At the sidelines, Hachimura and the other Japanese national team players all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Even if beating that old Chinese man 5–4 was still a little embarrassing, it was better than losing in the end.
And things went exactly as everyone expected. Once Nakata Koji got the ball, he definitely wasn't going to give Little Grandpa Liu another chance.
With his professional fundamentals and slick ball-handling, plus the speed advantage of a young man over an old one, he easily spun past Little Grandpa Liu on the second point and scored a layup from the inside.
On the next point, he used a crossover dribble behind his back, pulled the ball back for a Buddha Move, then followed with a straight-line drive and easily scored under the basket again.
The score was now 4–3.
Little Grandpa Liu was ahead by just one point.
Then, on the next possession, Nakata Koji faced Little Grandpa Liu and simply accelerated past him. He didn't even need a change of direction. He got by him with ease, then rose high beneath the basket and slammed the ball in one-handed.
After all, he was a professional player. Though he was only 1.79 meters tall, he could still dunk.
To spectators, it looked a little like a weak dunk.
Pang Bo threw his arms around Grandpa Liu and shouted, "Grandpa Liu, you've brought honor to China!"
Wang Yi had put too much force into it, and his hand failed to catch the rim. He fell straight back down.
But today, right now, at this very moment, he was happy for the old man.
Little Grandpa Liu had won the game.
At the same time, a roar burst from his throat.
Zhang Yu simply blurted out, "Grandpa Liu, anti-Japanese hero!"
Thud!
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