A Chance Encounter is Fate!

# Chapter 35: Meeting Is Fate!

After touring Venice, the embassy had already helped him get his travel document.

The motherland at this time wasn't as powerful as it would be in the future, but its efficiency was already quite high.

Returning from Italy, Sun Hao set aside this "unforgettable experience" and began preparing for the new season.

Falling short in the semifinals last season was partly due to the team's performance, but his personal strength still had plenty of room for improvement.

Not to mention the distant future, his ultra-long three-pointers and first step both needed continued improvement.

Training, plus occasionally going out to play soccer with Prigioni and the others—two months passed in the blink of an eye, and the new La Liga season was about to begin.

It was at this point that Sun Hao received some news.

It wasn't from Italy; his case seemed to have become a cold case with no resolution.

The news came from the European Basketball Association.

After the European Super League had been suspended for a year, some of Europe's top basketball teams and leagues couldn't sit still anymore.

They created a brand-new pan-European sports event under a private institution model, and the name of this event was incredibly familiar to Sun Hao.

The European Champions League, abbreviated as EuroLeague.

La Liga was one of those "part of Europe's top leagues."

According to the competition rules, the first EuroLeague would have 24 participating teams, with La Liga receiving three spots.

That meant Real Madrid, as last season's regular-season champions in La Liga, would be competing not only in La Liga but also in the EuroLeague in the new season.

This was undoubtedly great news for Sun Hao.

Because of Europe's uniqueness, the EuroLeague was like a mini World Cup or Olympics.

Cross-border matches, games interspersed between domestic leagues, and the ability to bring in foreign players to balance strength—all of this made it highly competitive and exciting to watch.

As a result, its exposure and influence would be groundbreaking.

Take the most direct example of broadcasting: the first EuroLeague had a full 15 major European media outlets, something La Liga simply couldn't compare with.

Last year, Calderón had made a stunning debut but ultimately wasn't truly selected by an NBA team.

Instead, Ginobili, who was playing in Italy, was picked at the end of the second round.

This showed one thing: La Liga's influence was still limited across Europe.

If Sun Hao wanted to enter the draft next year, the EuroLeague was undoubtedly the best stage.

A week later, the La Liga curtain rose, and Real Madrid began their new season campaign.

Their first opponent was the Radar Team.

Facing the team they had eliminated in the first round of last season's playoffs, Real Madrid showed an even greater gap in strength than the previous season.

71 to 51, a 20-point massacre.

Compared to last season, the team also displayed much better chemistry, especially among Prigioni, Sun Hao, and Gabajosa.

Sun Hao had 12 points and 2 assists, Gabajosa had 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and Prigioni had 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists.

A season of adjustment, plus training and playing soccer together during the offseason, and they were already starting to feel like the Real Madrid Trident.

Beating the Radar Team was just the beginning. Over the next half-month or so, Real Madrid won consecutive games without a single loss, starting the season with an 8-game winning streak.

In those 8 games, Sun Hao averaged 9.6 points per game, second only to Gabajosa's 10.5 points, ranking second on the team.

Moreover, his field goal percentage and three-point percentage reached 52% and 40.3%, respectively.

These numbers were a clear improvement over last season.

It was at this moment that Real Madrid faced their first EuroLeague game, against Virtus Bologna from Italy.

For the first EuroLeague game, Laso took it very seriously.

The night before heading to Italy, Laso gathered the team in the video room to watch footage.

Technology at this time was still relatively backward, with videos mostly on tapes, and since this was the first EuroLeague, their understanding of the opponent was limited.

As soon as the video started, Laso directed the team's attention to Virtus Bologna's core guard.

Sasha Danilovic.

Former NBA star, top-tier shooter.

Although he only played two seasons in the NBA, in his first season (95-96), he averaged 13.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.

In the playoffs that year, even though his Miami Heat were eliminated in the first round, he averaged an astonishing 25 points and 4 assists over three playoff games.

In his second season, he transferred to the Dallas Mavericks and averaged 16.6 points per game in the regular season.

But after that, he chose to return to the European League to play. Now at 29, he was in his prime.

Everyone Sun Hao had encountered before—whether Gasol, Navarro, or even his teammates Fernandez and Gabajosa—were younger versions.

Danilovic, whom he would face next, was a true established star.

And since both were guards, the two would inevitably match up against each other on the court.

The first game of the EuroLeague, and it's already a tough nut to crack!

The next day, Real Madrid boarded a plane to Sicily, Italy, the home of Virtus Bologna.

This was also Sun Hao's second time visiting Sicily.

When he arrived at Palermo Airport, Sun Hao still felt a strong sense of familiarity.

After all, it had only been four months since his last visit here.

As he got on the team bus and saw police patrolling, Sun Hao quickened his pace to board.

He was really afraid of running into that same cop again; if his teammates found out about that little incident during the offseason, he'd be laughed at for the whole season.

"Sun can't wait. I think he'll definitely put on a good show tomorrow night."

Watching Sun Hao's agile figure, Prigioni turned his head and said to Gabajosa.

"Hope he's in a good mood, so we might get a chance to eat well."

Gabajosa nodded in agreement.

Prigioni burst out laughing after hearing that.

To be honest, they had gotten along very "pleasantly" with Sun Hao over the past offseason.

That was a big reason why Real Madrid had started the new season with a perfect record.

But then again, who wouldn't want to be friends with someone who could cook?

Like Spain, basketball wasn't the number one sport in Italy, but the basketball atmosphere here was even more intense.

All of this was thanks to Italy National Team's recent performances on the international stage.

Last year at the World Championships, they finished 6th, and this summer at the just-concluded European Championships, they actually won the title.

Real Madrid's first EuroLeague game was also the first for an Italian team in the competition.

The next evening, the Sicily Arena, which could hold 6,000 people, was packed to the rafters.

The attendance rate alone showed how successful the EuroLeague model was; even for just the first game, it already had that much appeal.

Real Madrid arrived at the arena an hour early to warm up.

After half an hour of practice, Sun Hao felt his body was loose and sat down on the sidelines to rest.

Just then, the Virtus Bologna players finally showed up, a bit late.

Sun Hao spotted Danilovic at a glance.

Yesterday, Laso had emphasized his name so many times that it was hard not to notice him.

From the moment Danilovic started warming up with his shots, Sun Hao's attention never left him.

After watching, he felt tonight would really be a tough game.

Danilovic was truly unique; he was even more skilled at three-pointers than he looked on video.

Yesterday, Laso said that in his first NBA season, his three-point shooting percentage reached 43.6%.

Although he didn't make the NBA stats due to not enough games played, in an era where three-pointers weren't yet popular, that was an incredibly exaggerated percentage.

And from the warm-up, his shooting accuracy was no lower than Sun Hao's.

Just as Sun Hao was thinking this, Danilovic had already come off the court to rest.

It was then that Sun Hao's gaze suddenly froze, and an expression of disbelief spread across his face.

He had been staring at Danilovic the whole time and hadn't noticed, but only after the latter left the court did he see there was still someone else on the floor shooting threes.

And that person shooting threes—with a straight nose bridge and handsome, dashing face, and Prigioni...

This was actually Ginobili!

That buzz cut, so wildly inconsistent with the long-haired image in his memory, was way too eye-catching!

Ginobili, playing for Virtus Bologna?

That didn't seem right; he remembered at the police station, Lartigue had said Ginobili should be playing for Reggio Calabria.

Had he remembered wrong? Or had Ginobili switched teams?

Sun Hao turned his head again to look at Danilovic, who had just sat down, and a young player nearby handed him a towel.

He suddenly felt the latter possibility was more likely.

Thinking back to what happened at the police station, although he had never spoken about it, walls had ears, and most of the Italian teams probably knew about it by now.

That kind of thing was definitely not good, especially for an overseas player. Even though nothing actually happened, the impact was certainly there.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain why a player who was playing so well and had been drafted by the NBA would suddenly switch teams.

And the team he switched to had a core player who was also a Shooting Guard.

But this only made Sun Hao even more curious.

The butterfly effect from his transmigration hadn't affected Ginobili.

In other words, the Ginobili in history had also earned his way up in this kind of environment.

After warm-ups ended, the arena moved into the opening ceremony.

First the away team, then the home team—both squads' players were all introduced as they took the court.

Sun Hao was the third-to-last player introduced for Real Madrid.

Just then, at the other end of the court, Ginobili froze completely, as if turned to stone.

Because not much time had passed, his impression of Sun Hao was still vivid.

That guy he'd run into at the police station was actually a basketball player too?

And, what the hell, they were meeting again on the Champions League court?

It wasn't just surreal—more importantly, they still had to do the handshake ritual in a moment. He didn't even want to think about what came next.

But what had to come, came.

At the end of the opening ceremony, the two teams lined up for the final handshake.

When Sun Hao shook Ginobili's hand, their eyes met. The expression on Ginobili's face was one Sun Hao would remember for a lifetime.

It was a face more pained than constipation—one that could probably make him laugh in his sleep.

If Ginobili were Chinese, he'd definitely be sighing with a saying right now.

Strangers pass each other by without meeting; fated souls meet across a thousand miles!

Watching Ginobili's bewildered look, Sun Hao really wanted to say something too.

Meeting is fate! Don't dwell on the past!

Thanks to blue sky, john, Ling Tian Feichen, Time Hill, and Deer as White Horse for the tips—thank you for the support! Please throw in your recommendation tickets!

Today's cheesy love line:

In my heart, there's no forest—would you be willing to be the only sandcastle on my beach?