Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 484 - 161: World Champion! (Adjusting with 1 update today)

Chapter 484: Chapter 161: World Champion! (Adjusting with 1 update today)
When Qin Yue dunked the ball into the United States’ basket in the same manner Jordan once did, Nick Ackhart, seated in the most prominent spot at Wukesong Basketball Hall, could only describe his feelings as a mix of emotions.
Especially when his youngest son, Joey Ackhart, sitting beside him, fervently shouted "MVP" for Qin Yue, Nick couldn’t help but reminisce about the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Nick is a loyal fan of the Dream Team.
This was already the fifth Olympic Games he had accompanied the Dream Team.
In 1992, during that era-defining performance by Jordan, Bird, and the Magician, Nick, who was then sitting courtside, still vividly remembers the scene where audiences from different countries cheered for the Dream Team.
In 1996, although that Dream Team, which had Olajuwon, O’Neal, and Robinson on the inside, struggled to replicate Barcelona’s glory, as a devotee of the Dream Team, Nick was undoubtedly happy and content.
It was also from that Olympic Games that Nick began to gain some understanding of Chinese Basketball.
Because in Atlanta, a Chinese flyer named Hu Weidong made on-site commentators exclaim repeatedly, "Hu should participate in the NBA slam dunk contest."①
By 2000, Nick acknowledged that the Dream Team’s dominance over the world basketball scene was indeed showing signs of decline.
Nonetheless, Vince Carter’s "dunk of the century" still became the iconic image of that year’s Dream Team dominating Sydney.
Until 2004, that terrible defeat in Athens seemed like a nightmare...
Even today, Nick still can’t comprehend why a Dream Team with Iverson, Duncan, and the 03 Golden Generation would be so bewildered by Puerto Rico’s Arroyo.
And then, there was this Beijing Olympic Games men’s basketball final between the Redemption Team and the new GOAT.
Nick saw that the Redemption Team, rumored to have sent out the strongest players, surprisingly had no solution for the opposing new GOAT.
Moreover, Nick was more aware than anyone else that American youngsters, like Joey, who preferred to cheer for the new GOAT, had shifted from a minority to a majority.
Nick didn’t deny the new GOAT’s personal charm, the various legends he left behind in the NBA, and his early stories of turning a new leaf that inspired a whole generation of American youth.
But as this new GOAT repeatedly steamrolled the terrain of the United States with unstoppable momentum, as a loyal fan of the Dream Team, Nick couldn’t help but feel a tinge of melancholy for American Basketball.
When the GOAT is on the other side—this is why Charles Barkley thought before the Olympics started that this Redemption Team was too arrogant and overconfident.
If he could be limited, then why should he be called the GOAT? If he couldn’t be limited, then why should you believe that the best players the Redemption Team sent could defeat a team with the GOAT?
Wukesong Basketball Hall.
The re-entering Kobe attempted to bring this Dream Team back on track by first establishing defense.
He put in extra effort on the perimeter defense and continually signaled to the surrounding United States players to complete defensive rotations faster.
Proof showed that compared to the United States teams that suffered consecutive defeats in the previous three major tournaments, this Redemption Team, complete with leadership, was drastically different in terms of morale.
This gradually allowed them to show improvement on both offense and defense.
Anthony made his first three-pointer of the game under Qin Yue’s intense defense.
Substitute Wade, replacing Jason Kidd, used a transition offense to break through the Chinese Team’s basket, scoring against Yi Jianlian.
Kobe set an example by hitting a precious high-difficulty jumper from the right 45-degree angle, fed by James after a penetration during the knockout stage.
Moreover, on defense, under the desperate defense of the United States’ stars, the Chinese Team’s perimeter shooters inevitably showed technical deformities.
Zhu Fangyu received a pass from Qin Yue and missed a corner three-pointer.
Sun Yue caught a drive-and-kick from Qin Yue near the top arc and bricked the three-pointer.
As the Redemption Team put their backs to the wall and successfully narrowed the score gap, Wukesong Basketball Hall also entered the most breathless phase of this Olympic men’s basketball final.
Yao Ming became the only reliable battering ram for Qin Yue to rely on when frequently facing double teams on the court.
"Save your energy, this quarter is on me!" Yao Ming, incredibly trusting in Qin Yue, said after scoring another two points for the Chinese Team.
Qin Yue nodded.
But in those possessions where the United States’ double team wasn’t firm enough, the new GOAT would still punish the United States’ defense with his extraordinary skills.
On the last offense of the first half, Qin Yue dribbled, starting with a scissors step, quickly pulled back after a Sam God crossover, then collected the ball on the spot, baited James into jumping, and shot a pull-up three-pointer.
Swoosh!
Halftime score: 49 to 54.
Qin Yue had 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal in the first half.
Yao Ming had 17 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks in the first half.
During the halftime break, compared to the first half of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter where they were momentarily stunned, Bulin still gave high praise to this Redemption Team that had regained its self, "With Kobe’s leadership, at least we still have a chance to continue the fight with the deity in the second half!"
Fighting the deity.
Just looking at the stats, it’s bound to be difficult to appreciate the pressure Qin Yue placed on the entire United States team in the first half under FIBA’s rules.
Back in the locker room, a serious-faced Kobe insisted that every Redemption Team member maintain the defensive intensity from the later part of the second quarter throughout the second half.
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