Chapter Thirty-Four: Brilliant Opening

  "Bastards of Vicksen Forest, today you will die miserably"

  "Arrogant Chinese, conceited Chinese, foolish Chinese, you and your team will slink away with your tails between your legs."

  "Shaq, go teach Duncan a lesson, we support you!"

  "Grant, kill that guy who can only dunk"

  .......

  "Zhuang, you didn't say anything before the game, is that okay? Look at these fans on site, I'm afraid the players will collapse in front of strong opponents and booing fans." Mark Allen said worriedly to Zhuang Fei, who was calm and composed.

  Zhuang Fei arranged tactics before the game, but didn't say any encouraging words. Even when they arrived at the stadium and encountered fans booing him, he still didn't say anything to alleviate the pressure. This made Mark Allen very worried.

  "Mark, look at them, what do they need me to say?" Zhuang Fei said, pointing to the Viksund players warming up on the court.

  Mark Allen also looked back and saw the excitement on the faces of the players in Vicksburg, as well as the determination in their eyes.

  "They are already excited enough, no, should say that in this game they have already forgotten about me, I said more is redundant, even now they may not hear the voice of fans around them, they put all their attention on the opponent now, today's Vicksen Lin players are the most focused one, once they stepped onto the field, they become fighters, except for tactics arrangement, there is nothing else I need to do."

  ......

  ......

  "The game is about to start"

  "Really? I didn't expect to run into you here, Mike."

  "I didn't expect to run into you here either, Isaiah"

  Michael Jordan and Isaiah Thomas, both dressed in suits and sunglasses, appeared on the podium. Enemies meet, eyes are red.

  "Vick's opponents are all NBA top stars, and the fans in the stands are almost all Vick's enemies. The outcome of this game is already known without playing," Isaiah Thomas said with a playful tone to Jordan, who was here to scout for the Toronto Raptors. Although Zhuang flew refused the Raptors' invitation, the team management still didn't give up.

  "I couldn't disagree more, these kids may create miracles or not, haven't you seen the confident glint in their eyes?" Jordan sneered.

  "A confident glow? Hmph, only you would believe that." Isaiah Thomas said no more.

  ‘‘‘‘‘

  ‘‘‘‘‘

  Tim Duncan dunked over O'Neal, and the ball was handed to Vince Carter. The starting lineup for the US team in this game was: Stockton, Reggie Miller, Grant Hill, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal; while the starting lineup for the Yugoslavian team was: Rik Smits, Zeljko Rebraca, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic, and Dejan Bodiroga.

  "Carter dribbled past half court, Grant Hill, Carter met Grant Hill, looks like Carter is going to go solo"

  "Vince, this is a game where you need to pay attention to the rhythm of the offense, try not to let the American team's defense set up, we want to fast break, and if there's an opportunity, quickly attack." Vince Carter recalled Zhu Fangyu's pre-game instructions, fast break, I like it. With a swish, Carter quickly broke through Grant Hill's defense and flew towards the basket, while Barkley and O'Neal hadn't even had time to get into position, Carter was already in mid-air above the rim.

  Bang! The war axe exploded! Carter hung on the rim, looking down at O'Neal's astonished and uncertain mood. He felt that his condition was exceptionally good today, with speed, strength, and bounce all better than usual.

  Grant Hill looked at Carter hanging on the rim and frowned, underestimating him too much. He didn't expect Carter's speed to be so fast.

  But next time may not have such a good opportunity, Grant Hill's face revealed a hint of a smile.

  "Grant, watch your defense!"

  "Alright, John."

  ....

  ....

  "What a speed, was Vince ever this fast?" Mark Allen exclaimed.

  "I don't know either, you'd better ask God." Zhuang Fei smiled mysteriously.

  "Winskat opened the game with a tomahawk dunk, and it looks like the Vicksburg players aren't intimidated by the US lineup at all. This is going to be an incredible game!" exclaimed the CBS commentator.

  Vickerson opened the scoring, also triggering a chorus of boos from the crowd, before Buckler equalized with a powerful header. Green defended valiantly but was unable to prevent Buckler's goal.

  "This time the US team noticed the speed of the counter-attack, Grant Hill stuck to Carter tightly, and Carter couldn't shake him off. Grant Hill's speed and defense are also top-notch."

  Damn it, Carter guarded the ball with all his might, and Grant Hill's speed and power were not inferior to his at all. Now, because of trying to get rid of Grant Hill, a lot of time has been wasted, and the US team is already standing still.

  Winscart wants to find a teammate, but his teammates' positions are also bad, and he is now in a dilemma.

  Grant Hill was equally unprepared, he had already overestimated Carter, but unexpectedly underestimated him, this kid's skills and physical abilities were too against the sky, Grant Hill was already defending with all his might, almost couldn't keep up. No wonder this team can sweep NCAA, even if they come to NBA, they will have a good performance.

  Not good. Grant Hill saw Carter didn't move forward, but instead took a step back. When Grant Hill wanted to follow up and get close again, Carter had already seen the ball go high and out.

  What! Grant Hill immediately turned his head and a scene that would be etched in his memory for the rest of his life appeared.

  The ball thrown by Carter flew towards the basket, and O'Neal and Duncan jumped up at the same time. However, behind O'Neal, Duncan's jumping speed was extremely fast. With his height advantage, O'Neal was about to control the ball when he suddenly felt a huge pressure on his body. Just as he touched the ball, his body couldn't move upwards anymore and could only fall down. As he fell, he saw a big hand appearing above the ball, and the owner of that hand was naturally Duncan, whom he had underestimated before the game. Duncan slammed the ball into the basket with one hand.

  Bang, the basket was broken again. Duncan single-handedly hung on the rim, and not only that, but also Duncan and O'Neal's current position was like Duncan riding on O'Neal's neck.

  Riding on O'Neal's alley-oop to complete a one-handed dunk. The stadium, which had just erupted in boos, immediately fell silent. Dead silence.

  Everyone stared at Duncan, still hanging on the rim, even O'Neal's teammates in front of him, including Barkley and Reggie Miller, looked up at Duncan with a look of incredulity, shocked into speechlessness.

  The naval admiral and Orajuwan were also stunned, with their mouths wide open. Even Jordan and Isaiah Thomas on the sidelines were equally shocked.

  "Too violent, really too violent. I dare ask which interior player in the NBA has ever humiliated O'Neal like this? In my memory, this is the most embarrassing shot of O'Neal's career. It's too terrifying, Duncan's shot was too terrifying." The CBS commentator was the first to come back to his senses, speaking incoherently.

  Zhuang Fei was on the sidelines, wiping away the cold sweat from his forehead, thinking to himself: It's going to be a big show, Ao Pang is furious.