Chapter 93: Caged Beast
Nie Chuan glanced at Reese. His expression seemed okay and he didn't seem to care about the female fans' white T-shirts.
Of course, who knows? It is common to settle accounts later... However, what the female fans do is not something he, Nie Chuan, can control!
At this time, the game commentators Espenson, Engel and Robert have already started their pre-match predictions.
"Although I am absolutely optimistic about DK's strength, I am not very confident that DK can win today's game." Retired star Robert said seriously with his arms folded.
"Yes, UJT's head coach 'Old Sparrow' has one of the best reputations in the basketball world. After his training, a weak team's counterattack has become a common occurrence. We all know that DK is heading for the throne, but we are afraid that they will be overthrown by UJT on the way to the throne!" Engel also expressed concern about DK's situation.
"Hahaha, but in terms of attack and defense speed, I personally think DK is better than UJT. In terms of finals experience, DK is also better than UJT." Espenson smiled and looked in the direction of DK, "And I'm looking forward to Reece Reddington's buzzer-beater at the crucial moment and the black-haired point guard who has received a lot of attention. Facing an opponent like UJT, can he still control the entire court like in the previous game?"
Coach Gordon looked across the basketball court. The "Old Sparrow" was completely different from what Nie Chuan had imagined. He was a middle-aged man with a bald head, a big belly, and a simple and honest appearance. To be honest, it was hard to imagine that he was about the same age as Coach Gordon.
"Old Sparrow" waved slightly to Coach Gordon.
Coach Gordon also nodded to the other party.
Nie Chuan looked around at the UJT players. In addition to the point guard and shooting guard, the heights of their power forwards, small forwards, and centers were all above average in the teams DK had played against. If it was just one person, it would be fine, but if it was a two-man defense, it would be much more difficult for Nie Chuan to break through than before.
At this time, Reese came to Nie Chuan's side, leaned into Nie Chuan's ear, and said in a voice that only Nie Chuan could hear: "The next game after this one is over will be in three days."
"Hmm?" Nie Chuan turned his head and met Reese's beautiful blue eyes.
He didn't know why Reese suddenly told him the time of the next game.
“We could do this all day.”
Reese's voice was cold, but it instantly brought Nie Chuan to a boiling point.
This guy still had a sullen expression on his face, and Nie Chuan really wanted to take off his fake mask.
Well, just for the goal of "doing it for a whole day", Nie Chuan also felt that he had to win!
When Nie Chuan turned around, he found that all the CBU teams were in the audience watching the game.
Owen Whishaw's eyes met Nie Chuan's and he waved at him.
And his teammates Thomas and Wright also came.
It seems that CBU takes this match with DK very seriously. Nie Chuan remembered the schedule. CBU still has a match tomorrow morning. They did not do any adjustment exercises or rest, but the whole team came to the gym. Being watched by his opponent like this, Nie Chuan suddenly felt excited, and blood rushed from the depths of his brain, as if it was about to burst out from his fingertips.
The players came on the court and the jump ball began. This was the most direct duel between the opposing center Cook and Montenegro. Who had better explosive power?
Nie Chuan's nerves were tense. In his eyes, Heishan and Cook jumped up almost at the same time, even their fingers touched the basketball at almost the same height. He only heard the two of them roaring at the same time, and Cook's arm drew an arc in the air, as if he wanted to push Heishan away.
Everyone exclaimed in surprise, Montenegro actually lost the jump ball to Cook!
UJT's point guard received the ball and started running quickly.
Nie Chuan gritted his teeth and passed between the opponent's small forward and shooting guard. Before the opponent's point guard could react, the ball had been stolen by Nie Chuan.
The movement of He Qiu's center of gravity swinging was too fast. Not only did the spectators in the stadium fail to see it clearly, but even the point guard whose ball was stolen by Nie Chuan failed to react in time. The ball was no longer under his control.
In less than a second, Nie Chuan reversed the impact of Montenegro's failed jump ball on DK's momentum.
However, as soon as the game started, the pace of the entire game increased.
"My God, Allen's speed seems to be even more terrifying than in the previous practice games..." CBU's point guard Wright frowned.
"Needless to say, from his body shape we can see that his muscle proportions are more perfect than before. This game must see clearly to what extent his jumping ability and speed have evolved. We are different from that guy Seth Lind who has his eyes high above the ground. We know very well that DK is constantly growing." Center Thomas said.
And Owen Whishaw just stared at Nie Chuan's back without any comment.
When Nie Chuan accelerated and rushed towards UJT's defense zone with the ball, just as Reese expected, their power forward Manning followed Nie Chuan all the time and blocked Nie Chuan's cutting angle.
Nie Chuan tried to shake his shoulder three times in a row but failed to break through his defense. This guy's ability to stick to him is very strong. Nie Chuan must carefully keep a safe distance between himself and him, otherwise he will be easily intercepted.
At that moment, Reese quickly turned around and shook off the opponent's small forward Jonathan, rushing towards Nie Chuan.
Nie Chuan suddenly accelerated and changed direction to break through, and Manning quickly made up for the defense. Just when everyone thought that Nie Chuan could not break through Manning, Nie Chuan suddenly lowered his center of gravity and hit the ball in the opposite direction of Manning's movement. At the moment when the ball hit the ground and bounced back, Manning reached out to grab it, but Nie Chuan took a probing step to bring the ball back and quickly broke through!
"Oh my God! Isn't this a Seton crossover?" Engel's eyes widened.
Robert also breathed a sigh of relief: "Although the players here are all college students, there are many powerful moves that even NBA superstars may not be able to master in a short time. Take the Cyston crossover for example, it requires a very high level of speed, inertia, center of gravity control, and body coordination!"
Nie Chuan was completely unaware that he had completed the change of direction that he had been trying to imitate but had failed to do, and instead he quickly passed the ball to Reese through the gaps between the defenders.
Reese dribbled the ball to the basket and jumped. Center Cook jumped up strongly and the two competed against each other under the basket.
Nie Chuan was extremely nervous, because Cook had won the jump ball against the guy from Montenegro!
But Reese used his strong shoulder and back strength and aerial balance to force the ball into the goal!
Various exclamations were heard, the intensity of which was beyond imagination.
The referee blew the whistle, ruling that Cook had committed a foul and Reese was entitled to an extra free throw!
Reese took the ball to the free throw line with no expression on his face, and he easily scored the free throw.
"The cooperation between these two people must be broken." Owen narrowed his eyes and his gaze turned cold.
Nie Chuan really wanted to give Reese a bear hug, but he could only hold back.
But in the next attack, UJT's small forward Jonathan intercepted the ball from Carlo and rushed towards DK's basket.
Nie Chuan quickly returned to defense and followed closely on Jonathan's side. Soon Manning stood between Nie Chuan and Jonathan, giving Nie Chuan no chance to steal the ball.
Just as Jonathan was facing Reese's defense, he passed the ball to center Cook before Reese could speed up, and Cook jumped up for a dunk.
The two big guys jumping together attracted the attention of the fans. Although Montenegro jumped later than Cook, his jump showed amazing explosive power and he was about to block Cook's shot.
Cover it up!
Nie Chuan shouted deep in his heart.
But Cook managed to take the ball back and quickly passed it to Jonathan who was running towards him after it landed.
Jonathan just received the ball and was about to jump, but Reese quickly came in front of him. Jonathan tried to break through Reese, but Reese's defense was very tight. At the moment when he raised his hand and the ball touched the ground and bounced, Reese quickly shot. Jonathan's heart almost stopped beating, and he could only forcefully hit the ball to the other side.
The ball was caught by UJT's point guard, Ewing rushed forward, gritted his teeth and jumped up with all his might.
Don't underestimate people!
This was the best jumping ability Ewing had ever demonstrated. The opponent had already shot, but Ewing's fingertips touched the ball.
Montenegro and the opponent's center Cook were blocking each other under the basket to compete for the best rebounding position.
In just a moment, Cook was trapped by Montenegro, and the ball hit the basket and bounced out.
Montenegro jumped and had already occupied a favorable position for the rebound, but UJT's small forward Jonathan also rushed over and competed with Montenegro under the basket.
With Jonathan in front and Cook behind, Montenegro roared, dunked the ball into his arms, and the moment he landed, he instantly passed the ball to Nie Chuan who had rushed over.
Nie Chuan knew that Manning was defending next to him, so he used the European move without hesitation, and the magnitude of the move surprised the people around him.
"The Eurostep is usually followed by a layup, but that was clearly not possible with his position," Robert commented.
Sure enough, Nie Chuan passed the ball to Reese as soon as he dribbled past Manning.
Reese did not insist on a one-on-one fight with Jonathan, but instead changed direction with a big shake of his shoulders and slid, then passed the ball to Carlo.
UJT's point guard and shooting guard rushed over and double-teamed Carlo, but Carlo stood up and was about to shoot.
Montenegro had already rushed back to the basket, and he and Cook began to compete for the rebounding position again.
Nie Chuan became nervous. At a time like this, Carlo didn't need to shoot the ball at all!
Carlo jumped up but suddenly took the ball back and threw it behind him.
Ewing received the ball on the three-point line, completely unguarded, and jumped calmly, taking the three-pointer with grace.
The audience cheered, and Nie Chuan also breathed a sigh of relief.
Ewing and Carlo bumped fists, and Carlo smiled and said, "I said I would let you get 15 points."
Ewing shrugged: "Then remember to lick my shoes."
Carlo snorted and ran away.
UJT coach "Old Sparrow" stood up, squinted his eyes and looked at the situation on the field, then clapped his hands and shouted: "Kids, is this your speed? Where is your off-ball running position!"
At the beginning of the next round, UJT's point guard dribbled the ball and scanned the entire court. Nie Chuan was ready to steal the ball at any time.
But as soon as he moved, Manning blocked him.
UJT's point guard started running, and Nie Chuan made a fake move to the left to try to bypass Manning, but when he finally got rid of Manning's defense, the opponent's point guard had already passed the ball to the point guard.
The point guard was ready, Reese and Luo rushed to intercept, but were blocked by Jonathan and Cook respectively. Their point guard took the opportunity to give DK a three-pointer.
Nie Chuan exhaled, watching UJT's defense link up, and Manning was like a heavy lead block restraining Nie Chuan's movements.
It’s not that he doesn’t have the ability to get rid of Manning, but every time he gets rid of him, he loses the opportunity.
The movements of all UJT players are more complicated than before, and they are always able to occupy advantageous positions on the field. Opportunities and timing are all mastered by UJT, and they are constantly recovering lost points.
"DK's speed has been slowed down by UJT. It's like a leopard locked in a cage. It wants to run but can't even stretch its limbs." Engel expressed his concern for DK.
"If this situation cannot be changed in the first quarter, DK will continue to be at a disadvantage in the next quarter." Robert, who has experience in the game, also frowned. "UJT's performance in the second half of the first quarter was really outstanding."
Nie Chuan hadn't had any assists for nearly six minutes, and Manning didn't deliberately try to stop him completely, just slow him down.
In order to restrain Ewing's performance on the three-point line, the "Old Sparrow" directly assigned the point guard to interfere with Ewing, and asked Cook to restrain Carlo, breaking up the cooperation between Ewing and Carlo.
Although Montenegro frequently recovered rebounds under the basket, it could not change the disadvantage of DK only scoring four points in six minutes.
"Oh my god... Although UJT's overall strength is not as good as DK's at first glance, I don't know why, they are like a net, trapping DK." CBU's point guard Wright in the audience looked at Nie Chuan's back as he was trying hard to get rid of his opponent's surveillance, and showed a worried expression.
"To be honest, I would rather play against DK than against an opponent like UJT. At least it won't be so annoying. If I were Allen or Ewing, I suspect I would have impulsively fouled!" Thomas also sighed.
Owen raised the corner of his lips and said calmly: "The Reese Reddington I know will not let this situation continue. And his little wild cat is struggling in the cage. If it continues like this, the little wild cat will scratch itself. He will not let this happen."
"Huh?" Wright turned his head and said, "Who is the little wild cat?"
Owen smiled but did not answer.