Chapter 115 Honor and Dignity
Knowing clearly that it was impossible to recover the eight points in ten seconds, Owen still rushed forward regardless of everything. Never give up until the last moment of the game, this is the player's persistence in the NCAA finals.
Even though they were sure of victory, DK did not relax their defense.
Just as Owen is extremely persistent in every minute and every second of the game, so is every player of DK.
Reese and Nie Chuan flew to catch up. Owen's running attracted the attention of the whole audience. For him, he could lose the game, but he must not lose the glory and dignity of CBU.
The audience stood up and the CBU students cheered Owen's name crazily.
The other members of the CBU team, who were already in despair, followed closely, ready to support Owen in the last few seconds.
Owen passed the ball to Wright on the side, and Ewing came to steal the ball. Wright played like a first-class point guard, but Ewing stuck to him tightly.
Wright shook his body and passed the ball to power forward Thomas.
Thomas dribbled the ball and jumped up, and was about to make a stunning layup, but DK's Carlo leaped up and knocked the ball down without fear.
In the last four seconds, CBU still did not give up. Christen caught the ball and passed it to Owen. With two seconds left, Owen jumped up desperately, carrying the team's efforts for the whole year. He used all his strength. Montenegro jumped up, but the timing was wrong.
But on the other side, Nie Chuan flew up to a height comparable to that of Ou En, who was trying his best, and the audience was extremely surprised.
Owen turned sideways, took the ball back, switched to his left hand, and was about to make a layup, but Reese got there first, raising his hand as if to smash all the meteors in the night sky.
With a "bang", Reese completely slammed Owen's layup.
When the whistle sounded at the end of the game, the stadium was indeed quiet.
Owen closed his eyes and raised his face, exhaling hard.
He seemed to be feeling the lights of the Finals arena.
In this game for the highest glory, CBU retired in disgrace when they were just one step away from winning.
Because the last ten seconds were so thrilling and exciting, the commentators had long forgotten to commentate.
At this time, Robert stood up and clapped his hands vigorously: "Well done CBU! UDK! This is the game that NCAA really wants to see! The persistence and determination to not give up even at the last moment!"
Engel and Espenson also stood up and applauded.
Then, all the audience stood up and applauded the two teams in this game.
"Earn Whishaw impressed me," said Seton.
"Huh? I thought you were going to say that udk impressed you! The winner of the competition is udk!" Ben said, tilting his head.
"A good player must not only have strong abilities, but also must bring the determination to never give up to the team. Owen Whishaw has done it. He is like a spark, burning in the hearts of his teammates, even if CBU loses the game. But such a CBU will definitely be stronger next year than this year and will become a very scary opponent." Seton replied.
Ben nodded.
"Yeah...Owen in the last ten seconds was burning everyone's eyes."
At this time, Carlo and Ewing were ecstatic and hugged each other.
Even Montenegro, who rarely showed emotions, closed his eyes and made the sign of the cross on his chest to thank God.
Nie Chuan lowered his head and looked at his fingers. It all seemed so unreal.
Basketball to him is like a child graffitiing on paper. Maybe his graffiti is better than that of ordinary people, but Nie Chuan never thought that he would become a world-renowned painter like Van Gogh or Monet.
At this moment, he truly realized that basketball was no longer just graffiti for him. It was a vision, an existence that could no longer be erased from his life.
The international students were all crazy. Even many who had no interest in basketball and only watched the games online at home felt extremely honored to see their compatriot Nie Chuan about to enter the NCAA finals, which was no less exciting than the NBA finals.
Wright and his team came and shook hands with the DK players in a very graceful manner.
"I shouldn't have underestimated you, Ewing. Your ball handling is getting better and better. I have to worry that by next year, in addition to your three-point shooting skills, you will be able to handle the ball like Connor or Nie Chuan. By then, no one will be able to defend you."
Ewing smiled: "Thank you for pointing me in the direction of improvement. I will work hard to make it easier for me to break through your defense next year."
Montenegro also put his arm around the CBU center's shoulder to exchange rebounding experience.
Carlo and Thomas, two of the best power forwards in the league, also hugged each other.
"Hey, Carlo, since DK has already defeated CBU, they must ensure that they win in the end. Losing to the champion is enough. Losing to a worse guy is an insult to our CBU."
"Leave it to us. Whether it's UFR or AZU who makes it to the finals, we'll make them look bad!"
In the center of the court, Reese and Owen looked at each other.
Owen, who had been looking up, slowly lowered his head and forced a smile: "Hey, thank you."
"Thank you for what?"
"Thank you for going all out to dunk my ball."
Nie Chuan looked at Ou En in confusion.
"You're welcome. If it were you, you would do the same," Reese replied.
Owen held out his fist and bumped it with Reese.
At that moment, Nie Chuan understood what Owen meant. In the last ten seconds, he did not need Reese's sympathy. On the contrary, all DK players went out to defend Owen's shot, which had no impact on the outcome of the game. This was a recognition of CBU as an opponent and a great respect.
Ou En walked in front of Nie Chuan and brushed his fingers across the bangs on his forehead.
Nie Chuan leaned back subconsciously, and Ou En laughed: "Hey, little guy, you've grown taller again."
Nie Chuan smiled widely: "Haha! Really? I think so too!"
"I don't think you'll grow any taller next year." Owen deliberately poured cold water on him.
Nie Chuan smiled indifferently: "It doesn't matter, as long as I can jump higher and cover your hot pot!"
Ou En pressed Nie Chuan's head hard, and Nie Chuan was almost pushed to the ground by him.
"It seems that our opponent in the finals is DK." Ben pursed his lips, "I really like Nie Chuan! I like watching his dribbling and jumping. I wonder what it feels like to see him on the court?"
Larven and his teammates who were sitting in the front row stood up. Larven raised his eyebrows and glared at Ben.
"It seems that Seton has really spoiled you! You don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is. Who told you that DK's opponent in the finals is you?"
"Ah, ufr is also watching the game here! The game is so exciting that I forgot about you all!" Ben looked very embarrassed.
"Let's go." Seton turned and headed towards the exit passage.
Ben quickly caught up with him, and the two continued to discuss the game as they walked.
"Seth, who do you think is the scariest of all the DK players?"
"The most terrifying? If you underestimate them, everyone will be terrifying." Seton said, "Why don't you analyze the strength of each member of their main lineup?"
"There's no need to talk about Reese. He's on the same level as you, an all-rounder. I used to think he was only good at attacking, but today when I saw him stalking Owen Whishaw one-on-one, I realized that he's also a very patient hunter, good at both offense and defense."
"Well, what about Ewing?"
"Compared to last year, Ewing is... a world of difference. Last year, to be honest, I didn't take him seriously. Although his shooting was accurate, it was too mechanical. Without the cooperation of point guard Connor and the creation of opportunities, he was nothing to me. But today against CBU, I found that his ball-handling level is comparable to that of the top point guards. His fake moves are smooth and natural. In addition, he pays more attention to off-ball movement. He doesn't passively wait for the point guard or other teammates to create opportunities for him, but seizes the opportunities himself! Also, his shooting speed is much faster than last year."
"Both are point guards, and it seems you think highly of Ewing. What about power forward Carlo?"
"Carlo has all the abilities that a power forward should have, including the ability to score under the basket and the ability to defend. He and Montenegro form a joint defense, which makes it difficult for many experts to score even if they enter DK's restricted area. This also gives Reese ample space and time to focus on scoring. Moreover, compared to most power forwards, Carlo is very flexible. I noticed last year that, except for the point guards Connor and Reese at the time, Carlo is the guy with the best ball control ability in DK. So, we have to be more careful about him."
"What about Montenegro?"
"Honestly, I'm afraid of this big guy Montenegro. Although our center, Jushi, is two centimeters taller than Montenegro, I don't think Montenegro loses to Jushi in terms of jumping ability and explosiveness. But Montenegro's ability to box out and play low-post singles is very strong. Although he didn't score many points in this game, his presence put a lot of pressure on Owen and Christen's layups."
"Yes, he is indeed not to be underestimated. Then tell me about your favorite Nie Chuan."
"I like Nie Chuan, so I'm naturally familiar with his strengths. But what about you, Seton? What do you think of Nie Chuan?"
"Me... I think, sometimes, he is more terrifying than Reese Reddington." Seton narrowed his eyes.
"Huh? Why?"
"He's growing so fast, just like a rocket. He can't wait to absorb the strengths of all the opponents he meets, constantly making mistakes and correcting them. In today's game, his speed, ball control, timing judgment and ability to withstand pressure are all different from when I first met him."