After the first quarter, Raul was already grinning from ear to ear.
Stunning, delightful, shocking, unbelievable...
Ever since he had brought Sun Hao from Guangdong, China, to Spain, his understanding of Sun Hao had been constantly rewritten.
By now, he was absolutely certain of one thing.
Sun Hao would become his cash cow, his treasure trove!
"Sun, any issues with your stamina? Do you want another two minutes of rest?"
During the break between the first and second quarters, Raul asked Sun Hao.
His attitude had taken a complete one-eighty from when Sun Hao had first arrived at the Youth Team.
"No problem. Just stick to the normal rotation."
Playing the entire game in a youth league was actually no problem for his stamina.
It would just seem a little too exaggerated.
At the start of the second quarter, Sun Hao sat down to rest, while the Student Team continued the momentum from their late first-quarter comeback, steadily cutting into the deficit.
They had ranked third in the youth league for a reason. They were no weak team to begin with, and with Decavo's Spanish profanity ringing out, the situation on the court changed in an instant.
Raul paced back and forth along the sideline, his anxiety written all over his face.
Real Madrid Team had led by as many as seventeen points in the first quarter!
Sun Hao watched the court intently as well.
Honestly, based on his past-life experience, there was a huge gap between student players and professional players.
That was especially true in countries outside America. Without a mature system in place, it was hard for students to receive professional, systematic training.
But now, it seemed his understanding had been somewhat off.
At least at the Youth Team level, the gap was not that great.
Or perhaps it was because this was Spain, where the basketball culture was excellent.
"Sun!"
Just as he was thinking, he heard someone calling him.
He turned and discovered it was Fernandez at the end of the bench.
Judging by the volume, Fernandez had been calling for him for a while.
Sun Hao gave him a puzzled look and saw Fernandez point behind him.
He turned around and spotted Jocelyn two rows behind him.
Jocelyn was making her way over from the spectator aisle.
When she saw that Sun Hao had noticed her, a happy smile spread across her face.
Before long, Jocelyn had arrived behind him.
Jocelyn's arrival quickly caught the attention of his teammates, and envious looks immediately filled the bench.
"Tonight is the most meaningful night I've had since coming to Spain."
Jocelyn's face glowed as she spoke. It was clear she was genuinely happy.
Sun Hao was delighted too. He temporarily put the game out of his mind and started chatting with Jocelyn.
But they had only talked for a short while before Raul came over.
The Student Team had already cut the deficit to three points, and he had to put Sun Hao back in early.
Sun Hao was called up.
"Sun, let's go!"
Before he stepped onto the court, Jocelyn called out to him and made an encouraging gesture.
Sun Hao had sat on the bench for a while during the transition between the first and second quarters, and his body had already cooled down a little.
But when he saw Jocelyn's gesture and expression, his blood immediately began to boil again.
The gap on the court was down to just three points, and the fans were beginning to stir.
A close score was not a problem in itself. After all, the Student Team was also a strong side in the EBA League.
The problem was that Real Madrid Team had led by as many as seventeen in the first quarter, and now the game was nearly tied. That was what made the fans uneasy.
Comebacks were one of the charms of competitive sports, but no one wanted to support the team getting overturned!
Just then, a short whistle sounded from the sideline. Sun Hao checked back in!
When the crowd saw Sun Hao taking the court, the restless noise instantly turned into cheers.
Sun Hao was now the undisputed core of this Real Madrid Team, and tonight, he was the master of the court!
On his first possession after coming in, the ball went to Sun Hao.
Another screen at the top of the key. Sun Hao used the pick and rose immediately.
Everyone in the arena watched the ball, including Student Team head coach Decavo on the sideline.
Sun Hao had been sitting for so long that his shooting hand was probably cold. Pulling up right after coming in, this shot should...
Swish!
A crisp sound rang out.
Sun Hao knocked down his first three-pointer of the second quarter!
Decavo was dumbfounded on the sideline.
Was this even human?
He had been sitting on the bench that long, then came in and fired? And it went in?
Was the basket in your backyard?!
Decavo could not understand it. In fact, no one could understand it, but Sun Hao could just throw the ball in tonight.
Aside from Sun Hao himself, perhaps even Jocelyn did not know that it was all because of her.
With her here, Sun Hao was unstoppable tonight!
Decavo had not expected Sun Hao's shooting touch to remain so strong in the second quarter, but he did not adjust his defensive approach.
As long as Sun Hao was the only one scoring, the Student Team could still keep things close.
From another angle, that might not even be a bad thing for the Student Team.
Basketball was like that. If you went too long without getting a chance to shoot, it was hard to find your offensive rhythm.
Sun Hao was on fire, but the rest of Real Madrid Team was average at best, even sluggish. That was why the Student Team had been able to close the gap.
So Decavo continued using man-to-man defense on Sun Hao.
Sun Hao continued piling up points like crazy.
He had exploded for 24 points in the first quarter. He cooled off slightly in the second, but still scored 18 points.
At halftime, he had already reached 42 points!
That tied his single-game scoring record in the EBA League!
And he had done it in only one half!
No one knew how many points Sun Hao would finish with.
Quite a few of Sun Hao's fans had even begun hoping he could set another new record.
Of course, whether he could do that depended on whether the Student Team was willing to give him the opportunity.
After halftime, the answer came quickly.
When the second half began, the Student Team still did not change its defensive strategy!
The reason was the same as in the first half. Although Sun Hao had poured in 44 points in the half, the Student Team only trailed Real Madrid Team 45-53, by eight points.
Letting Sun Hao score was not a bad thing for them.
And Decavo still believed in his own judgment: Sun Hao's shooting touch would cool off in the second half.
The halftime break was much longer than those few minutes between the first and second quarters.
No one could maintain such a scorching touch forever.
Unless God was on his side tonight.
Real Madrid Team had the first possession of the second half. Sun Hao again came off a screen beyond the three-point line and launched a three-pointer.
Swish!
It went in again!
There was no such thing as his touch cooling off at halftime!
Decavo instinctively slapped his forehead when he saw it.
This was truly insane!
Sun Hao's shooting was like firing quickscopes with a high-powered scope attached!
Everything he threw up went in!
The fans in the arena had gone completely wild.
They knew they might be witnessing history tonight!
The Student Team scored at the other end, and when they came back on defense, Sun Hao's defender was positioned far outside.
Sun Hao saw it and, before the center could set the screen, used a three-pointer pump fake to completely fool his opponent. Then he drove straight into the paint and forced up a shot against the opposing center.
The two collided in midair, and the opposing center had clearly pressed down with his hand on defense, drawing a foul from the referee.
But Sun Hao still got the ball off before landing. It sailed over the center's right hand, grazed the backboard, and slid in!
It was a 2+1!
The arena erupted once again.
Sun Hao had truly gone crazy tonight. He could score no matter what, from every possible angle and posture!
Decavo could only smile bitterly and shake his head.
He was a Christian, and he was now certain of one thing: God was on Sun Hao's side tonight.
The game continued. The Student Team's offense remained strong, but they still never double-teamed Sun Hao, and his scoring total continued to rise.
He kept it going in the third quarter, blasting out another 20 points!
The difference from the first quarter was that he made fewer Three-pointers this time, but got many more free throws!
Sun Hao had a good feel, but he was also playing smarter!
After three quarters, his personal total had reached 62 points!
An unbelievable number!
Yet the unbelievable continued.
The Student Team kept up its offensive momentum and stuck with its defensive approach.
When Sun Hao returned from his rest, his touch remained intact.
He scored another 12 points in this quarter!
But the Student Team's tenacity exceeded all expectations. With an unbelievable long-range shot, they dragged the game into Overtime!
This was absolutely a game for the history books.
Once Overtime began, Sun Hao's stamina advantage emerged.
After trading blows for the entire game, the Student Team began having conditioning problems, and their shooting percentage plummeted off a cliff.
But Sun Hao remained full of energy, sprinting all over the court!
He hit a three-pointer and added two fast-break layups after steals, accounting for every Real Madrid Team point in Overtime!
Meanwhile, the Student Team failed to score a single point.
In the end, powered by Sun Hao's heroic performance, Real Madrid Team defeated the Student Team 98-91!
The moment the game ended, nearly every fan in the arena rose to their feet, applauding and cheering.
It was not only because the home team had won this epic game, but also because of Sun Hao's number on the scoreboard.
24 points in the first quarter, 18 points in the second, 20 in the third, 12 in the fourth, and 7 in Overtime.
By the end of the game, Sun Hao had scored 81 points!
An unbelievable number!
Sun Hao became Mr. 81 Points!
As always, please vote for recommendations~ Please leave chapter comments~
Before you continue