DK has already secured victory in this game.

But USN did not give up, they still defended tenaciously and looked for scoring opportunities.

They ran even faster than before.

The ball that Carlo passed to Ewing was intercepted by their small forward, and Nie Chuan rushed to intercept it, but the ball was passed to someone else before Nie Chuan arrived. USN's tacit understanding was reflected, and even a fast player like Nie Chuan could only try his best to chase. He and Reese launched a three-second zone defense, blocking USN's offense countless times, but USN would try again.

This is probably what the saying “one wave has not yet subsided, another wave rises” means.

The game became tense. Robert commented: "Although USN does not have a representative scorer like Reese or Ewing, the players are very compatible with each other. After all, basketball games are not one-on-one duels, and positioning is very important."

Nie Chuan rushed towards USN's inside line with the ball. Their defense returned very quickly and Nie Chuan could not find the best entry point. If he continued to struggle, he would probably foul because of holding the ball for too long. So he passed the ball to Reese on the side. Reese passed two people and came to the basket, facing the double defense of the opponent's power forward and center.

How will he pass? This is the question on the minds of countless fans present.

Under everyone's attention, Reese jumped up, but USN's power forward and center had a slight advantage in height over Reese, and had good jumping ability as well. Reese turned sideways in the air, looking like he was going to make a hook shot.

The audience became nervous and the commentators were also looking forward to whether this ball could score.

But Reese flicked his wrist and the ball returned to Nie Chuan's hands. Everyone thought that Nie Chuan would take the ball for a layup, but he took a step back and got out of a safe range with the defensive players. Another player also came to defend. Nie Chuan made a very quick touchdown pass and handed the ball to Heishan who came to the basket to meet Reese.

After receiving the ball, Montenegro did not try to enter the basket, but instead jumped and shot directly from the spot!

"Oh - Montenegro's shot!" Engel was very surprised.

In his eyes, the center's scoring point is at the basket, but Montenegro scored very steadily.

He clenched his fists and let out a soft roar at Nie Chuan.

After a moment of silence, applause broke out again.

Nie Chuan returned to his seat with a smile. Everyone thought that Heishan was just a dominator under the basket, but Nie Chuan would never forget how seriously this guy took shooting practice during training!

USN quickly regrouped. They did not defend DK one-on-one, but instead carried out team defense to the end.

Facing such an opponent, Nie Chuan's heart was full of respect. No matter how unfavorable the situation was, no matter whether victory was getting farther and farther away, they tried their best every minute and every second. Nie Chuan and Reese joined forces to break through their defense and maintained high-quality scoring in the last minute of the game.

DK successfully advanced to the top 32.

Nie Chuan shook hands and said goodbye to the USN players.

A year's hard work came to an end. Some of the USN players lowered their heads and covered their eyes with their hands.

They tried their best. Nie Chuan stood not too far away. He did not go forward to comfort them, but he had an inexplicable admiration for USN.

The USN point guard came over and extended his hand to Nie Chuan: "Hey, man, you beat our team. Since you beat us, you have to win to the end. Don't embarrass us."

"Of course." Nie Chuan nodded seriously.

The three commentators also began to review and comment on the game.

"Honestly speaking, this game was very pleasantly surprising. It was because of USN's solid defensive ability that DK was forced to use all their strength to break through, which made this a wonderful game. But DK's next game will not be easy, as they will face UJT, the dark horse that made it to the finals." Espenson has already gotten the result of another game.

"We can put the next game aside and talk about this game first." Engel coughed, "Robert, why don't you analyze the performance of today's winner DK from a professional perspective?"

"Then there are many things to say. As DK's opponent, the wisest thing USN did was not to adopt a one-on-one tactic. Some teams may resort to a one-on-one offense and defense after being pushed to the end of the road by the game situation, but we can clearly see that the overall level of DK's players in this game is at the top level in the league. Reese Reddington will pierce their core very sharply, and their point guard, the black-haired kid named 'Nie Chuan', can also break through multiple people, and USN's defense will be easily torn apart. However, USN concentrated its defensive focus within the three-second area and strengthened its defense. But unfortunately, such a passive defense could not withstand DK's active attack. DK's point guard linked the entire area under the basket with the three-point line. The offensive formation was constantly changing, and there was no fixed cutting angle. Reese Reddington's strong scoring ability, Ewing's long-range shooting, Carlo and Montenegro's control of the basket all made USN exhausted. USN did a good job, but it was a pity that they met DK in their first game."

"Then let us wait and see whether DK is the awakened king."

The game was over, and Nie Chuan followed the team back to the bus.

There were cheering fans all along the way, and wherever Nie Chuan went, he could hear the shutter sounds of mobile phones. Nie Chuan was not sure whether they were taking pictures of him or the entire team.

When Nie Chuan sat in his seat, his knees were still shaking.

"Reese... This is my first finals... We won, right?" Nie Chuan asked uncertainly.

"Yes, we won. And you deserve all the credit."

Reese took Nie Chuan's head and gently placed it on his shoulder.

Nie Chuan closed his eyes and smiled.

"It's so strange. I was so nervous before going on stage. But when the game really started, I wasn't nervous anymore. But now the game is over, why am I so nervous again for no reason?"

"Because you know that your opponents will become stronger and stronger. The next one, you won't win so easily."

Nie Chuan exhaled: "So that's how it is!"

Although there is pressure, I inexplicably begin to look forward to it deep down in my heart.

Back at school, the basketball team was warmly welcomed from the moment the bus entered the campus.

Nie Chuan looked out the window, and immediately a girl opened her arms to hug him. On her chest was written in Chinese: I love you, Nie Chuan!

Nie Chuan was dumbfounded. He never thought that one day he would have such enthusiastic fans!

A hand stretched out and blocked Nie Chuan's sight.

"get off."

Only then did Nie Chuan realize that his behavior of staring at the female fans made Reese unhappy.

Coach Gordon began his post-match review, reviewing the game that had just ended.

"It's not surprising that we beat USN because this is the strength we should have. They are not a seeded team. But the further we go, the stronger our opponents will be. This is a process leading to the top of the pyramid. Everyone wants that position, but most will be squeezed down." Coach Gordon looked in the direction of Nie Chuan.

Nie Chuan calmly endured the coach's gaze. He knew Coach Gordon's concerns. Among the five main players, he was the only one who was participating in the league finals for the first time.

"We are perfect against USN. But in the next game, our opponent will be UJT. Their head coach is nicknamed 'Old Sparrow' and is my old rival. Last year, he was the head coach of the semi-final team CBU. This year, he will agree to UJT. I believe there must be talents in the team of this school that are very attractive to him. Last year, UJT did not even make it to the top 64. But when I saw the performance of UJT in the regular season this year, I was very worried about us DK."

As soon as Coach Gordon finished speaking, the entire team's joy at having made it into the top 32 suddenly died down.

Assistant coaches screened UJT's final game of the regular season for their teams.

However, within the first minute of the game, they controlled the tempo of the entire game with speed and suppressed their opponents.

Nie Chuan frowned, and he calculated in his mind that it only took four to five seconds from UJT getting the ball to scoring. And their defense speed was also quite fast.

Of course, speed is only one of the advantages, and Nie Chuan did not feel that he could not break through their defense.

Because he noticed the opponent's power forward Manning, who was not small in size, but as flexible as Carlo. In this game, UJT's opponent had a shooter who was well-known in the regional league. He encountered Manning's tight defense and only scored five points in the whole game. The outside shooter was blocked, which was extremely lethal.

"Reese, you should be familiar with this Manning, right?" Coach Gordon looked at Reese, "I remember he and you went to the same middle school."

"Yes. He used to practice hurdles. He has great explosive power and speed, so he was discovered by the coach at the time and joined our middle school basketball team. He has quick reaction ability and defense is his strong point." Reese replied.

Nie Chuan couldn't help but re-evaluate Manning's strength. A guy who could be evaluated by Reese as "having good explosive power and speed" was more than just "very good".

Carlo elbowed Ewing and said with a gloating voice, "It's over, Ewing, can you score more than five points under his defense?"

Ewing was already feeling a little heavy, but he still gave Carlo a hard elbow: "What if I scored fifteen points?"

"I'll shine your shoes," Carlo replied.

"No need to polish my shoes, just lick my shoes." Ewing pointed to his toes.

Everyone laughed, but no one found it really funny.

Nie Chuan knew that Ewing was actually very nervous. He gently tapped Ewing's shoulder with his fist, and Ewing turned his head and mouthed to Nie Chuan: Don't worry, I will get 15 points.

Fifteen points, that's five three-pointers. Ewing is really arrogant.

Nie Chuan touched his nose.

"In addition to power forward Manning, there is also their small forward Jonathan. His cutting ability is comparable to Reese's, and he is the key figure in driving UJT's speed. Nie Chuan, I need you to suppress his speed and create scoring opportunities for Reese and Ewing. In addition, Nie Chuan, I want to remind you that in the game against UJT, the basket is not your area."

Nie Chuan was stunned. This was the first time that Coach Gordon directly expressed that he didn't want Nie Chuan to do anything.

Coach Gordon turned around and fast-forwarded the game video. The UJT guard passed the ball to their point guard, who then passed it to the center. The whole pass was very tightly connected, and it was very difficult to intercept. The center was a very tall guy, and he stood up and dunked with both hands. Two opponents jumped up to intercept him, but he still managed to dunk the ball into the basket with brute force. One of the two opponents who intercepted him staggered to the ground, and the other sat directly on the ground.

The basket was shaking violently, as if it was about to break.

Not only Nie Chuan, but the other players all frowned when watching this scene, as if the ball was dunked on their heads.

The referee didn't blow the whistle, it was just a reasonable collision.

Nie Chuan could imagine that if he went to the basket to intercept this guy, he would definitely be knocked flying... His entire body of bones suddenly ached.

"This is UJT's center Cook. Montenegro, I need you to be careful and cautious with this guy." Coach Gordon pointed his finger in the direction of Montenegro.

Montenegro nodded very vigorously.

"And Carlo, even though you made a bet with Ewing, I still have to entrust you with a very important task. If UJT's power forward Manning really comes to defend Ewing one-on-one, I want you to support Ewing well. You must not let that power forward Manning frustrate our outside scoring ability!" Coach Gordon tapped his fingers in the air. Although there was no sound, it was extremely powerful.

Carlo's expression also became serious.

"Coach, even if you didn't tell me that, I wouldn't let Ewing fight alone." Carlo glanced at Ewing.

"Hmph!" Ewing crossed his arms and turned his head away.

Everyone continued to watch the entire game.

Nie Chuan, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, was inspired by UJT's outstanding performance. He really wanted to rush into the game and have a good fight with the opponent.

UJT can be said to be a combination of speed and strength.

When Nie Chuan and Reese returned to the dormitory, Nie Chuan could not wait to open the computer and search for UTJ's previous game videos. They were already very dazzling in the regular season, and many strong teams that had entered the finals were defeated by UJT.

It really is a dark horse.