Chapter 344: Chapter 100: We Are the Fucking Champions
Back on the bench, Yonas held up a tactical board. He instructed the players to switch to a zone defense and demanded that Bateer and Wang Zhizhi secure the rebounds. The moment they got a rebound, they were to call a timeout immediately.
Su Xi, however, said, "Let’s go man-to-man. If we get the rebound, don’t call a timeout. And if they score, don’t call a timeout either."
"Give me the ball."
Su Xi said calmly.
He spoke in Mandarin.
The translator relayed Su Xi’s words to Yonas. Yonas looked at Su Xi, surprised.
"Why? Jack? You should be following the head coach’s instructions," Yonas said to Su Xi.
Su Xi shook his head. "Listen to me. If we lose, I’ll take full responsibility."
Su Xi’s tone was firm.
He looked at Yonas, at this "European Caesar."
He was waiting for Yonas to say, "Listen to me. If we lose, I’ll take full responsibility."
But the head coach, known for his tough stance, didn’t say it.
So, Su Xi took the tactical board. Isaiah Thomas, understanding immediately, ran over and took the board from him. The two of them conferred for a moment, and then Su Xi explained the play to his teammates.
At that moment, Yonas sat back down on the bench and crossed his arms over his chest—a clear sign he was angry.
The CCTV cameras captured this moment.
The host and the commentators could all tell something was wrong.
But at a time like this, they wouldn’t say a word.
They would only discuss it after the final result of the game was in.
BEEP!
The whistle blew, and the game resumed.
Led by Su Xi, the entire team strode onto the court, radiating intensity.
Following the new play, every player found their man for a full-court press.
Su Xi started hounding Ginobili in the backcourt.
He postured as if he was going for an immediate steal.
Under his relentless pressure, Ginobili stumbled a bit.
But he still managed to control the ball, though he couldn’t just stand there and run down the clock.
Scola ran quickly to the three-point line to set a screen for Ginobili. The instant Scola blocked Su Xi, Ginobili drove hard to the inside. Su Xi hurried to get around the screen... but just as he did, Scola threw an elbow... BANG!
It smashed hard into the left side of Su Xi’s face.
Su Xi’s head immediately swam, and he felt dizzy.
A strong, metallic taste filled his mouth and rushed to his senses.
Then, pain flooded his mind.
Su Xi took a deep breath and forced himself to swallow the mouthful of blood.
He quickly chased back toward the paint, and as he did, he casually clipped Scola with an elbow, "accidentally" hitting him in the lower abdomen.
Instantly, Scola gasped, the pain so sharp he couldn’t even cry out.
He subconsciously stepped forward, right onto the back of Su Xi’s shoe. He slipped hard, his ankle instantly twisting, and he fell to the ground on the spot, his face contorting into a mask of pain.
On the sidelines, Yao Ming clenched his fists and thought, ’That’s karma for you!’
Meanwhile, Ginobili had penetrated inside the free-throw line. Zhu Fangyu made a sliding step, trying to come over and help on defense.
Ginobili saw the movement and quickly passed the ball out. Su Xi scrambled to close out, but he was too slow... Delphino caught the ball and immediately shot it. Su Xi rushed madly to block him, but his vertical leap just wasn’t enough. The ball flew less than five centimeters above his fingertips.
SWISH!
It dropped through the net.
The 3-pointer was good.
seconds left in the game, and Argentina was up by 2.
Delphino was ecstatic. He beat his chest and roared at Su Xi, "I told you we were going to win! We are the champions! Screw your MVP, we’re the champions! Argentina is the champion!"
’Fuck.’
Su Xi muttered. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he quickly wiped it away with his hand, pursing his lips to swallow it back down.
This subtle little movement was caught by Yao Ming on the sidelines.
He frowned and muttered, "Damn it. Talk about double standards. And you... you think you’re the only one who gets to play while injured?"
’You better win this for me!’
’And you better stay healthy.’
Yao Ming clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and began to pray.
In fact, it wasn’t just him. The Chinese fans in the arena, the Chinese fans in front of their TVs, Su Xi’s fans, his "face-value fans," and his "shipping fans" were all praying.
Su Xi quickly ran inbounds and received the pass from Wang Zhizhi.
He started walking the ball up the court, calm and unhurried.
No one from Argentina dared to press him.
They knew just how strong his ball-handling skills were.
On the sidelines, Coach Ruben hadn’t expected the Chinese Team to not call a timeout. He watched Scola limping as he ran, but he couldn’t substitute him out. Every step for Scola was like walking on knife-points, the pain was heart-wrenching, and his injury was worsening with every stride. Yet there was nothing he could do; he could only tough it out.
He was getting a taste of Yao Ming’s pain. But he was more unfortunate than Yao Ming; Yao could go to the bench and rest, but he couldn’t.
Su Xi dribbled the ball across mid-court. Ginobili immediately stuck to him, maintaining a defensive stance one step away.
Su Xi took two steps forward and stopped, still two or three meters away from the three-point line.
He glanced at the clock.
The clock ticked down. Tick, tock.
Su Xi didn’t look rushed at all; he seemed almost motionless.
With Su Xi so far from the three-point line, Argentina didn’t dare to double-team him.
With eight seconds left, Su Xi suddenly made his move.
As Su Xi burst into motion, Delphino immediately left his man to come and double-team.
Su Xi didn’t immediately pass the ball to Li Nan.
Instead, he took a quick, explosive step forward, as if driving right into the trap.
Delphino and Ginobili converged a meter from the three-point line. Just as they were about to completely trap him, Su Xi stopped on a dime and jumped... Ginobili and Delphino simultaneously stretched their arms and jumped to block.
The three of them formed a triangle in mid-air.
It looked like Su Xi was about to be blocked.
But, even under such intense defensive pressure, he released the shot smoothly. By a matter of milliseconds, the ball slipped through the gap in Ginobili and Delphino’s block.
It soared through the air.
Tracing a perfect arc.
The entire arena held its breath.
Fans in China, Argentina, and all over the world who were following the game held their breath.
This was the final possession that would decide the winner.
This was the final possession that would decide this year’s men’s basketball gold medal.
SQUEAK!
Su Xi landed, a smile on his face as a trickle of blood slowly ran from the corner of his mouth.
The instant the blood dripped down his impossibly handsome face... SWISH!
It ripped through the net.
The final buzzer sounded, and the light behind the backboard turned red!
Buzzer beater!
Buzzer beater!
Buzzer beater!
The Chinese fans in the arena erupted.
The roar was deafening.
At this moment, no one cared that Scola had collapsed after jockeying for position with Wang Zhizhi, his ankle no longer able to support his body. He looked up in agony, defeat and injury driving him to despair.
Su Xi shot a cold glance at Delphino. "Look at me, you son of a bitch."
"Who’s the champion now?"
Under that powerful gaze, Delphino lowered his head in shame. He was like a pheasant stripped of its feathers, completely unable to raise its head before a true phoenix.
He turned and walked back to the bench, silent and shamed.
The Chinese players behind Su Xi swarmed him. "We’re the champions! We’re the champions!!"
An ecstatic Bateer and Zhu Fangyu lifted Su Xi right onto their shoulders.
The Chinese Men’s Basketball Team had risen.
The Chinese Men’s Basketball Team had won an unprecedented Olympic gold medal.
Su Xi is a god!
With a perfect game, Su Xi proved why he is China’s God of Basketball.
The Divine Land was in an uproar, with everyone spreading the exhilarating news.
National pride swelled to its peak at that moment!
If the Chinese Men’s Basketball Team can win an Olympic gold medal, is there anything the people of China can’t do?
As his teammates lifted him up, Su Xi was also overcome with emotion. He opened his mouth wide and roared, "The gold medal is mine! We’re the champions! We’re the fucking champions!! WE ARE THE FUCKING CHAMPIONS!!"
After joining the Chinese Team, Su Xi hadn’t learned much else, but his use of "fucking" had become more and more fluent.
Yao Ming jumped up and down, also ecstatic.
Watching the Chinese players celebrating so wildly on the screen.
The ESPN commentator, Chatford, said with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, "If Team USA had been in Group A, the players celebrating like that right now would be ours."
"Congratulations to Little Sheep Su Xi. He truly deserves his Finals MVP title. He’s created another miracle, hitting that three-pointer. He secured a buzzer-beating victory over Argentina, winning the first-ever Olympic men’s basketball championship for an Asian team."
"He is also only the second person in history to win a Finals MVP and an Olympic gold medal in the same summer."
ESPN offered congratulations, but their mood was not particularly celebratory.
In contrast, the CCTV broadcast booth was a scene of pandemonium.
The host slammed the table and shouted, "We did it! We did it! The great Su Xi, the great Chinese Men’s Basketball Team! We broke through from zero, we’ve become the champions! This is the most valuable gold medal of these Olympic Games for us!"
Tears streamed down the elderly Coach Xu’s face.
Coach Zhang said while crying, "It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t easy at all! We finally won the gold medal... *sob sob sob*, it was so hard for these kids! Well done, Su Xi..."
...
