Score: 2–1

Seeing Xiao Ke actually pass the ball to Old Wu, Zhu Zhan, who was defending Old Ma under the basket, narrowed his eyes. He hadn't expected Xiao Ke to choose a pass. Still, after drawing a double-team, passing the ball out had been Xiao Ke's best option.

Fang Wei was also startled when he saw Xiao Ke pass.

He had kept watch on Xiao Ke's position and immediately gone over to double-team him when Xiao Ke drove past Yuan'er because he knew Xiao Ke was trying to compete with Zhu Zhan. Even during their usual games together, Xiao Ke tended to play one-on-one by himself. So now, there had seemed to be very little chance that Xiao Ke would pass.

Yet to Fang Wei's surprise, Xiao Ke really had passed the ball.

Fang Wei had no time to think. He immediately stopped, turned around, and prepared to go back to defend Old Wu.

But just as his center of gravity shifted back and before he could take a step, the ball had already landed in Old Wu's hands, and Old Wu had already gone into his shooting motion.

Seeing this, Fang Wei immediately shouted to Zhu Zhan under the basket, "Get the rebound! He can't make it!"

Fang Wei did not need to remind him. The moment Zhu Zhan saw Old Wu's shooting form, he knew Old Wu could not shoot and that the ball would never go in.

Old Wu's shooting motion was extremely awkward and slow. He clearly had not mastered his form. With a shot like that, making one out of ten would already be decent.

Old Wu released the ball, and the instant Zhu Zhan saw its trajectory, he knew the arc was too low and the shot lacked power. His eyes flashed as he stepped forward and boxed Old Ma out.

At that moment, Xiao Ke had also rushed beneath the basket and happened to position himself in front of Zhu Zhan.

Both of them had predicted where Old Wu's shot would land.

However, compared to Zhu Zhan, Xiao Ke was much shorter, and their jumping ability was not even comparable. As the ball failed to reach the rim and dropped straight down, Zhu Zhan and Xiao Ke jumped at the same time.

But before the ball had even fallen beneath the backboard, a long hand had already stretched high into the air and touched it.

The owner of that hand was, naturally, Zhu Zhan.

By comparison, Xiao Ke's hand had only reached slightly above Zhu Zhan's elbow, still more than ten centimeters away from the ball.

"Smack!"

Zhu Zhan snagged the ball one-handed and hooked it fiercely into his chest. As his hands closed around it, a crisp smack rang out.

With Xiao Ke and Old Ma closing in from front and back, Zhu Zhan grabbed the rebound against both of them. It was clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation, prompting Fang Wei and Yuan'er in the distance to shout.

"Beautiful!" Fang Wei swung his arm and roared.

"Whoosh!"

After securing the rebound, Zhu Zhan flicked his wrist and sent the ball toward Fang Wei.

He was under the basket now. If he forced his way up, he would face a double-team from Xiao Ke and Old Ma. Though he felt he had a high chance of scoring, Zhu Zhan chose the safer option and passed instead.

Fang Wei's eyes flashed. After catching the pass, he did not shoot from where he stood. Instead, he took another step toward the baseline, then suddenly stopped, leaped into the air, and released the ball with a swift flick.

But the instant the ball left his hand, Fang Wei cried out, "Damn it, get the rebound!"

As soon as Fang Wei's words fell, the ball struck the front of the rim and bounced away. At that moment, another figure darted out, grabbing the ball just after it bounced once on the ground.

That figure was Zhu Zhan again.

Just as when Old Wu had shot, Zhu Zhan knew the moment Fang Wei released the ball that it would not go in. He had instantly predicted where it would land, which was why he could rely on superior positioning to snatch the rebound first after it hit the ground.

With the ball in his hands, Zhu Zhan did not rush to make a move. Instead, he slowly dribbled it beyond the three-point line. By then, Xiao Ke had already chased out from beneath the basket to defend him.

Two consecutive rebounds, both taken while Xiao Ke and Old Ma were double-teaming him. The first had been especially clean and forceful, while the second had displayed his precise prediction of the ball's landing spot. Xiao Ke immediately felt humiliated, and his expression turned extremely ugly.

Xiao Ke quickly moved in front of Zhu Zhan, his face ashen as he said coldly, "Come on. Let me see what you can do this time!"

As Zhu Zhan lightly dribbled, he gave another casual "Oh," but his eyes were not on Xiao Ke in front of him. Instead, he was watching Old Ma and Old Wu's positions on the other side.

Old Ma was still in the paint, clearly intending to grab the defensive rebound after Zhu Zhan shot. Meanwhile, Old Wu was guarding Fang Wei.

Seeing Zhu Zhan dribbling beyond the three-point line, Yuan'er, who had originally been fighting Old Ma for position under the basket, suddenly left Old Ma and stepped out of the paint. He ran toward Zhu Zhan and set a screen directly on the three-point line.

Zhu Zhan naturally would not let such an opportunity pass.

When Yuan'er had received the ball at the top of the free-throw arc during the previous possession, Zhu Zhan had known Yuan'er was an intelligent player who seemed particularly adept at facilitating his teammates' offense. Therefore, he was not surprised at all to see Yuan'er step out of the paint and set a screen for him now.

The instant Yuan'er took up his stance, Zhu Zhan accelerated at the same time. With one long stride, he slipped past Yuan'er's side. Xiao Ke's first step was slightly slower, and Yuan'er's positioning blocked him as well, leaving him completely behind Zhu Zhan.

After Zhu Zhan pulled up to the top of the three-point arc, he had completely shaken off his defender.

Seeing this, Old Ma, who had been standing in the paint, quickly tried to come out from beneath the basket to help defend. But the distance was too great, and he could not interfere with Zhu Zhan at all.

Zhu Zhan came to a sudden stop, naturally bent his knees, raised the ball above his head, and gave a light jump. The ball once again traced a beautiful arc as it flew toward the basket.

"Swish!"

The ball dropped through the net for the second time.

The score was 2:1.

Zhu Zhan's side had scored both baskets through him. The second score in particular came after Zhu Zhan grabbed two consecutive rebounds and put the ball in again. The first rebound had shown off his outstanding leaping ability, while the second had demonstrated his clear and accurate judgment of the ball's path. Finally, he had finished the possession himself.

In that one play, Zhu Zhan's ability had been displayed to the fullest on both defense and offense.