Champion, please stay!

Chapter 60, Page 59: The time has come to take the team's helm!
At 8 p.m., amidst the deafening cheers of the fans in the stadium, the final four matches began.

Thabeet beat Cole Aldridge to win the jump ball, giving the Huskies the first point!

Price and Yad initiated the offense with a pick-and-roll at the top of the key.

On Yi Shui's side, he came to the wing to screen for Robinson against the 206cm tall and thin small forward Darrell Jackson. The screen was very solid, triggering 'Iron Wall'. When setting a screen as the screener, strength is increased by 5!

The instant Robinson finished his screen and before the opponent could switch, Yi Shui turned and accelerated into the paint, triggering the second stage of 'Iron Wall'. After completing an effective screen, he cut in and started at top speed!

Yi Shui drove straight to the inside and received a pass from Price in the elbow area. The opposing center, Cole Aldridge, couldn't get back in time, and only Darrell Arthur came up to help. Yi Shui didn't dribble; he took two steps, pushed past Darrell Arthur, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!

The Pine Eagles' small forward Jackson and power forward Arthur both weigh only 98 kilograms but are 206 centimeters tall, making them physically weak. Center Aldridge has outstanding offensive talent, a solid build, good one-on-one defense, and excellent rebounding positioning, but his movement can be described as slow. Once he extends his reach, he can't get back down... Rose has already proven this in the last round.

Calhoun focused on this aspect during his preparations, and it proved effective in actual combat!
As expected, when Yad charged forward, the opposing defense concentrated in the middle, and Yi Shui's charge created an opportunity!

However, Yi Shui's off-ball screens forced the opponent to switch, thereby reducing the interference from physical contact during the start, which was outside Calhoun's plan. The opponent's attention was often on the person using the screen, but it also surprised him, as he knew how to make use of his increasingly strong physique.

The Huskies started the game with a clean and aggressive first attack, but then the Pine Eagles showed the Huskies what the art of passing really means.

Under Chalmers' guidance, the Pine Eagles created open opportunities on the flanks through multiple rounds of passing and cutting, and then delivered the ball to the right place in time.

Brandon Rush catches the ball and hits a three-pointer! He responds to Yi Shui's powerful dunk just now!

Compared to the Husky's offense, the Pine Eagles' offense clearly has more aspects worth analyzing.

TNT Sports' Kenny Smith exclaimed, "The Pine Eagles used their passing and cutting to get the Huskies' zone defense going, and then tore apart the Huskies' defense with a pass, creating a perfect three-point opportunity!"
The Huskies' defense had to follow the Hawks' strategy; they didn't use zone defense to deal with the Hawks' cuts, and Arthur was able to put the ball in the basket.

All of this is based on the fact that everyone on the Pine Eagles can pass and shoot; they are absolutely the most perfect team this year!

The commentators were analyzing the situation when the Husky team launched their second attack.

The Huskies' "strongest offensive twin towers" were a formidable force. When Price broke through with a screen, he found that the opposing defense was concentrated in the middle and baseline. Without hesitation, he went straight to the basket and quickly took a shot before Cole Aldridge could help defend. The layup went in!

Turning around, Cole Aldridge received the ball behind Thabeet and made a layup to respond!

In terms of mobility, Cole Aldridge is not as fast as Thabeet, who is 10 centimeters taller than him, but he has excellent offensive IQ and his timing for turning and driving to the basket is excellent. The Pine Eagles also have excellent timing for ball movement, and they managed to find a scoring opportunity under the basket guarded by Thabeet and Yi Shui!

Then, after Yi Shui set a screen for Robinson, he was double-teamed by two opposing defenders due to a communication error during the switch. Robinson received the ball in the corner from Yad, who cut in, and hit an open three-pointer.

When it was the Pine Hawks' turn to attack, Cole Aldridge received the ball under the basket, held off Thabeet, and passed it to Chalmers for a mid-range jumper from the baseline. Chalmers then cut to the basket and hit a mid-range shot in response.

Both teams scored 3 consecutive points at the start, making the score 7-7!
Both teams had thoroughly studied each other and made very thorough preparations. Without any probing, they went all out from the start!

The Songying team's defense is actually not bad, but their frontline is really bad at physical confrontations, which is exactly what Yishui and Yade can do against, making it impossible to defend against them.

However, the Huskies' defense also has significant problems, with only two players performing above average in individual defense – Yi Shui and Thabeet. These two are also responsible for linking up the zone defense. The Davidson Wildcats have already demonstrated that the Huskies do not defend well against team offenses that rely on long-range shots as the final finishing method, and the Pine Eagles will naturally take advantage of this.

In the early stages, the two teams were evenly matched.

Midway through the first half, the Pine Eagles called a timeout, with the score at 27-24, leading the Huskies by 3 points.

The two teams had already made minor personnel adjustments, which weren't immediately apparent. But this time, the Songying team's superior roster depth is clearly evident after the changes.

Chalmers, Tyrell Reed, Roderick Stewart, Darrell Arthur, and Sasha Cowan are all top 100 high school players in the nation! Especially Sasha Cowan, the Russian senior center, who is 211 cm tall, ranked 43rd in the nation's high school class of 2004, and won the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year award for two consecutive years. Although he is a reserve player on a college team, he has very good draft prospects, with several teams planning to select him in the second round.

The 16-man roster includes 13 players who are ranked in the top 100 high schools in the United States, and the 12-man active roster includes 11 players who are ranked in the top 100 high schools in the United States. The roster depth is simply incredible!
The Huskies' 12-man roster actually includes 10 top-100 high school players in the nation, but the quality... the 6 players from 2006 were half-subpar, they can't compare.

After the timeout, Chalmers saw that Thabeet had gone to rest on the opposing team. His front three consisted of Johnson Bird, Yad, and Omocaro. As he received the serve and advanced the ball, he gestured to his teammates.

The time has come to widen the gap; the all-out offensive has begun!
After Chalmers arrived in the frontcourt, he initiated a pick-and-roll and passing combination with Darrell Arthur. After a series of passes, Sasha Cowan cut to the basket to receive the ball and, before Yi Shui could collapse into position, he made a high-arcing shot over Johnson Bird, who was trying to get to the basket, and scored!

The Pine Eagles extended their lead to 5 points, 29-24.

But turning around, Yi Shui received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right side, turned around and suddenly stepped away from Tyrell Reed, pulled up without dribbling, and shot a three-pointer... and it went in!
The Huskies kept the score close at 27-29.

Calhoun clenched his fist on the sidelines. Here it comes! All their hard work has been for this moment!
During the preparation phase, they repeatedly studied the Brocks' games, especially the game where the Brocks defeated the Tigers. They clearly realized that the Brocks' strongest point was not their starting lineup, which had enough firepower to suppress any opponent, nor the stability of the backcourt duo of Chalmers and Brandon Rush in crucial moments, nor the center Aldridge with lottery potential, nor the forwards who could be selected in the first round, but rather the firepower stability based on their deep roster.

The most crucial part is the rotation phase!

Therefore, he and his coaching staff put in a lot of effort to develop team offensive tactics around the impact and threat of Yi Shui and Yad; Price and Yad attacked relentlessly from the start; Robinson's long-range shooting and Thabeet's movement around the basket were particularly energetic...

For the first 10 minutes or so of the game, Yi Shui can play simple shots on the wing without having to take on pressure or be the one to handle the burden. He can simply receive the ball and shoot from the sideline to save his energy.

Now is the time for Yi Shui to make its move!

Calhoun wasn't sure if they could withstand the firepower of the opposing rotation lineup, which was stronger than the starting lineup of most third-tier teams. All he could do was trust Yi Shui!
Bearing the expectations of his coach and teammates, and carrying on their efforts... Yi Shui, with heavy responsibilities on his shoulders, did not let them down!

In the following period, he single-handedly fought against the Pine Eagles, not only preventing them from widening the gap, but also gaining a slight advantage!

With 17 minutes and 22 seconds left in the first half, Yi Shui cut to close range to receive a pass from Spencer and made a floater over Sasha Cowan.

45-45, after 10 minutes, the Husky team finally tied the score!
With 30 seconds left in the first half, Chalmers scored a two-pointer against Dyson, who had come off the bench, bringing the score to 52-51, and the Pine Eagles regained the lead.

In the last attack of the first half, Yi Shui faced Brandon Rush's close defense on the right side of the top arc to run down the clock. With 8 seconds left, he took a step to the side, changed direction, created a beautiful rhythm difference, got past his opponent, and drove down the right wing!
Darrell Jackson moved ahead to block from the right sideline, and backup power forward Rodrik Stewart, ranked 36th in the nation in the 03 draft class, also came up from the left elbow area to block.

With Brandon Rush catching up, Yi Shui was surrounded by three players. Cole Aldridge, who had returned to the court under the basket, held off the two interior players, Jarvan Edwards and Omocaro, who had come off the bench.

Yi Shui jumped up and passed the ball amidst the double-team...

Robinson cut to the right corner to receive the ball, took an open three-pointer... and it went in cleanly!
With Chalmers' three-point attempt over halftime missing all three attempts, the Huskies led the Pine Eagles 54-52 at halftime!
The tens of thousands of Songying fans at the stadium couldn't believe it! The opposing center forward had been resting for almost 10 minutes, yet the opposing team had managed to take the lead and dominate them, using only one player to pressure them!
This is something the Pine Eagles have never encountered before this season!
But the other 30,000-plus audience members were already going wild, chanting "BIG," "YI," "Brook," "The Orient Star," and so on...

23分3板4助攻1抢断1盖帽，易水半场打了其他球星全场比赛都不一定拿得到的数据！
尤其是后半段9分多钟，10投6中，其中三分球4中2，加上3中3的罚球，狂轰17分3助攻！

The Pine Eagles scored 25 points in just over 9 minutes, continuing the explosive firepower of their starting lineup.

But Yi Shui single-handedly led his team to score 30 points during this period! Overpowering the Songying team!
Looking at the score and listening to the 'noise' of tens of thousands of fans in the stadium, the entire Pine Eagles team was stunned.

This situation was completely unexpected. They knew Yi Shui was powerful, but they thought their defensive preparations against Yi Shui were very thorough. However, once Yi Shui started their main attack, they were completely unable to defend against it!

They recalled the previous round, where Yishui scored 51 points against the Davidson Wildcats... Their defensive performance in the first half didn't even seem as good as the Wildcats'? This was hard for them to accept!

(End of this chapter)