Mr. 81 Points! (Homage to the Mamba)

Chapter 18: Mr. 81 Points! (A Tribute to Mamba)

After the first quarter ended, Raul was already grinning from ear to ear.

Stunning, surprising, shocking, unbelievable...

Ever since he brought Sun Hao from Guangdong, China, to Spain, his understanding of Sun Hao had been constantly refreshed.

By now, he was utterly certain of one thing.

Sun Hao would become his cash cow, his gold mine!

"Sun, any issues with stamina? Want an extra two minutes of rest?"

During the break between the first and second quarters, Raul asked Sun Hao.

His attitude had done a complete one-eighty from when Sun Hao first arrived at the youth team.

"No problem, just rotate normally."

His stamina was more than enough to play the full game in the youth league.

It was just that doing so would seem a bit too exaggerated.

At the start of the second quarter, Sun Hao sat out to rest, and the Student Team continued their momentum from the end of the first quarter, steadily closing the gap on the court.

They were ranked third in the youth league, so their strength was no joke, and with Decavo's Spanish national-team-level cursing, the dynamic on the court shifted instantly.

Raul paced back and forth on the sidelines, his anxiety plain to see.

After all, Real Madrid had led by as much as 17 points in the first quarter!

Sun Hao was also watching the game intently.

Honestly, based on his experience from his past life, the gap between students and professional players was huge.

Especially outside the United States, where without a mature system, it was hard for students to get professional, systematic training.

But now it seemed his understanding was somewhat off.

At least at the youth team level, the gap wasn't that big.

Or maybe it was because Spain had a great basketball atmosphere.

"Sun!"

Just as he was thinking, he heard someone calling him.

He turned his head and saw Fernandez at the end of the bench.

Judging by the volume, he'd been calling for a while.

Sun Hao shot him a questioning look, and Fernandez pointed behind him.

He turned around and saw Jocelyn two rows back.

Jocelyn was struggling to make her way toward him from the spectator aisle.

When she saw Sun Hao had spotted her, a happy smile spread across her face.

Soon, Jocelyn was right behind him.

Her arrival quickly caught the attention of his teammates, and the bench was instantly filled with envious glances.

"Tonight is the most meaningful night I've had since coming to Spain."

Jocelyn's face was radiant as she spoke, clearly overjoyed.

Sun Hao felt a surge of happiness too, putting the game aside for a moment to chat with her.

But before long, Raul came over.

The Student Team had cut the lead to just three points; he had to put Sun Hao back in early.

Sun Hao was called up.

"Sun, go for it!"

Just before he stepped onto the court, Jocelyn called out to him and made a cheering gesture.

He'd been sitting on the bench during the substitution stretch between the first and second quarters, and his body had already started to cool down.

But seeing Jocelyn's expression and gesture, he felt his blood boil again.

The lead on the court was down to just three points, and the fans were getting restless.

A close score wasn't a big deal in itself—after all, the Student Team was a strong contender in the EBA League.

But the problem was that Real Madrid had led by 17 points in the first quarter, and now the lead was nearly gone. That kind of comeback was what made them uneasy.

A comeback is one of the charms of competitive sports, but no one wants to be a fan of the team on the receiving end!

Just then, a short whistle blew from the sidelines, and Sun Hao was subbed back in!

When the crowd saw Sun Hao step onto the court, the restlessness immediately turned into cheers.

Sun Hao had already become the undisputed core of this Real Madrid team, and tonight, he was the master of the court!

On the very first possession after coming off the bench, the ball found its way into Sun Hao's hands.

Another pick-and-roll at the top of the arc, Sun Hao took the screen and shot directly.

Everyone's eyes were on the ball, including Student Team head coach Decavo on the sidelines.

Sun Hao had been sitting on the bench for so long, his hands were probably cold. Coming in and chucking it up, this shot should...

"Swish!"

A crisp sound.

Sun Hao's first three-point attempt of the second quarter went in!

Decavo stood there dumbfounded.

Is this human?

Sitting on the bench that long, coming in and shooting? And it goes in?

Is the hoop your property or what!

Decavo didn't understand, and honestly, no one did, but tonight Sun Hao could just keep throwing the ball in.

Except for Sun Hao himself, even Jocelyn probably didn't know it was all because of her.

Because she was here, Sun Hao was unstoppable tonight!

Decavo hadn't expected Sun Hao's touch to stay that hot in the second quarter, but he didn't adjust the defense.

At least letting Sun Hao score alone kept the Student Team in a stalemate on the court.

From another angle, that might not be a bad thing for the Student Team.

That's how basketball works—if you don't get a chance to shoot for a long time on the court, it's hard to get your offensive rhythm going.

Sun Hao was on fire, but the rest of Real Madrid were average or even cold, which was why the Student Team could close the gap.

So Decavo still just used man-to-man defense on Sun Hao.

And Sun Hao kept scoring like crazy.

He'd dropped 24 in the first quarter, and while he slowed a bit in the second, he still got 18.

By halftime, his score had reached 42!

That tied his single-game scoring record in the EBA League!

And it only took half a game!

No one knew how many points Sun Hao would end up with.

Many of Sun Hao's fans were already hoping he could set a new record.

Of course, whether he could do it depended on whether the Student Team was willing to give him the chance.

After the halftime break, the answer came quickly.

Back in the second half, the Student Team still hadn't changed their defensive strategy!

The reason was the same as the first half—even though Sun Hao had dropped 44 in the half, the Student Team only trailed Real Madrid 45 to 53, down by 8.

Letting Sun Hao score wasn't a bad thing for them.

And Decavo still firmly believed his idea—Sun Hao's touch would cool off in the second half.

After all, the halftime break was way longer than the few minutes between the first and second quarters.

No one could keep that kind of hot touch forever.

Unless God was on his side tonight.

Real Madrid attacked first in the second half, and Sun Hao took another three off a screen beyond the three-point line.

"Swish!"

It went in again!

No cooling off at halftime—that didn't exist!

Decavo instinctively slapped his forehead when he saw it.

Tonight was really haunted!

Sun Hao's shot was like a sniper with a high-powered scope—just quick-scoping!

Every shot went in!

The crowd was going crazy.

They knew they were probably witnessing history tonight!

The Student Team scored one, and on the other end, the defender guarding Sun Hao played way out.

Sun Hao saw it, didn't wait for the center's screen, faked a three that completely fooled the defender, then drove straight into the paint and forced a shot over the opposing center.

There was body contact in the air, and the center's hand clearly came down on defense, so the ref called a foul.

But before falling, Sun Hao still got the shot off, and it sailed over the center's right hand, kissed the glass, and slid in!

This was a 2+1!

The scene erupted into pandemonium once again.

Sun Hao was absolutely unstoppable tonight—every shot went in, no matter the angle or form!

Decavo could only shake his head with a wry smile.

He was a Christian, and one thing had become crystal clear to him: tonight, God was on Sun Hao's side.

The game continued on the court. The Student Team's offense was still sharp, but they never double-teamed Sun Hao, and his scoring kept climbing.

In the third quarter, he kept up the pace, dropping 20 points in a single period!

The only slight difference from the first quarter was that he hit fewer threes but drew far more free throws!

Sun Hao had Good Feel, but he was playing even smarter!

By the end of the third quarter, his personal score had reached 62 points!

An unbelievable number!

Yet the unbelievable was far from over.

The Student Team pressed on with their offensive momentum and stuck to their defensive scheme.

After a rest, Sun Hao came back with his touch intact.

He scored another 12 points in this quarter!

But the Student Team's tenacity defied expectations—with an incredible 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 a full game of trading blows, the Student Team's energy gave out, and their shooting percentage plummeted off a cliff.

But Sun Hao was still bursting with energy, sprinting all over the court!

He sank a three-pointer, plus two fast-break layups off steals—he accounted for all of Real Madrid's points in overtime!

The Student Team, on the other hand, scored zero.

In the end, riding Sun Hao's heroic performance, Real Madrid defeated the Student Team 98 to 91!

The moment the game ended, nearly every fan in the stands rose to applaud and cheer.

Not just because the home team had won this epic battle, but because of the number on the scoreboard next to Sun Hao's name.

24 points in the first quarter, 18 in the second, 20 in the third, 12 in the fourth, and 7 in overtime.

Over the entire game, Sun Hao had scored 81 points!

An unbelievable number!

Sun Hao had become Mr. 81 Points!

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