I was a top student in America.

When the players returned to the court, Durant surprisingly didn't get angry.

He walked up to Li Ao, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"The other team is scared of your shots now, they definitely won't dare to play zone defense anymore, they'll probably switch to man-to-man defense. When you get back, pay attention to where you receive the ball, don't just stand in the corner, run towards the top of the key, I'll draw you a play."

Li Ao nodded.

The substitutes on the bench exchanged glances, but no one said a word.

Giving a newly recruited substitute a timeout to give him individual coaching and playmaking is absolutely unprecedented in Wyndham's history.

Tai Shorn strode back, and as he passed Li Ao, he slapped him on the back:

"Well done, bro."

Malik, sitting on the bench, stared in disbelief, his mouth slightly agape.

Tayshaun has been with the team for two years and is usually a quiet person, but today he actually took the initiative to praise someone, even though he was a substitute who had only played for five minutes.

Taking advantage of this moment, Li Ao leaned over and whispered to Tai Shorn:

"If the enemy switches to man-to-man coverage, you and Darryl can set up a double screen for me on the top lane and switch that power forward to me. That guy has a heavy chassis and is slow; I can take him down one-on-one."

TySean raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, I'll do as you say. I'll hold them off first, Daryl will follow."

He turned and waved to Daryl, who was drinking water. The three of them gathered around Coach Durant and watched him draw a V-cut double screen play on the whiteboard.

Daryl wiped his sweat, grinned, and gave an "OK" sign.

Back on the court, the opposing offense still didn't improve much, and his layup was blocked by Tayshaun.

With the roles reversed, Simon Vocational Academy indeed abandoned zone defense and switched to man-to-man defense.

The guard who hadn't taken Li Ao seriously when playing zone defense before probably got a good scolding from the coach. His attitude had completely changed. He raised both hands high and seemed to want to stick to Li Ao and not leave him for a moment.

Li Ao glanced at Daryl, who was holding the ball at the top of the arc, and then suddenly pushed off with his foot, making a move to slip towards the bottom corner.

Just as the opposing defender twisted his hips to prepare to chase, Li Ao suddenly stopped and ran back, leaving Li Ao behind at full speed from the other side.

Tae-Sean's cover was timely and effective.

The defender collided headfirst with Tayshaun's shoulder and stumbled.

At the same time, Daryl handed the ball to Li Ao, then lowered his shoulder and stood still, forming a second wall and effectively blocking another player who was trying to cover.

The two strong men worked together seamlessly.

The power forward who was originally guarding Tayshaun had no choice but to grit his teeth and rush to the outside to switch on defense.

This guy was a good half a head taller than Li Ao, and his two arms were thick and long, blocking out the sky when they were placed in front of him.

However, when he took his first step and landed, his lower body was noticeably sluggish. Li Ao was secretly delighted – he had made the right bet; the big guy couldn't keep up with his lateral movement.

The tactical run turned into a one-on-one situation at the top of the arc.

Li Ao caught the ball at the three-point line, lowered his shoulder, aimed at the basket, and raised his hand.

The power forward, fearing his shot, impulsively jumped up.

But it was just a shooting fake.

Seeing the big guy being shaken up, Li Ao calmly jumped up.

The power forward realized he'd been tricked mid-air, but his physical abilities were truly freakish. He managed to forcefully twist his center of gravity in mid-air using his core strength and swung his long arms as he swooped down.

"Holy crap, they managed to come back?"

Li Ao was startled. He hadn't expected the black guy to be so fierce. He jumped back, and the other guy was still in the air.

The two collided squarely in mid-air.

In the past, Li Ao would have been sent flying by the impact, but at this moment, the [Explosive Power] attribute came into play.

He clenched his teeth and tightened his core, managing to stabilize himself in mid-air.

Despite the pressure of over 100 kilograms of force on his body, his shooting hand remained firmly positioned at its highest point.

A flick of the wrist, a flick of the fingertips.

"Beep—Shooting foul!"

The moment the referee blew the whistle, the ball had already passed the opponent's fingertips.

After the basketball left his hands, time seemed to slow down throughout the stadium. Everyone's eyes were glued to the arc of the high-flying ball, wondering if this fiercely competitive young Chinese-American could continue his miracle run.

The ball bounced off the inside rim of the basket, playfully spinning almost a full circle, and then—

"Whoosh," it fell into the net.

3+1!

The stadium, which had been silent for a second, erupted in cheers. Amidst the sporadic gasps, there were even a few whistles from the home fans who were turning against their team.

Meanwhile, the Wyndham bench has gone completely mad.

Jamal was the first to jump up, slamming the towel in his hand to the floor and yelling a curse.

Several veteran team members also jumped up, swinging towels with a whooshing sound, and excitedly smashed mineral water bottles hard on the floor.

Losing his balance, Li Ao slid and fell to the floor.

He lay on his back, panting heavily, and finally smiled as he listened to the cheers that erupted around him.

The system panel flashed briefly in the corner of my field of vision:

[Continued accurate shooting during high-intensity matches... Agility +0.1]

He glanced at it, took a deep breath, and slowly stood up, supporting himself on the floor.

The impact was quite severe; all my joints hurt, and it felt like my internal organs had shifted.

Adding to the side effects of the [Explosive Power] attribute, his legs were sore and weak, and his feet felt numb when they touched the floor.

Li Ao swung his arm and walked to the free-throw line, taking the ball from the referee.

Take a deep breath, clap twice, bend your knees and extend your arms.

"Whoosh."

They made the free throw, narrowing the gap to 6 points.

"beep--"

The whistle blew again. This time, Coach Durant noticed that Li Ao was a bit exhausted, so he quickly called a timeout and gestured to the scorer's table to make a substitution.

When Li Ao walked back, he clearly staggered a few steps in the last few steps.

As soon as he sat back on the bench, he tilted his head back and leaned against the chair back, panting heavily, sweat dripping down his chin.

Durant walked over, looked him up and down, and asked, "Are you hurt?"

"No," Li Ao waved his hand, "I'm just a little out of breath."

Durant glanced at his watch: "Okay, you have two minutes to catch your breath. You can go back in for the last two minutes."

After saying that, he substituted TySean for a rest.

Li Ao grabbed a towel from the side, covered his face with it, and simply leaned back in his chair, lying motionless on his back.

Jamal, standing to the side, was so anxious he was shaking his leg. He glanced at the big screen, then at Li Ao, who seemed to have fainted, and couldn't help but mutter aloud:

"What... how can I possibly recover in two minutes?"

No one responded to him.

Without their two key players on both offense and defense, Wyndham immediately fell into a disadvantageous position, with their offense repeatedly missing shots, relying entirely on Darryl to carry the team.

Fortunately, Li Ao's unreasonable three-pointer earlier brought out the team's fighting spirit. The players on the court fought desperately and gritted their teeth to defend against the opponent's several counterattacks.

Jaylen sat on the other end of the bench, his eyes fixed on the court, but his peripheral vision never left the Chinese-American boy with the towel covering his face.

He had witnessed the entire ten-minute solo performance, including four three-pointers and a 3+1 play, scoring 16 points.

That's really something.

Despite his dominance, Li Ao's steps became noticeably heavy in the final rounds, and he could barely walk when he left the ring.

He's lying there pretending to be dead now; he's probably completely exhausted.

You think you can recover in two minutes? Dream on.

Jaylen has been playing basketball for over two years and knows all too well what it feels like to have your legs go weak after high-intensity competition.

Normally, after playing a ten-minute full-court scrimmage, he needs at least seven or eight minutes to recover his legs before they can function properly again, let alone the level of defense Li Ao just faced.

He glanced at the big screen.

Eight minutes to go, just over two minutes left.

With someone setting a screen for me, I can make a three-pointer!

Jay licked his lips, feeling that his chance had come.

He quickly stretched his ankles a couple of times, then moved closer to Durant and volunteered:

"Coach, look at Leo, he can't even move, he's definitely done for. Let me play! My three-pointers aren't bad either, I can definitely hold on in this final stretch."

Durant, who was watching the game intently with his hands behind his back, didn't even glance at him when he heard this, and turned straight to walk towards Li Ao.

"Leo".

Durant shouted.

There was no movement under the towel, and if you got close, you could even hear faint snoring.

"Leo? You're asleep?"

When Durant saw that there was no reaction, he simply reached out and shoved him.

Li Ao swayed, the towel slipped off his face, and he groggily opened his eyes.

He blinked, looked up at the coach, and quickly came to his senses: "Is it time?"

"FXXK, you actually fell asleep?"

Durant looked like he'd seen a ghost.

This is the crucial moment of the game, everyone's throats are practically burning with anxiety, and you're here catching up on sleep?

How much experience does this kid have?

Jamal, standing next to him, was so shocked his jaw almost dropped to his knees. He thought to himself, "Wow, Leo's composure is amazing!"

TySean, who was stretching in preparation for his performance, paused and looked over as if he were an alien.

Jay Chou, who had just been ignored, stood there like a wooden stake, his face turning a deep purplish-red.

So all that envy and jealousy I've been feeling was for nothing, and they're just sleeping soundly right here?

Only Li Ao himself knew that the moment he covered his head with the towel, he entered a deep sleep.

In just two short minutes, my depleted energy was brought back to a safe level, and the soreness in my body subsided by more than half.

Durant was in a real bind, unsure whether this rookie was reliable or not. But with the team down by 8 points, he didn't have time to delve into it and could only ask, "Can you still play?"

Li Ao shook his neck and stood up nimbly.

"no problem."

He casually tossed the towel back onto the bench and strode toward the technical table.

……