When Wang Yi got the ball, he was still more than five meters from the half-court line, with just 0.8 seconds left before the eight-second violation.
The instant Wang Yi got the ball, he threw it toward the frontcourt. The ball had barely left his fingertips and traveled a little over a meter when the eight seconds were up.
The Chinese fans watching were all drenched in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, according to the rules, as long as the ball left a backcourt player's hands before the eight seconds were up, it wasn't an eight-second violation.
Wang Yi had thrown the ball toward Pang Bo, who was waiting at the frontcourt three-point line.
Pang Bo was bigger than the opposing center and could jump higher, so Wang Yi wasn't worried at all about the center stealing the ball. As soon as he passed it, Wang Yi burst forward and sprinted toward the frontcourt.
Even with the opposing small forward, Sebring, clinging tightly to his side, Wang Yi's sudden burst of speed was so explosive that he instantly opened up a gap of more than three meters.
Then, in the frontcourt,
Pang Bo handed the ball off to Wang Yi, using his body to screen the help defender and let Wang Yi catch the ball and drive straight inside the three-point line.
The opposing power forward, Ben Simmons, reached out to steal the ball from inside the three-point line.
The basketball slipped into the hoop like a wriggling earthworm.
To my surprise, though, when my hand came down on Pang Bo's arm, it seemed to have no effect on him at all. Instead, just as I struck Pang Bo's left arm, he leaped into the air, raised the ball high in his right hand, and slammed it straight into the basket.