Lower Merion Basketball Hall—if the voices of the fans at the scene were translated into Chinese, they would probably mean: "Xiu'er, is that you?"
You must understand that, not only in the '90s but even in the future, Su Feng's recent move could shatter many people's knee pads.
And to make things even more astonishing, did Su Feng just use "Sam Gold," a move that no one had ever seen before?
Of course, no matter how spectacular the play was, at this moment, the score on the board is only one point ahead of Lower Merion.
Chester regained possession and launched an attack.
As the star player of Chester High School, DeMarcus glanced briefly at Su Feng, who was defending him.
To DeMarcus, the move that Su Feng just executed was utterly humiliating!
In fact, for DeMarcus, the cheers in the basketball hall sounded even harsher than boos.
Even Su Feng's calm expression seemed to mock him—at least in DeMarcus's eyes.
"No, calm down. I can't repeat the mistakes of last year!" After looking at Su Feng's composed face, DeMarcus realized he had nearly fallen into a trap!
'It must be this way!
That cunning Chinese player!
Kobe must have told him what happened last year, which is why he's provoking me non-stop during the game!
First, he irritated me with flashy moves, and then, on defense, he will definitely…'
At that moment, determined to contain DeMarcus, Su Feng resorted to his signature defensive technique: "Death Wrapping."
It's worth mentioning that, under HC rules, the power of "Death Wrapping" is significantly enhanced.
'Oh, just as I expected.
Right after making a successful offensive play, he immediately tries to unsettle me on defense. Well, next, he'll surely attack me verbally.'
For some reason, DeMarcus felt smarter today.
Many things he hadn't understood before suddenly became crystal clear.
"Hey, your name is Su, right? I already figured out your strategy, and I won't fall for it." DeMarcus suddenly said to Su Feng.
What?
Su Feng: Kobe Bryant question mark three.jpg.
Did this kid take the wrong medicine?
I clearly…
Hadn't even started speaking yet…
Although DeMarcus knows Chester Middle School relies on breakthroughs, Su Feng also understands that knowing oneself and one's opponent is the key to victory.
Even though Su Feng had never heard of DeMarcus in his previous life, what if he was a hidden genius like Sam Gold?
After all, Su Feng had faced Ridley Middle School before and had carefully observed Williamson before making his move.
Thus, to play it safe, Su Feng initially refrained from implementing the "Get DeMarcus Above" strategy.
Instead, he planned to observe and assess DeMarcus's offensive ability first.
However, what Su Feng never imagined was that DeMarcus would suddenly act as if he had "seen through" him and say something completely unexpected.
And then, DeMarcus's actions became even more baffling.
Because judging by Chester Middle School's positioning, this play… they had created space for DeMarcus to finish the offensive move as their ace.
After all, while passing and cutting plays are great, for a high school team, attempting a high-level pass-and-cut system consistently is as awkward as a fumbling tiger.
The best strategy, commonly used by most U.S. high schools in the '90s, was to simply give the ball to their most talented player whenever possible.
But…
When Chester players took the court, everything was ready...
DeMarcus passed the ball to his teammate, who quickly returned it to him.
Chester's other players: ???
"Oh, you must be looking forward to my attack now, huh?
Rest assured, I won't fall for your tricks—I know that most of you have already signaled your teammates to prepare for help on defense.
Honestly, I've never faced a defensive player who overthinks as much as you do.
But that doesn't matter anymore—because I'm not the same player I used to be!" DeMarcus looked at Su Feng with a confident smirk.
And Su Feng...
Was completely bewildered.
What?
Overthinking on defense?
Teammates assisting?
Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about.
On the sidelines, just as DeMarcus passed the ball back to his teammate, Chester High School's coach, Conte, almost choked on his frustration.
"I swear, if DeMarcus doesn't make it to the NBA... the only thing holding him back must be his IQ," Conte thought to himself.
In fact, from Conte's perspective, if DeMarcus were truly as smart as he believed, then even if he couldn't reach Kobe's level, he could at least follow in his footsteps and catch a glimpse of the spotlight.
Alas... exhausted!
On "How American High School Basketball Coaches Train Unruly Players."
Cough—but let's be serious.
On the court, due to DeMarcus's unexpected sao maneuver, even his teammates were thrown off balance.
The originally planned tactics had been abandoned, leaving Chester's high school players momentarily stunned...
Meanwhile, DeMarcus, convinced he had deciphered everything, carried himself like a seasoned master—as if the entire game was under his control.
At that moment, if they weren't in the middle of a match, Chester's players would have rushed toward DeMarcus and shouted:
"Are you crazy?!"
As everyone knows, when an offensive rhythm gets disrupted, what usually follows is...
A mistake!
Chester's small forward became the weak link in this play.
Kobe, with his lightning-fast 16-year-old reflexes, seized the opportunity. After a successful steal, he launched a fast break.
BANG!
A dunk that electrified the entire crowd.
Watching Kobe's hang time and gliding distance, Su Feng's face was full of envy.
"No, no. I need that kind of bounce."
"Looking good is a lifelong pursuit." Su Feng thought to himself.
On the scoreboard, the teams' scores shifted to 2-5.
It's worth noting that, during Lower Merion's fast break, Chester's coach Conte rushed toward DeMarcus in a panic, shouting:
"What are you doing?! We set up an isolation play for you—why didn't you attack?!"
Looking at his frantic coach, DeMarcus calmly replied:
"Coach… You've been deceived. This is their strategy! They wanted to lure me into an isolation play as part of their trap!"
Conte felt dizzy.
Wait…
Strategy?
Seeing his coach's confused expression, DeMarcus, still savoring Kobe and Su Feng's celebratory chest bump, took advantage of a free throw opportunity and explained:
"Yes, Coach—don't you remember how we lost last year? Haven't we analyzed Su Feng before? He's a defensive expert!"
For some reason...
Conte suddenly felt that DeMarcus was making a lot of sense.
But wait…
Something still feels off…
Before Conte could sort things out, the Iron Brothers—ah, I mean Philadelphia's Twin Guardians—sprang into action!
Because the previous offensive rhythm had been shattered, Chester's players—still confused about what their star player was thinking—completely lost their formation.
Su Feng and Kobe launched a double steal—an absolute ghostly interception!
Facing the overwhelming defensive pressure from Su Feng and Kobe, Chester's point guard panicked and passed the ball straight to Su Feng.
Su Feng, sensing an opportunity, exchanged a knowing look with Kobe.
Their chemistry needed no explanation.
Su Feng lightly tapped the ball against the backboard as he went for a layup—Kobe swiftly followed up, soaring in for a powerful windmill dunk!
Inside Lower Merion Basketball Hall, the crowd erupted in sheer disbelief!