Chapter 340: Chapter 98: [Why Can’t I, Su Xi, Take Down the 3 of You Combined?]

Seeing Su Xi close in and tangle with him, Ginobili nearly ground his teeth to dust.

’Kobe, what the fuck are you doing? So what if I eliminated you in the West semifinals? Is it really worth holding a grudge this long?’

’Su Xi just eliminated you this year, and in the Finals, no less. You should hate him more.’

Ginobili was filled with resentment.

His attempt to catch them off guard failed.

Argentina settled into their set offense. They played with great patience, constantly moving the ball, their off-ball movement extremely active.

The quality of the Chinese Team’s defense was admittedly not on par with the world’s top teams, as had already been proven in the group stage and knockout rounds.

Soon, the Argentinians’ patient ball movement created an opportunity. Scola ran to the free-throw line and took a jump shot... SWISH.

It was good.

Argentina’s tempo was very slow.

But the Chinese Team picked up the pace. Su Xi brought the ball past half-court and immediately isolated Delphino for a one-on-one. Delphino couldn’t stop him. Su Xi penetrated to the free-throw line, drew the double-team, and dished it inside to Yao Ming for a turnaround hook shot.

"How come they’re playing like your OK Combination?"

Maggette had to bring up a sore subject. "I didn’t expect to see a top-tier inside-outside game here at the Olympics."

Kobe pursed his lips and said, "If it were the real OK Combination, Little Sheep Su Xi would have taken the shot just now and let Yao Ming get the rebound."

Maggette was stunned. ’It takes one of the guys who was actually there to explain the true essence of the strategy.’

The game continued. Su Xi locked his eyes on Argentina’s ball handler, who was Ginobili this time.

Su Xi did this to give Yao Ming more rest. He didn’t want Yao Ming to run himself ragged, giving him enough time to recover and slowly get back into the paint.

Argentina once again slowed it down, patiently grinding out their set offense and looking for an opening.

Delphino got an open look from beyond the three-point line, but he missed.

Scola broke free from Wang Zhizhi’s box-out in the paint and tipped the ball in with one hand.

Scola was a crafty fox, skilled at all sorts of cheap-shot moves.

When they met in the group stage, he had given Wang Zhizhi quite a bit of trouble.

The game moved forward. The two sides went back and forth, trading baskets, and the score remained tight.

For the moment, neither side could get the upper hand.

The Chinese Team relied on Su Xi and Yao Ming, complemented by Wang Zhizhi, while the other players mainly took opportunistic shots.

Argentina, on the other hand, had the advantage in their overall lineup, tactics, and team chemistry.

End of the first quarter.

The Chinese Team led 23-21.

At the end of the first half, Argentina led 46-43.

At the end of the third quarter, the Chinese Team had retaken the lead, 69-68.

The two teams were evenly matched. It was the most intense, nail-biting game of this year’s Olympics.

Whether you were in the arena or watching on TV, everyone was on the edge of their seats.

At this point, no one knew what the final result would be.

Not a single commentator on any television station in the world would dare to predict who would stand on the gold medal podium.

"If they keep playing like this, I think the Chinese Team will win," Kobe said to Maggette beside him during the break between quarters.

Maggette was a player for the Clippers. He and Kobe shared the same agent, and they had come to Athens together for a vacation and to shoot a commercial.

But Maggette completely disagreed with Kobe’s conclusion. He said, "The Chinese Team’s overall quality is far inferior to Argentina’s. Plus, you can see Yao Ming’s stamina fading with your own eyes; his success rate in the paint is dropping. No matter how good Little Sheep Su Xi is, he can’t possibly drag a declining Chinese Team onto the gold medal podium."

"This is FIBA basketball. You can’t just have one guy turn the tide. Star-player strategies don’t work as well here. It’s all about the team."

Maggette added, "Otherwise, why would the Dream Team have lost so badly?"

Kobe just smiled and said, "You don’t know Little Sheep Su Xi."

Maggette didn’t argue back, but he thought to himself: ’You don’t know FIBA.’

The fourth quarter began.

Unexpectedly, Yao Ming was resting on the bench, and Wang Zhizhi was sitting on the sidelines as well. The players on the court with Su Xi were Bateer, Yi Jianlian, Zhu Fangyu, and Wang Shipeng.

Could this lineup really compete against the powerhouse Argentinian team?

Even the CCTV announcers were getting nervous.

BEEP!

The whistle blew, and the game was on.

Su Xi received the inbounds pass and sprinted down the court. He charged forward relentlessly, accelerating violently. Just as Argentina was getting set on defense, he had already stormed into the paint. Scola was just about to try a flop in front of him.

But Su Xi came to a sudden stop and lobbed the ball toward the basket. Yi Jianlian leaped up from the side, caught the ball with both hands, and slammed it into the hoop.

An alley-oop.

On the other end, Su Xi locked onto Ginobili, but Delphino passed the ball into the paint to Scola.

Scola posted up on Yi Jianlian. Yi’s build was slender, though he had the advantage in height and wingspan.

But Scola was an expert at wearing players down. He was like the experienced Xu the Half-Woman, while Yi Jianlian was an innocent young boy. After just a few of Scola’s moves, Yi was completely lost, as if he’d need to hold the wall for support on his way out.

But just as Scola faked out Yi Jianlian, turned, and went up for the layup, a figure shot in like a bolt of lightning... SMACK!

Scola had just brought the ball up to his chest when Su Xi swatted it down, ripping the ball clean away.

Scola reflexively made an exaggerated motion, trying to draw a foul.

But the referee ignored him. Su Xi’s steal was clean.

The head referee had gotten used to Scola’s performances... His theatrics were sometimes as over-the-top as a day-player actress in a California film studio, always crying out, "Oh God! God! My God!"

But it was obviously fake.

The referee was starting to see right through his act.

Su Xi raced down the court with the ball. He charged toward the basket, and Ginobili grabbed his jersey from behind, but couldn’t stop Su Xi from putting the ball in the hoop.

Ginobili also got called for the foul.

SWISH!

He converted the and-one.

The Chinese Team was up by 6.

"See that? Su Xi is a master at setting traps. You think their interior is a ’sweet spot,’ but it’s actually a trap he’s laid. He doesn’t need that young kid to stop Argentina’s big men; he just needs Argentina to get the ball into their hands."

As he said this, Kobe gritted his teeth, remembering how the Lakers had been outsmarted in this year’s Finals. "He’s more cunning than a fox and more vicious than a jackal."

Maggette raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

The game continued.

Argentina suddenly picked up the pace. Ginobili took two dribbles and passed to Delphino. Delphino brought the ball past half-court and immediately passed to Nocioni.

Nocioni shot it immediately from behind the three-point line... SWISH!

It’s good!

"See? Argentina’s reputation isn’t for nothing."

Maggette said, "With Yao Ming out, they can pick up the pace without any fear. Their overall offense is better than China’s anyway, and they don’t need to get the ball into the paint. Su Xi can’t handle Delphino, Ginobili, and Nocioni all by himself."

Kobe fell silent.

Maggette did have a point.

After the change of possession, Su Xi gave his answer.

He charged into the paint again, overpowering Oberto’s defense to force the ball into the basket.

Su Xi could break through the defense and score.

On the other end, Argentina once again attacked from the perimeter. They used frequent passes to pull Su Xi’s defense out of position, and suddenly, their shooting hands got hot.

This time it was Ginobili. He shook Wang Shipeng in the corner. Even though Wang Shipeng tried his best to defend, the skill gap was just too wide.

Ginobili hit the jump shot for three points.

Su Xi was still giving it his all on offense, but Argentina had loosened their defense on him.

They were employing the Jordan Rules.

Let Su Xi get his points, but cut off his passing lanes.

As long as the other Chinese players couldn’t get involved in the offense, the Argentinians were confident their three stars could overwhelm and exhaust Su Xi.

Their head coach, Pulan, thought exactly like Maggette: ’Nocioni, Ginobili, and Delphino—two elite players and a superstar—can’t handle you, Little Sheep Su Xi?’

Time slowly ticked by.

Argentina gradually closed the gap and then took the lead. Their Jordan Rules were working.

Su Xi’s one-on-one efficiency was decent, and he was highly effective at driving to the basket for layups. Although he missed two turnaround jumpers, it wasn’t like Argentina was making every single shot either.

By the five-minute mark of the quarter, Argentina had taken a 2-point lead.

At the six-minute mark, the lead was 4 points.

At the seven-minute mark, Oberto drew a foul on Bateer and went to the free-throw line.

If he made both free throws, they would have a 6-point lead.

If that happened, the Chinese Team would be in a very difficult position with less than three minutes remaining.

Just then, the Chinese Team finally subbed Yao Ming back into the game.

PHEW!

It wasn’t just the CCTV commentators who breathed a sigh of relief.

Kobe let out a breath of relief too.

For the past three minutes, the CCTV commentators had been shouting: "What is Yonas doing? Why isn’t he putting Yao Ming back in! Su Xi is carrying the entire team by himself, isn’t he exhausted? Put Yao Ming in to share the load! Argentina is leading again! Yonas, if you keep being so stubborn, you’re committing a crime..."

The CCTV commentators’ words were harsh.

It also showed how anxious they truly were.

They couldn’t just watch the gold medal slip away.

The fans across the country couldn’t take it, and the entire nation wouldn’t accept it.

The CCTV commentators’ urgency only proved one thing: they didn’t understand basketball.

"Now, the Chinese Team has seized absolute control. With Yao Ming on the court and Su Xi’s hand still hot, Argentina’s lead is about to disappear," Kobe said confidently to Maggette.

CLANK!

Oberto missed the first free throw.

He wasn’t a center known for his accurate free-throw shooting.

He might very well miss both.

Kobe lifted his chin confidently.

The Chinese Team’s lineup now was Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Zhu Fangyu, Li Nan, and Su Xi.

Their average height far exceeded Argentina’s.

If Oberto missed, grabbing the rebound would be no problem for the Chinese Team.

As Oberto prepared for his free throw, the players from both teams jostled for position under the basket.

CLANK!

As expected, Oberto missed the free throw.

The ball flew toward Yao Ming. Yao quickly pushed Scola aside and stretched out his long arms.

The moment he grabbed the ball, Scola rushed up and elbowed him. A jolt of pain shot through him, and as he landed on his left foot, he twisted it slightly.

He felt a sharp pain instantly but passed the ball to Su Xi.

Then, he started running downcourt. As he ran, he could feel the sprain.

But he kept going.

But to his surprise, Su Xi didn’t wait for him to get into the paint. He streaked down the court like lightning, came off a screen from Wang Zhizhi, and the moment he evaded the defense, he put up a quick jump shot... SWISH!

The ball found the bottom of the net.

A three-pointer.

...