blocks, assists, scoring, screens—he does everything you need to know about basketball!"

"This is what a superstar is!" Yu Jia exclaimed excitedly, especially after catching the ball with one hand to dodge Juan's sneak attack, followed by that imposing glare—a moment captured on replay by all the fans. So cool, so awesome, so commanding!

No adjective can fully capture the feelings that are currently etched in the hearts of the fans.

The Spanish players' morale clearly plummeted, and almost no one dared to look Chen Fang in the eye. At this moment, they suddenly realized that there was a figure overlapping with Chen Fang!

Kobe!

In the heart of every Spaniard, it is that summer night.

On August 24, 2008, in the final between the United States and Spain, Kobe scored 20 points, including 13 points in the fourth quarter, and hit a crucial 3+1 play at the end of the game, leading the United States to a 118-107 victory over Spain.

It's fair to say that the Spanish people have always believed that Kobe defeated them!
Now, memories hidden deep in the heart begin to emanate.

China has passed the halfway mark.

Chen Fang received the ball in the center circle, and Rudy didn't dare to make any moves until Chen Fang started dribbling, at which point he hurriedly went to meet him.

With a single step, Chen Fang began to move.

A heavy sword has no edge; the greatest truths are the simplest.

Attacking Rudy's front foot, Chen Fang took a quick step and was already on Rudy's side. Instead of accelerating, he slowed down. When Rudy leaned in, he suddenly blasted the ball and leaned in.

"Thump, thump!" Rudy, struggling, almost fell over.

To completely resolve this problem, Chen Fang pushed the ball forward. Belan had already moved up to cover, but Chen Fang dribbled aggressively sideways and used his back-to-the-basket technique to block the opponent at the top of the arc.

Once, twice, and on the third dribble, he suddenly exerted force and drove along the three-point line to the left wing.

Belan gritted his teeth and swallowed hard as he chased after him. Those few kicks had left him feeling tightness in his chest and he almost vomited.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and Chen Wang's figure disappeared. He turned his head to look, and he really vomited.

Chen Fang simply used a low center of gravity to pull back in advance, dragging and crossing his body laterally, completely creating a large space of two body lengths.

Now, the Spanish basketball hoop is completely open within Chen's range.

With a swift motion, Chen Fang maintained his shooting stance, only revealing his ferocious expression as the ball went in, nodding and breathing heavily towards the stands.

The fans in the stands responded with frenzied shouts.

"83 to 90!"

"The 12-point gap has been reduced to 7 points!"

"Five more minutes, anything is possible!"

Spain's head coach, Sergio, decisively called a timeout, saving his last three timeouts for this moment.

Chen Fang did not return to the bench, but stood on the field, waving to the surrounding stands. A huge roar erupted, and people even felt the floor beneath their feet tremble.

Sergio didn't even know what he was saying; his mouth was open, but an invisible force prevented him from speaking.

The sound waves crashed against the bench like a raging torrent.

Helpless, he could only have all the starters come closer and whisper instructions in their ears.

What he did in that minute didn't even last ten seconds of effective time. The old man was furious, but looking at Chen Fang in the center of the court, he realized what this NBA upstart was up to.

The evil plan has succeeded!
The Chinese bench was also affected, but Li Nan didn't mind. The noise could only affect his speech, but it couldn't stop him from encouraging his teammates with his body language.

We've picked them up one by one; now we rely entirely on the starting lineup.

Back on the court, the Chinese team was full of energy. Even though they were drenched in sweat, their high morale made them appear powerful and formidable.

The bull-horn formation quickly transformed into a diamond formation. Juan and Gasol's coordinated attack from above and below was usually invincible, but this time, things didn't go smoothly.

Yi and Zhou Qi lined up side-by-side in the paint to form a barrier, preventing the two from switching positions, while Li Ke'er quickly retreated inside to surround Gasol.

Chen Fang, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, immediately cut off Rudy's pass on the wing, thwarting Rubio's chance to pass the ball into the paint from the wing.

Guo Ailun put immense pressure on Rubio with the ball, forcing the latter to retreat to defend.

The only one, Belan, wanted to go and meet him, but because his back was to Lucio, he had to go in a circle.

When he received the ball, 17 seconds had already elapsed.

Lucio continued to drop back, signaling for possession and a reorganization, but Guo Ailun was interfering with the passing lanes. Belan hesitated for a moment before making a decision.

He dribbled forward, hesitated at the three-point line for a moment, and then stepped in.

In that one second, Li Keer returned to Belan's side. Facing the long-armed and long-legged Li Keer, Belan was immediately trapped in a dead ball situation.

He didn't even know how many seconds were left, so he jumped up hastily and made a blind move.

"Rebound! Rebound!" Yu Jia had been watching the game closely, and when he saw Belan shoot, he immediately realized it was unlikely to go in and shouted.

Yi turned around and went to lean on Gasol, while spreading his arms to block Juan. Meanwhile, Zhou Qi jumped high and grabbed the backboard that had hit the rim and bounced back up.

This scene is so classic that it needs no words; anyone can accurately read and understand it.

Yi used his body to withstand the scramble of two players, leaving the rebounding opportunity to Zhou Qi.

As soon as Zhou Qi got the rebound, he saw Chen Fang rushing towards him and immediately raised his hand.

The two players passed the basketball hand to hand, and Chen Fang, who got the ball, took long strides and began to sprint.

Instead of using a floating ball, he dribbled at high frequency towards the Spanish half of the court. The sound of the basketball hitting the court was like the whistle of a steam train, as it puffed and puffed its way towards the Spanish penalty area.

Spain retreated quickly, but Chen Fang rushed in front of them. Rubio, Belan, and Rudy surrounded them, determined to stop the fast break.

Before Chen Fang could make a move, Bei Lan seemed to want to make amends and went straight for him in a hug.

Caught off guard, Chen Fang reacted quickly, holding the basketball in his right arm and blocking the outstretched hand with his left, gritting his teeth and taking a step forward.

Rudy followed suit, grabbing Chen Fang completely in his arms this time.

Due to the immense inertia of Chen Fang's sprint, Belan was whipped around by the whip-like force and staggered towards the floor.

Rudy's nearly 200-pound body pressed completely onto Chen Fang, and just then the whistle rang out sharply. Anyone else would have fallen down.

But this is Chen Fang!
Even if the world ends, I'll still throw this ball!

"Ho!" Chen Fang let out a deep roar, taking the last step. The immense upward force helped him break free from Rudy's grip. He saw the basket, the backboard, and Rubio staring in disbelief to the side.

Holding the ball high, Chen Fang grabbed it with both hands and reached towards the basket.

A moment later, a voice rang out.

"Take it in!"

It seemed like it really could be done, so Chen Fang stretched out his arms and flew towards the basket.

"Aaaaaaah!" Yu Jia almost went crazy!

In all his years of commentary, he had never seen such an explosive scene: knocking one person aside, hanging on another, and still managing to dunk the ball into the basket!

Slam Dunk!

These four words are so familiar, yet they seem so ordinary!
It was completely unworthy of Chen Wang's current status and ability, yet at this moment, it perfectly illustrated the scene.

Slam dunking isn't about who jumps the highest or whose form is the most graceful.

That's the most primal charm unleashed, defining the sport of basketball with pure power.

Slam the ball into the basket!!!
Countless fans simultaneously clutched their heads, widened their eyes, opened their mouths, and screamed in a speechless frenzy.

Even the leaders in the VIP seats were moved, and one of them couldn't help but touch his forehead with one hand.

Yao and Wang Zhizhi were both stunned. The aura that Chen and Wang were releasing at that moment was so powerful that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was the scene of a nuclear explosion!
The Spanish and Chinese substitutes jumped up at the same time.

While China was jumping for joy, Spain was stamping its feet in frustration.

Exhausted, Chen Fang could no longer hold onto the rim and nearly fell off. He landed just in time and roared towards the baseline stands, pounding his chest. Compared to everyone else, he was the most excited!
What does it feel like?
So cool!

"Unstoppable Chen Wang, unstoppable dunks, unstoppable us!" Yu Jia used three unstoppable parallel phrases to express his excitement.

As for the players involved, Rudy, Belan, and Rubio were distraught. Although they tried to appear strong and expressionless, their repeated mistakes in positioning themselves at the wrong free-throw rebounding spots revealed their inner confusion and bewilderment.

When Chen Fang stood on the free throw line, there was only one voice in the entire Shanghai Sports Center.

MVP!

After listening to the instructions five times, Chen Fang finally raised his hand and kicked the ball out.

Goal!

"85 to 90."

"The 12-point gap has been reduced to five points, four and a half minutes, and there's plenty of time!"

"Spain, can you withstand the roar from King Chen?" Yu Jia asked arrogantly into the void.

(End of this chapter)