Chapter 17

Zhou Wenhui turned and left his seat. Zhou Yiyi didn’t think much of it, as the game was about to enter halftime, and it was normal to go to the bathroom.

After Yang Mo scored a three-pointer, the Mingyang team quickly inbounded the ball, hoping to score a buzzer-beater, but Liu Wei missed the shot.

Thus, the second quarter ended. Although the Mingyang team still had a lead, everyone knew the balance of the game had severely tipped in favor of the Jinding team. After all, Yang Mo had only been on the court for less than a minute and had already created a 7-0 run. The next two quarters combined still had twenty minutes left.

Yang Mo returned to the bench and sat down confidently in the center. The national team players had no objections to Yang Mo’s show of arrogance. Everyone knew that Yang Mo was the key to winning, and it would be foolish to argue with him at this moment.

After Yang Mo sat down, Wang Yuhuai quickly brought a clipboard and squatted down to explain the strategy: "Next, you will be facing Batel in the post..."

Before Wang Yuhuai could finish, Yang Mo bluntly interrupted him: "Batel won’t play in the third quarter. He’s almost out of energy. Didn’t you see he couldn’t even run? Besides, they know Batel can’t handle me, so they will definitely use a one-big-four-small lineup."

"Run-and-gun?" Wang Yuhuai frowned.

"Run-and-gun is even better. That way, they will have even less of a rebounding advantage." Yang Mo took the clipboard, drew on it, and said, "I’ll take care of Yi Jianlian. Dazhi, you rest and save your energy for the fourth quarter. Zhu Fangyu, you play, along with Harris, Sun Yue, and Chen Jianghua. The five of us will try to run them to death. Take shots when you have the chance, and don’t worry about the rebounds."

Everyone agreed with Yang Mo’s strategy. These players loved offensive basketball, and Dazhi’s energy was indeed at its limit.

Yang Mo looked around, and seeing no objections, he flipped the clipboard and said confidently, "Since there are no objections, follow me. I’ll lead you to victory."

Yang Mo’s words were very authoritative, despite his lack of experience. But at this moment, the national team players felt a strange sense that following Yang Mo would lead to success.

That’s what leadership is all about, perhaps.

Soon, the whistle blew, and the game resumed.

As Yang Mo had predicted, the Mingyang team indeed switched to a one-big-four-small lineup. Batel was replaced by Li Nan, known for his three-point shooting. This lineup was perfect for run-and-gun.

However, the Jinding team was also playing a fast-paced game. They had more advantages, with more three-point shooters and faster speed.

When the referee blew the whistle, Yang Mo quickly passed the ball to Chen Jianghua, and the entire Jinding team rushed to the front court like mad. The Mingyang team was clearly caught off guard. When Yang Mo reached the key, there was no one defending him. Chen Jianghua quickly lobbed the ball, and Yang Mo caught it and slammed it home with a one-handed dunk.

Although Yang Mo’s jumping ability wasn’t top-notch, his long arms were terrifying. His 2.19-meter wingspan at 1.94 meters made him a formidable presence, even among black players. So, dunking was no big deal for him.

Before the audience could react, the entire Jinding team had already returned to the defensive end and set up their defense. By the time the Mingyang team reached, they were already too slow.

The Mingyang team had no choice but to play a half-court offense.

The key to run-and-gun is the point guard. Although Liu Wei was the best point guard in the country, he had always played with Yao Ming, and his first choice was always to set up a half-court offense. So, running the run-and-gun with him always felt a bit awkward.

Chen Jianghua was different. He was the fastest guard in the country, period. His biggest criticism was that he only knew how to speed up, not slow down. But this made him the perfect fit for the run-and-gun.

Comparing the two, the difference was clear.

After slowing down, Liu Wei immediately passed the ball to Yi Jianlian. In his view, Yi Jianlian’s height was more than enough to handle Yang Mo. However, he overlooked one thing: Yi Jianlian’s post-up game was unreliable, even against a smaller player like Yang Mo.

So, he had to attack from the front.

When Yi Jianlian received the ball and turned to shoot... *Slap!*

Yang Mo was quick to react, slapping the ball out of Yi Jianlian’s hands. Yi Jianlian felt a tingling in his arm and lost control of the ball. Then he saw Yang Mo, like a leopard, sprinting forward with the ball.

He turned back and saw all the Jinding players rushing forward like mad.

He tried to catch up and defend, but Yang Mo had already passed the ball. Yang Mo passed to Harris at the three-point line. Harris took a quick look and shot... *Swish!*

The ball bounced high, and Yi Li, rushing to the basket, was about to grab the rebound when he suddenly felt a strong wind behind him. Then, a black shadow flew over, intercepting the ball in mid-air... *Boom!*

Yang Mo slammed the ball into the basket, making the rim shake.

Seeing Yang Mo hanging on the rim, Yi Li was stunned. It felt like a dream... How did this guy go from the three-point line to flying over my head and dunking the ball?

The audience was already going wild, shouting and cheering. They had only seen such dunks in NBA highlights, and now it was happening right in front of them. How could they not be excited?

The audience was already this excited, and Powell was even more thrilled, almost jumping up to dance. He trembled as he wrote "extremely sharp rebounding instincts" in his notebook and marked it with five stars.

Yi Li might not have understood what happened, but as a spectator, Powell saw it clearly. From the pass to the dunk, and then to the alley-oop, the entire process took less than two seconds. This two-second judgment was enough to show a player’s sharp rebounding instincts. What surprised Powell even more was that Yang Mo could predict the ball’s trajectory, which was extremely rare.

Compared to relying on height and jumping ability to grab rebounds, players who rely on intuition and judgment are even more valuable. Sadly, since Rodman retired, such talented rebounders in the league were as rare as hen’s teeth.

In Powell’s eyes, Yang Mo was definitely a rebounding genius. With a few months of professional training, he would surely become a rebounding master.

As for height, it wasn’t that important. Charles Barkley was only 1.94 meters tall, yet he was a consecutive rebounding champion. Rodman wasn’t much taller than this guy. Moreover, this guy was stronger than Barkley and Rodman, and his long arms were no less impressive.

"I’ve found such a great prospect. Mr. Riley will definitely give me a double bonus at the end of the year," Powell mumbled happily, his mouth almost splitting into a grin.