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Chapter 65, Section 63: The Final Battle Begins! (Available for purchase tomorrow at midnight)
In China, the living room of an ordinary two-bedroom apartment in Yulan Community, Jiashan County, Zhejiang Province, was filled with people.

This is Yi Shui's home.

As early as noon the day before yesterday, when the CCTV sports channel reported that "a young Chinese player led his team to the national finals of the American college league", Yi Shui's parents had already heard about it from their colleagues.

Because the news article included a photo of their son, who had been handsome since childhood, his colleagues recognized him immediately.

The couple originally wanted to keep a low profile, but their phones were bombarded with calls from relatives and friends that night. They usually keep their phones on in case their son needs a call, but these past two days they had to remove the batteries to charge them before going to sleep... This morning, before dawn, a bunch of relatives and friends came knocking on the door.

Mother Chen Fanghua was very happy about this, and went out to the early market to buy a lot of snacks, fruits and drinks to entertain relatives and friends.

Although Yi Donglai, the father, remained serious on the surface, he was secretly delighted. Who wouldn't want their son to be successful? Especially an athlete, who might bring glory to the country in the future?

The meaning of the name you chose for your son is "The highest good is like water, which benefits all things without striving"? Not at all! It is "Water, the softest thing in the world, can overcome the hardest thing in the world!"
As for why the couple didn't contact their son and didn't call back after receiving his text message, it was Yi Donglai's idea, as he didn't want to give Yi Shui any extra impact before the match.

Although they don't understand basketball, they understand the concept of mindset. Most students hate their parents' encouragement before exams and see it as a burden. Athletes and competitions are generally the same.

At 7:40 a.m., the live broadcast of the match began, and the camera focused on Yi Shui raising his fist and leading his teammates to shout 'Beat LA'.

The couple watched their son on TV, a son who seemed familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar. They were overjoyed, but also filled with mixed emotions. They had only sent him to the United States hoping he could attend a prestigious international university, but they never expected that after two and a half years, he would actually make a name for himself and be on TV...

...

The scene of the game.

Yi Shui had no idea that all his neighbors, relatives, teachers from elementary and middle school... were crammed into his small living room, and he had no mind to think about any of that now.

He and his teammates walked onto the court, looking at Darren Collison, Westbrook, Luke Mbah a Moute, Josh Shipp, and Love on the other side, all they wanted to do was fight!
The Bruins players are equally eager to win; having come this far, their goal is undoubtedly the championship.

It's just that everyone's mindset is somewhat different.

Westbrook, positioned at the top of the three-point arc in the backcourt, stared intently at Yi Shui on the side of the midcourt line.

This guy beat Rose, beat Mayo, beat Curry who beat Beasley, beat Chalmers... If you beat this guy, then he's the strongest!
Turtle is always full of confidence, but his strongest teammate is not so optimistic.

Love stood in the center circle looking at Thabeet. The height difference of more than ten centimeters was not noticeable when they greeted each other, but once on the court, the pressure was really great!

At 8 p.m., the referee blew his whistle, and the highly anticipated 3rd Madness final began!

Love leaped high, vowing it was the highest he had ever jumped in his life.

But Thabeet didn't care about height, only about speed, and with a light leap, he deflected the ball away.

Love: From now on, if I ever play center, I'm a dog!

Soon, Westbrook also felt Love's feeling. He met Yi Shui running towards him at the right 45-degree angle three-point line and felt that the other party was much taller than him!

A turtle is a turtle, hard as a rock... Westbrook didn't hesitate to stick close and get in front of him... but his usual invincible physical battles on the back line failed him. The opponent simply stretched out his arm and blocked him behind, easily receiving the ball.

For a moment, Westbrook questioned his own existence: how could someone so thin and strong be so powerful?
He immediately threw himself into pressing and pressing defense. He had read media analyses that said his defense could have an impact on Yi Shui, because Rose's similar defense could.

However, in terms of defensive intelligence and skills, Westbrook is slightly inferior to Rose at the same stage, and Yi Shui's experience in dealing with this type of defense is also much stronger than when he encountered Rose a little over a month ago.

Yi Shui easily took advantage of the rhythm, faked Westbrook to the side, and accelerated forward... but was blocked before even reaching the free throw line.

After reaching 50+ and then 40+, the Bruins were not as arrogant as the Pine Eagles, nor did they take any chances, and they blocked the Yi River!

Yi Shui was also prepared and passed the ball out immediately. Yad cut in to receive the ball, attracting Love to cover, and then passed it inside. Thabeet easily scored two points!
Time Warner Cable Sports commentator Bill Walton remarked, "Every time I commentate on Brook's games, I can see his improvement; he handles the ball much more cleanly and efficiently..."

It was the Bruins' turn to attack. Westbrook called for the ball and went one-on-one against Yi Shui. He was going to get his revenge!
Facing Yi Shui's defense, Westbrook successfully broke into the paint and attempted a layup over Tabby... but Yi Shui, who had caught up, slapped it out of bounds!

In terms of straight-line sprints, Westbrook is a bit faster than Rose, and Yad's blocking defense didn't even have time to catch up. But coincidentally, Yi Shui is also a little bit faster than a month ago, and his turning and chasing movements are also a little quicker than before. With Thabeet as a barrier under the basket, his speed is just enough!

Westbrook was incredulous at being blocked, but his stubbornness kicked in. After the ball was served again, he continued to yell and stretch out his arms for the ball, and Shipp, who received the serve, had no choice but to pass it to him.

Westbrook continued his drive against Yi Shui's defense, and after reaching the inside, he glanced to the side and saw that the guy had caught up again! This time he was smarter, and with two consecutive layups, a super long swing... he successfully hit the rim of the basket.

Yi Shui, who had caught up, grabbed the defensive rebound and quipped, "Are you doing acrobatics?"

Westbrook reacted immediately, pressing forward to win the ball... Yi Shui grabbed the ball with one hand and stretched it out to the byline, while Westbrook retreated to defend, cursing.

In the transition between offense and defense, Yi Shui broke through and passed the ball. Price received the pass and made another pass, which Robinson then hit from the corner for a three-pointer, easily adding another assist to his list of assists as the league's assist leader.

Turning back, Love proactively called for the ball in the low post to initiate an attack, preventing his friend from getting carried away.

He used his agility to attack Thabeet, successfully drawing Yad into a double team, and then passed the ball out. After passing through Luke Mbah a Moute, the ball came to Darren Collison, who had circled around and cut in.

Collison received the ball, dribbled a step to close range, a very good opportunity, but Yi Shui rushed in!
Collison reacted quickly, instead of foolishly attempting a floater, he took two more steps after catching the ball and went for a layup... only to be slapped down by Thabeet who came up to cover!
Although Yi Shui's help defense was dodged by the opponent, it was not without effect. By allowing the opponent to take a few more steps and get closer to the basket, Thabeet had a better defensive opportunity!

Yi Shui won the ball in a contest with Westbrook and launched a counter-attack!

Westbrook closely guarded Yi Shui, who couldn't get into full speed ahead to protect the ball, but a teammate followed up with a fast break. He passed the ball from beyond the three-point line on the other side... Price caught the ball and made a layup!

He's unlikely to score on his own, but he's incredibly good at seizing opportunities!

Price received the most praise from the commentators during the Husky team's fast break.

To fans, he's just an unremarkable 'pushing guard', but to professionals, he's outstanding, even in professional games... Of course, it's not that Price can become a star, but any team needs this kind of reliable, steady role player with a good overall view and the ability to seize opportunities.

However, with the score at 7-0 at the start... TNT commentator Barkley said, "I'm reminded of the finals two years ago at the Spurs' home court. Tonight is just like that night, the gap in strength is too big, there's no suspense at all."

Even Kenny Smith, who is known for his argumentative style, didn't find fault this time, saying, "The strongest teams this year are in the Central and Southern Conferences. The finals of these two conferences, the game between the Huskies and the Pine Eagles, should be the final four showdown."

Barkley was referring to the 2006 3rd Madness Finals, where the Florida Ghouls, with their super frontcourt trio of Brewer, Horford, and Noah, easily crushed their opponents by 16 points, making the outcome a foregone conclusion. Their opponent was also the Bruins.

Coincidentally, the Bruins' opponent tonight also has a super frontcourt – the strongest offensive twin towers and the strongest defensive twin towers of this year's 3rd Madness are both on the Huskies!

Commentators from other television stations expressed similar views.

Before the game, all the major TV stations were trying their best to find the strengths of the Bruins. Everyone knew that the Huskies were strong, and that Yi Shui, Thabeet, and Yad were formidable. The Pine Eagles had been defeated by them head-on. In order to increase ratings, the TV stations had to make the fans believe that the two teams were evenly matched.

But commentators still have to analyze the game based on the actual situation. If they insist on saying that the two teams are evenly matched at the start of the game, then probably no fans will want to watch their commentary.

Just as the commentators predicted, the Bruins continued to be dominated by the Huskies in the following rounds.

Less than four minutes into the game, the Bruins called a timeout.

The score is 13-5, with the Huskies leading by 8 points!
In the following rounds, the Husky team's offense wasn't as explosive as when they scored 7 points in the first minute, but their efficiency was still quite good, scoring 6 points on 5 shots.

The Bruins' 5 points seemed like a small difference, but two of their baskets were crucial: Love's putback after holding off Yi Shui's dribbling, and Collison's three-pointer over Price with only seconds left on the shot clock.

That means in almost 4 minutes, they didn't score a single point in the tactical play!
The Los Angeles team was thoroughly outplayed, much to the excitement of the fans at the stadium, while those watching on TV from the "big city fans" were ecstatic, hoping the Bruins would improve after this timeout.

However, after the timeout, the Bruins' tactical performance not only did not improve, but got worse!
Their two 'NBA-caliber' guards, as if they had lost their minds, blindly drove towards the basket...

The giants under the basket, Thabeet and Yi Shui, who collapsed to help defend, started a block feast!

Calhoun watched as the score difference quickly widened to double digits, feeling both pleased and somewhat puzzled.

The opposing head coach, Ben Holland, had also worked for a team in the Big East Conference, serving as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers. In the 2001-02 season, he led a Panthers team with no players in the top 100 high schools in the nation to the Sweet Sixteen... and was defeated by him.

Although the Huskies won that time, it was a tough game, ending in a narrow 78-73 victory by 5 points. Holland's on-court command and tactical micromanagement were excellent. The current Bruins are definitely stronger than that Panthers team, and this guy shouldn't have failed to make any decent adjustments...

Calhoun couldn't figure it out, but he didn't have any further ideas. In terms of tactical adjustments, he could predict what tactical adjustments the opponent could make based on their lineup. However, with a large lead and an absolute advantage, they were the ones who were 'passively responding' and could only wait for the opponent to 'make a move' before responding accordingly.

When the first half ended and a timeout was called, the Huskies had a 15-point lead.

The fans at the stadium and the viewers in front of the TV believed that the game had completely lost its suspense and would become garbage time before halftime, just like the Alligators' massacre of the Bruins two years ago.

But! At 13 minutes and 58 seconds, Westbrook rushed into the paint and ran headfirst into Thabeet's arms. Thabeet's downward arm hit Westbrook's arm.

The referee blew the whistle, and Westbrook was awarded a 1+1 free throw opportunity.

Calhoun counted and was suddenly shocked, looking at the big screen... The data showed that Thabeet had already committed 3 fouls before halftime!

……

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(End of this chapter)