SOD | Chapter 111

Nie Chuan gritted his teeth; he had to shut down Owen. If they let him continue, CBU might lead by the end of the first quarter, putting DK under pressure for the next.

Owen glanced at Nie Chuan and smiled calmly, as if that last shot wasn’t even his peak. Not just Nie Chuan, but Carlo and Heishan were running harder than before. Carlo and Ewin pressured Christen from both sides, and Carlo took the ball when Christen turned to avoid Ewin.

Carlo, known for his agility, dashed past Wright’s defense, heading for CBU’s free-throw line. But CBU’s power forward Thomas rushed in. Nie Chuan blocked Thomas for Carlo, but as Carlo went for a layup, CBU’s center blocked him. It was a fake; Carlo deftly sidestepped for another layup, but Owen leapt out, swatting the ball away.

The audience sighed in disappointment.

Carlo wasn’t discouraged and quickly joined his teammates in defense.

Owen passed to small forward Christen. Christen was fast but was blocked by Nie Chuan.

Christen quickly passed back to Owen. Reese swiftly cut off Owen again.

Everyone expected Owen to pass, but he stepped back and suddenly jumped.

“That’s got to be a fake!” commentator Espenson shouted.

Owen was just past midcourt; no one thought he could make it.

But it wasn’t a fake!

Reese seemed to see Owen’s intent and jumped high, but Owen’s shot had such an arc that even the best jump couldn’t reach it.

The ball traced an exaggerated arc and fell into the basket.

“Oh! That’s the longest shot so far!” commentator Robert was extremely excited.

Nie Chuan was dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected Owen to have such skill!

It wasn’t luck; it was Owen’s ability!

In the stands, Ben’s mouth dropped open in disbelief, “Wow! Owen Weshaw is unreal!”

“What, can’t you shoot from that far?” Sethston asked with a laugh.

“Uh…” Ben scratched his head, “With no defense, maybe one or two out of ten?”

“If you don’t have that confidence, don’t take such risks. Just shoot in the way you’re most comfortable,” Sethston replied.

For DK, that shot was like a heavy punch, almost shattering their resolve.

Ewin stood where Owen had, staring at the basket for a long time.

Nie Chuan took a deep breath, squinting. The first quarter was nearly over. Ewin had improved a lot, Carlo was agile, Heishan was still the king under the basket, and Reese was sharp. Each had scoring ability, no weaker than Christen or Thomas.

Since teaming up with Reese for double cuts to the basket wasn’t as threatening as imagined, maybe it was time to return to traditional play.

Nie Chuan approached Ewin and whispered, “That shot, Owen Weshaw was just one person.”

Ewin nodded, lowering his voice, “Don’t worry, I just think he’s like a monster, but I’m not scared.”

Nie Chuan smiled, stepping back and glancing at Reese.

Reese nodded, seeming to understand what Nie Chuan wanted to do.

“Three minutes left in the first quarter. Hopefully, DK can control the pace,” Larvin said, frowning with concern.

CBU’s offense was still fierce, centered around Owen and Christen.

As Christen passed to Owen, there was a “smack” sound, and Reese intercepted the ball.

Christen was surprised but quickly teamed up with Owen to trap Reese. Reese made a quick pass to Nie Chuan.

Nie Chuan ran like the wind, passing CBU’s power forward Thomas and point guard Wright, drawing gasps from the audience.

Christen and Owen chased after him, but Nie Chuan tossed the ball towards the basket.

Christen and Owen both jumped to intercept, but the ball didn’t even touch the rim. It followed a parabolic path, and Reese caught it mid-air, dunking it with a basket-shaking slam.

The coordination was unbelievable.

“I wonder if Nie Chuan and Reese share a brain!” Ben rubbed his head.

“Looks like Nie Chuan is returning to being a pure point guard,” Sethston said.

“Huh? Why? He can compete with Raven Harvey; he has strong scoring ability!” Ben asked, puzzled.

“But if he returns to a traditional point guard role, the other four players become scoring weapons.”

As Sethston predicted, Nie Chuan charged into CBU’s area, with Owen quickly defending, running alongside him.

Reese guarded Nie Chuan’s left, and the trio’s high-speed run captivated the audience.

As they neared CBU’s three-second area, Nie Chuan suddenly stopped, with Owen and Reese halting on either side.

Commentators marveled at someone keeping up with Nie Chuan’s sudden stop, but Nie Chuan made a bounce pass behind his back. Everyone thought he was passing to Reese, but Ewin caught the ball instead.

Ewin stepped back to the three-point line.

Owen realized who Nie Chuan’s real target was as the ball bounced, rushing towards Ewin.

But before Owen took three steps, Nie Chuan blocked his path.

Ewin jumped and shot. Though not as far as Owen’s earlier shot, Ewin’s release was calm and unhurried.

DK finally closed the gap.

But Owen wasn’t satisfied. In the next offense, he received Wright’s pass, facing Nie Chuan and Reese’s double defense. With a ballet-like spin, he bypassed Nie Chuan, driving into the basket. Facing Carlo and Heishan, he sidestepped, then quickly turned back, leaping for a layup, reversing the situation!

It all happened in just over a second.

“Owen now is like Reese in the last five minutes of last year’s DK vs. CBU match. Once he gets going, no one can stop him,” commentator Engel applauded.

The first quarter ended with Owen’s spectacular layup.

DK trailed CBU by 4 points.

It wasn’t an insurmountable gap, but Owen Weshaw’s performance was undeniably “arrogant.”

Nie Chuan wiped his chin with his T-shirt collar, following his teammates back to Coach Gordon.

Everyone drank water, wiped sweat, but their attention was on Coach Gordon.

“Everyone did great in the first quarter. I can’t say you did anything wrong. But I think you all feel that winning against CBU like this won’t be easy, so we need to make adjustments.”

Instantly, the slightly relaxed atmosphere turned tense, and everyone looked at Coach Gordon.

“Owen Weshaw and Christen are the core of CBU’s offense and must be dismantled. Owen is too arrogant; we need to free someone to mark him one-on-one. No matter what happens, this person only focuses on Owen, ignoring everything else.”

Though marking Owen was a tactical necessity, who was suitable? If Reese marked Owen, DK’s scoring ability would be greatly reduced. Heishan had to guard the basket, Ewin needed to cover the perimeter, and Nie Chuan had to orchestrate. Should they send Carlo?

Nie Chuan and Ewin looked at Carlo.

Carlo shrugged, “Why are you looking at me? Think I can’t handle Owen Weshaw?”

“You can pressure him, but to mark him…” Ewin shook his head.

Carlo raised his fist, pretending to punch Ewin.

Reese spoke up, “I’ll mark Owen Weshaw.”

“What? No way! You’re our best scorer!” Nie Chuan exclaimed.

Reese smirked, flicking Nie Chuan’s nose, “Then who scored the most in the last game?”

Nie Chuan was stunned, looking at Coach Gordon, hoping he wouldn’t agree to such a wild “suggestion.”

Unexpectedly, Coach Gordon patted Reese’s shoulder, “Then Owen Weshaw is yours!”

Nie Chuan glanced at Carlo, Ewin, and Heishan, surprised they had no objections.

“I can mark Owen too…”

Coach Gordon shook his head, looking at Nie Chuan seriously, “Listen, once Reese shuts down Owen, your playing area will be much wider. You have better ball control and coordination than Wright. If you can match Raven, your scoring ability under the basket is on par with CBU’s power forward Thomas and small forward Christen. Plus, you have Carlo to back you up. Or do you lack confidence in working with Carlo?”

“No! I definitely have that confidence!” Nie Chuan shouted.

“Good!”

As the whistle blew to start the game, Nie Chuan looked at Reese’s back. This was the first time Reese was playing a supporting role for someone else.