SOD | Chapter 127

Sethston quickly caught up with Nie Chuan, pressing him against the sideline. With Sethston on the left and no one on the right to pass to, Nie Chuan was in a tight spot.

Even though Reese was right behind him, everyone knew that if Nie Chuan passed back, Sethston would intercept it!

“Go, Ah Chuan! Go!” Mao Xian couldn’t help but shout, and even Zhou Bin clenched his fists.

Time ticked by, and the audience began counting the seconds nervously.

Carlo and Ewin stayed nearby, knowing that if they got too close, it would only burden Nie Chuan more. They were ready to defend if Sethston intercepted.

But Edgar and Bracey were watching closely, making the situation tense.

Suddenly, Nie Chuan charged towards Sethston’s left, looking like a desperate attempt to attack.

Sethston moved to intercept, and commentator Robert could clearly see his fingertips touch the ball, but Nie Chuan pulled it back, retreating. Sethston quickly regained his balance to pressure Nie Chuan again, pushing him back to the sideline. But Nie Chuan sidestepped to Sethston’s left again.

The audience tensed, and even the commentators were speechless.

Nie Chuan’s speed was incredible, his muscles taut. He broke through with fluidity but was still blocked by Sethston. Sethston reached out again, and the crowd gasped. Mao Xian closed his eyes, unable to watch. But Nie Chuan seemed to anticipate this, retreating again and passing the ball backward with flair. Reese, waiting there, caught it and swiftly moved past Nie Chuan.

Sethston chased, but Nie Chuan blocked him.

Reese reached the basket, and with Nie Chuan slowing Sethston down, Reese jumped with the ball.

“Oh my god!” Commentator Engel exclaimed.

Bracey, Edgar, and the boulder all jumped to block Reese.

Reese moved gracefully, his arm tracing a perfect arc. He dodged Bracey, who had already extended his arm, then swiftly passed Edgar’s shoulder height, finally scoring past the boulder’s right arm.

Nie Chuan watched in awe, feeling like Reese had the world in his grasp.

Flashbulbs went off wildly, capturing this iconic moment.

The arena erupted in cheers.

Even Owen admitted, “This guy is really something.”

Reese landed, glanced at Nie Chuan, and the world seemed to tighten around Nie Chuan, wrapping him up. Reese smiled.

“This time, Reese and Nie Chuan finally played at the level Mr. Lynn called the most anticipated duo! First, Nie Chuan withstood Sethston’s pressure, faking twice to create space for Reese, then passing behind his back.

I noticed something crucial,” Espenson smiled at Robert.

Robert nodded knowingly. “I saw it too. When Nie Chuan faked twice, Reese stepped back instead of moving closer to support. He trusted that Sethston couldn’t intercept between Nie Chuan’s moves, giving Nie Chuan space. And after the second fake, he knew Nie Chuan would pass to him, even without Nie Chuan looking back! These two really do share a brain, as Mr. Lynn said!”

“And Reese, my god… Azu sent three players, and none could stop him! You can see, Reese didn’t do any mid-air changes or fancy moves; he just used his timing to make their defense fail! This isn’t luck; it’s skill!” Engel praised.

Sethston exhaled, wiping his chin with his collar.

“Ah, Nie Chuan finally found himself. He even tricked Sethston!” Larvin was thrilled.

“But Sethston’s abilities aren’t just that. I’m worried he’ll disrupt Nie Chuan again,” Owen replied.

“Ah… yeah… Sethston is very controlling. He’ll want to regain control over Nie Chuan,” Larvin said, covering his eyes.

The score gap between Azu and DK was now four points, but the audience had no doubt DK was about to make a comeback.

A new fast break began. Sethston charged into DK with incredible speed, facing Ewin, Carlo, and Nie Chuan’s defense. He showed no signs of passing, dodging Ewin to the left, then suddenly to the right. As Nie Chuan moved to intercept, Sethston increased his dribbling speed, almost hitting Nie Chuan’s elbow, then made a wider move to the right.

Carlo and Nie Chuan double-teamed, but Sethston spun in a risky circular move. Nie Chuan kept up, but Carlo stumbled to avoid crashing into Nie Chuan. Sethston was about to shoot when Nie Chuan leaped from behind, almost blocking him, causing gasps.

Feeling Nie Chuan’s threat, Sethston passed to Bracey.

Reese went one-on-one to intercept, blocking Bracey’s fakes and almost stealing the ball. Seeing Carlo approaching, Bracey passed to Ben Robbins.

“Ewin—”

Carlo shouted as Ewin jumped high. Ben jumped with the ball but didn’t shoot immediately. As Ewin descended, Ben pushed the ball out.

Ewin felt the breeze over his head, experiencing Ben Robbins’ smooth shooting firsthand.

The ball went in, stretching the gap back to seven points.

Nie Chuan continued to face off with Sethston, both locked in a stalemate.

“Though it seems both point guards are blocking each other, don’t forget, Nie Chuan is holding Sethston,” Engel noted to Robert.

Robert nodded.

Meanwhile, Bracey dribbled, escorted by Edgar, ready to cut into DK’s basket. Reese confronted him, Bracey testing left and right. His footwork was agile, suddenly breaking through, but Reese’s reaction was faster than Bracey expected, sticking to him and closing the gap.

To avoid entanglement with Reese, Bracey passed to Edgar, but Carlo intercepted.

Carlo turned with the ball, facing Ben Robbins’ steal attempt. Everyone thought Carlo would lose the ball, but he faked and broke right, passing to Ewin.

“Don’t hesitate!”

Ewin stood further back than his last successful shot, but he jumped immediately after catching the ball.

“Too rushed!” Larvin exclaimed from the stands.

But Ewin’s focus was sharp, transferring power from his legs to his shoulders and fingertips, replicating his previous quick shot rhythm. He calculated the force and arc, trusting his instincts.

With a “clang,” the ball smoothly went through the hoop.

“Whoa—” the audience gasped.

Ewin realized the defender who jumped was Azu’s center, the boulder.

He almost completely blocked Ewin, but the ball had already sailed over his head.

Ewin was stunned, knowing a split-second hesitation would have cost him the shot and the opportunity created by Nie Chuan, Reese, and Carlo.

The score gap between DK and Azu was back to four points.

“Well done!” Carlo patted Ewin’s back.

Ewin realized he had just made history, scoring from near midcourt under pressure.

If the last quick shot was half luck, half skill, this one was all skill!

He clenched his fist, “Carlo… pass to me more. I’ll score.”

Carlo paused, then lowered his voice, “Of course. If you don’t score thirty on Azu, I’ll beat you.”

“What if I do?” Ewin smirked.

“I’ll lick your shoe!” Carlo ran off.

Ewin chuckled, “Who wants you to lick my shoe!”

Nie Chuan knew Ewin had found his rhythm.

Seconds later, Heishan and Azu’s center, the boulder, battled under the basket. The boulder kept Heishan outside, while Edgar, tightly defended by Carlo, forced a shot. At that moment, Heishan slipped around the boulder, using core strength to push him out. As the ball bounced off the rim, Heishan jumped first, despite the boulder’s collision, securing the ball and passing to Reese.

Seeing this, Sethston rushed to block Reese, faking a small shoulder move before spinning widely, shaking off Nie Chuan. As Sethston chased Reese, Nie Chuan sped up, blocking him like a drift car. Reese charged into Azu’s basket, intercepted by Edgar and the boulder. Instead of confronting them, he passed to Carlo, who passed to Ewin.

“Ewin’s movement is more active!” Engel commented.

By then, Ben Robbins was defending Ewin. In terms of ball-handling, Ben was slightly better in everyone’s mind.

Ewin lowered his center of gravity, stepping back slightly, seeing Nie Chuan holding off Sethston.

Nie Chuan had practiced countless times with him; it was time to showcase it! Ewin dribbled, cutting left, then pulling back right. Everyone was surprised; it was Ewin’s first big fake of the game. Ben’s heart almost jumped out as Ewin stepped back and jumped!

The ball left Ben’s fingertips, and a fierce rebound battle began. Despite Heishan’s dominance over the boulder, the ball went in!

“Whoa!” Ewin gestured a middle finger towards Carlo, marking his fifth three-pointer!

Ben exhaled, staring at Ewin. His confident smile made Ben feel pressured.

DK’s fans went wild, now only trailing Azu by one point!

“Ewin is surprising, his fakes were rhythmic, and he quickly shot against Ben Robbins, well done!” Engel praised.

“But the real hero behind this is Nie Chuan. If he hadn’t held Sethston, Reese would have been disrupted, and the pass to Carlo might not have succeeded. Now Nie Chuan has given Sethston a big problem,” Espenson said, intrigued by Nie Chuan.

“What problem?” Engel asked, puzzled.

“Breaking through Nie Chuan isn’t impossible, but after the first breakthrough, can Sethston ensure Nie Chuan won’t catch up? If not, what’s the point of breaking through?”

Robert finished, and Engel and Espenson laughed knowingly.

“Looks like Nie Chuan found a way to suppress Sethston,” Larvin grinned.

“But truly breaking through Sethston would be real progress for Nie Chuan.”

The narrowing score made Azu aware of the crisis.

Sethston’s fakes were quicker, his shoulder moves and speed changes kept Nie Chuan on edge. He showcased variations of his crossover, with Nie Chuan gritting his teeth, trying to slow Sethston’s rhythm. As Sethston extended his arm to pull back, Nie Chuan seized the moment, almost stealing the ball.

But Sethston used his core strength to pull it back, like he’d learned something from Nie Chuan. He stepped back quickly, catching Nie Chuan off guard, breaking through. Knowing Nie Chuan would catch up, he sprinted, dodging Heishan’s defense, ready to dunk.

Amidst gasps, Reese jumped powerfully. Sethston didn’t give Reese a chance to block, shifting mid-air. Carlo jumped from the other side to intercept, forcing Sethston to pass back to Ben Robbins!

Nie Chuan intercepted again!

Ben groaned in frustration as Nie Chuan turned to launch a fast break, only to be sandwiched by Bracey and the boulder.

Reese moved to support but was blocked by Edgar. In that brief moment, Nie Chuan had to pass quickly, but before Ewin could catch it, Sethston intercepted.

It felt like Sethston was retaliating for Nie Chuan’s interception.

Nie Chuan faked twice, barely shaking off Edgar. Sethston jumped again, switching hands to avoid Heishan, then faced Reese. This time, Sethston made no extra moves, dunking fiercely, brushing Reese’s arm to score!

Sethston’s speed and power were on full display, the hoop trembling in fear.

As he landed, Sethston glanced at Nie Chuan, as if to crush him to dust.

“I guess Sethston is fed up with Nie Chuan,” Larvin said.

“Yeah,” Owen nodded. He could imagine if he were Sethston, facing a persistent opponent like Nie Chuan, he’d be frustrated too.

“That dunk wasn’t just to stabilize Azu’s momentum, but to vent his urge to crush Nie Chuan,” Larvin replied.

In the following confrontations, Sethston was sharper against Nie Chuan, even knocking him down once.

Though Nie Chuan was embarrassed, he ignored the crowd’s reactions, quickly getting up to defend Sethston.

Azu’s players seemed to agree that once Sethston shook off Nie Chuan, they’d block Reese.

But Reese used fakes, first dodging Edgar, then pretending to squeeze between the boulder and Bracey, suddenly changing direction to bypass the boulder. His breakout was impressive, but he couldn’t match Sethston’s speed.

Sethston went for a dunk, with Nie Chuan intercepting from behind. Though he jumped later, he almost reached Sethston’s height simultaneously.

Everyone held their breath. Even without looking back, Sethston knew someone was behind him. He pulled the ball back, using his body’s momentum to reverse dunk as he passed the hoop!

Azu led DK by six points again.

“Azu won’t let DK take these points easily,” Owen glanced at the clock, five minutes left.

Larvin patted his chest, “Every second is nerve-wracking, afraid to miss anything. Last year, Reese scored over twenty points in the last five minutes against your CBU. I hope this year, he and Nie Chuan can do the same against Azu!”

Nie Chuan took a breath, hearing his heartbeat. Defending Sethston was mentally and physically exhausting, more tiring than ever.

But in the last five minutes, he had to hold on and suppress Sethston.

Nie Chuan knew “suppressing Sethston” was ambitious, as he was only holding him, not truly suppressing. But he believed Sethston’s stamina was equally drained.

Nie Chuan glanced at Reese, who nodded.

He understood Reese’s meaning.

With less than five minutes left, they had to close the six-point gap in the next minute!

Sethston shook off Nie Chuan again, not rushing to the basket, knowing Nie Chuan would stick to him. He passed to Ben Robbins.

Ben was near midcourt, but everyone knew he could shoot from there. Almost as Sethston passed, Nie Chuan moved, and Ben felt him charging. He shot quickly, but Nie Chuan slapped it down with a “bang.”

Ben was tired, unsure where Nie Chuan got the energy after tangling with Sethston.

Nie Chuan stretched his arm, retrieving the ball. As he turned, he faced Sethston.

The photographers’ shutters clicked again, even the cameramen held their breath.

Would Nie Chuan fail to break through Sethston again?

Nie Chuan met Sethston’s gaze, his mind clear. He remembered how Reese demonstrated breaking through Sethston, simple yet effective. It was Reese’s style.

But against Sethston, Nie Chuan would use his own style!

Nie Chuan smirked, cutting in swiftly, then stopping abruptly, cutting in again, then stopping. The audience’s hearts tightened and relaxed, holding their breath.

Suddenly, Nie Chuan cut from left to right, the ball at his right foot, a clear right breakthrough. Sethston gritted his teeth, shifting his center of gravity, but Nie Chuan pulled back left. It was a classic crossover move, with Sethston’s control over his center and arm speed. Nie Chuan mimicked it perfectly, adding his own touch—distance estimation. He quickly pulled back, then accelerated!

The rhythm change caught even the experienced Sethston off guard, and Nie Chuan slipped past him.

He looked like he might fall, but amidst gasps, he maintained balance, passing Bracey, heading to the basket.

“Ha—” Nie Chuan shouted, leaping high. The boulder, who failed to block him last time, wouldn’t let him score now!

He watched for Nie Chuan’s flick, but Nie Chuan pulled the ball back. Bracey jumped, and everyone worried Nie Chuan’s move would fail, but he suddenly passed the ball back!

The pass was fast, unlike Sethston’s, spinning tightly, skimming Edgar’s cheek, landing securely in Reese’s hands.

Reese stopped abruptly, jumping from beyond the three-point line!

“Stop him!”

Sethston shouted, but Reese shot before anyone could reach him, a three-pointer narrowing the gap to three points.

From Nie Chuan breaking through Sethston to Reese scoring, it took only seconds.

The winds of change made it impossible to predict what would happen next.

Nie Chuan panted, exhausted. But this fatigue was different from when the coach subbed him out in the first quarter.

He wanted to win, more than ever.

He had Ewin, Carlo, Heishan, and Reese. Why couldn’t DK win?

“The cooperation between Nie Chuan and Reese is enviable! Nie Chuan broke through Sethston, drawing Azu’s defense, and Reese knew exactly where Nie Chuan needed him, arriving as expected!” Larvin sighed.

Nie Chuan pressed on, faking left and right, passing Ben and Edgar. Bracey stuck close, but Nie Chuan used a Euro step to dodge him. Sethston “bang” intercepted Nie Chuan’s ball, ready to turn, but Nie Chuan sped up, blocking him. Though Sethston’s move almost knocked him down, he steadied himself.

“I bet Nie Chuan is the toughest opponent Sethston’s faced!” Engel exclaimed.

“Yes, because every ‘breakthrough’ doesn’t mean a real breakthrough. I’ve studied how Nie Chuan catches up after losing to Sethston! It’s his ankles, his control over inertia is superior, shifting his center of gravity towards Sethston’s escape direction. Many players fear Sethston’s breakouts, but Nie Chuan doesn’t. For him, it’s just the start of the next confrontation,” Robert smiled approvingly. “On the court, no one can always defend someone. It’s the same between Nie Chuan and Sethston. Being faked out isn’t scary; what’s scary is Nie Chuan’s judgment and reaction after losing, enough to drag Sethston’s proudest speed.”

Sethston used his signature crossover again, shaking Nie Chuan, but as he passed, Nie Chuan turned, extending his arm, stealing the ball as it hit the ground!

Gasps filled the arena!

Nie Chuan was surprised too, unsure how he did it. His brain hadn’t processed it, but his body acted, as if all those moments of being beaten by Sethston combined, finally catching his rhythm.

With the ball, Nie Chuan sprinted the other way, passing with Reese, both cutting into the basket.

But Nie Chuan didn’t pass to Reese for the layup; he passed to Carlo.

Carlo passed outside to Heishan.

Heishan, marked by the boulder, passed again, almost intercepted by Ben, but Ewin moved, intercepting it!

Ben moved to steal, but Ewin stepped back, even jumping!

“He’s crazy!” Engel shouted.

Ewin’s heart beat steadily, the ball’s arc high. The distance required different force, but he knew the feel, the ratio between distance and arc. He was sure his arc was precise, accurate!

Underneath, Reese and Edgar fought for position, but the ball, carrying all the heartbeats and breaths, fell into the basket!

Ewin’s eyes widened, Ben glanced at him.

Ewin made history again, his farthest shot on the court!

“Hey… I thought only you and Ben Robbins dared to do that…” Larvin elbowed Owen.

“Didn’t you notice… DK pulled Azu’s players to the basket, while Ewin stayed far. Carlo and Heishan passed because they trusted Ewin… no matter how far, he’d score,” Owen squinted.

“DK is scary… not just Nie Chuan and Reese’s top-notch cooperation, but Ewin… it feels like this match with Ben Robbins opened a new door for him,” Larvin squinted too.

No matter this year’s final result, DK was a rapidly growing team. Even if Azu blocked DK’s path to the throne this year, what about next year?

Ewin’s long shot tied DK with Azu.

DK’s fans were going wild.

Mao Xian excitedly said, “DK is awesome! Really awesome!”

The game entered a fierce phase, like a three-point contest.

Spurred by Ewin’s performance, with teammates’ support, Ben Robbins hit two consecutive three-pointers.

DK wasn’t to be outdone, with Reese and Nie Chuan threading passes, Carlo and Heishan attacking and defending, centering on Ewin, passing continuously. In thirty seconds, Ewin hit two long shots.

The score chased back and forth, thrilling everyone.