Champion, please stay!

Chapter 39. The Second League!

The Husky team tenaciously turned the tide and, after gaining an advantage with their Yishui Rush, never gave the opponent another chance.

With just over four minutes left, the Huskies and Warriors battled fiercely on defense, resulting in a 6-5 score, allowing Huskies to hold onto their lead until the very end!
When the final whistle blew, the score was 74-68, with the Huskies narrowly defeating the Warriors by 6 points, completing their revenge for their home loss two months ago!
Harangaudi looked at the score and statistics on the big screen, feeling both unwilling and resentful.

He played 38 minutes, shooting 9-for-20 from the field, including 4-for-10 from three-point range, plus 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, for a total of 26 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks. He scored, rebounded, orchestrated the offense, and even played center for a few minutes... He gave it his all, but still lost to that guy.

25投11中，其中三分球12中5，加上6中5的罚球，拿到32分11板2助攻1抢断4盖帽……的那个天才布鲁克！
The data clearly shows that, apart from physical attributes, even his defensive skills are inferior to his. But that's what makes a genius; when he unleashes his power, he can outrun him.

Harangodi was about to find a secluded spot to lick his wounds when he suddenly saw that genius walking towards him. Was this guy here to provoke him, to flaunt his victory, to show off his successful revenge?

Aren't you afraid he'll come at you like a tiger from the highlands and start a real fight?
Perhaps because he had just lost the game, he had no good impression of this guy. All he could think of was his womanizing ways, his conflicts with opponents, and his lack of manners and penchant for swearing.

But the moment the other person spoke, he was stunned.

"Luke, the two games I played against you were the best I've ever played since I entered college. It's a pity we only have two games a year. I really wish I could play against you every day. I can always learn something new."

Harlan Gaudi paused for a moment, then reorganized his thoughts and replied, "These are the two best games I've played since I entered college. I also hope to play with you more often, but unfortunately you're about to enter the NBA. I don't know if I'll have the chance to meet you on the court again."

Who said he didn't have a good impression of this genius senior? That's slander! It's defamation!

Yi Shui was unaware of the other person's inner thoughts, but he sensed a hint of loneliness. He replied, "You have to have dreams. What if you succeed? My current dream is to win the national championship. I believe I can do it."

Harangaud, like everyone else who heard this, first wanted to laugh—I don't even have the confidence to compete for the championship, and you guys? A team that can only beat strong teams if you have a breakout performance?
But seeing Yi Shui's serious expression, all his distracting thoughts vanished, and he replied, "I believe my dream can be fulfilled, and I hope yours can be fulfilled too... If we meet again in March, then your dream will come to an end."

"That's hard to say..."

...

"...Congratulations on receiving the basic rewards: 5 hours of passing training card and 5 hours of interception training card."

"...Congratulations on receiving the personal reward: 3 hours of shooting training card, 2 hours of rebounding training card, and 1 hours of interception training card."

"Mission: Highland Tiger"

You have successfully led your team to revenge against the Warriors, objective 1 is complete; your score or three-pointers made is higher than Luke Harangodi's, objective 2 is complete... Congratulations on receiving the reward: 1 Harangodi matching physical attribute point, used... Congratulations on receiving the physical attribute point: Agility +1, your agility has increased from 92 to 93.

Before the match, he received the task and saw that it was related to Harlangodi's physical qualities. He thought it was about strength, since Harlangodi could fight from 3 to 5, which meant he was very strong. But it turned out to be about agility... But after analyzing it, it seemed to make sense.

With a height of 203 cm and a weight of over 110 kg, Haalando can handle most small forwards and his agility is already excellent. If he weighed only 100 kg, his speed might not be bad either, but it's impossible for him to be very fast. Moreover, Haalando clearly lacks explosiveness and jumping ability. If he doesn't follow a power-and-technique style, it would be difficult for him to reach his current level of strength. As a forward, one must have a prominent advantage in physical condition.

When facing Harald Gordi again, Yi Shui could clearly feel his own progress. However, his basic technical skills were secondary. No matter how much he improved in those areas, he still couldn't compare to Harald Gordi. His biggest improvement was in his physical condition and his utilization of his existing abilities!
As early as when he played against Harald in a warm-up match, he saw the opponent's unique ability in this aspect, always able to avoid his own weaknesses and bring out his strengths.

He wasn't just being polite with Harald Gaudi; he genuinely learned from him in this regard.

A few more days passed, and it was Friday, January 25th. The last weekend of the first month of the new year had arrived, and the competition in the Da Dong League Division was also coming to its final weekend.

The Huskies will host the Villanova Wildcats at home.

After 1 hour and 50 minutes of play, the game came to an end as Yi Shui's three-pointer, which tied the score, slid off the rim.

The Huskies lost to the Wildcats 55-58, ending their five-game winning streak.

This opponent is truly a counter to the Siberian Huskies. Unlike the Huskies' army's psychological advantage over the Amazing Team, the Wildcats counter the Huskies on a tactical and technical level. Led by forward Dante Cunningham, the Wildcats are arguably the most consistent team in the Big East. Not in the way the Amazing Team relies on stability, but in pure, calm defense. From start to finish, regardless of whether they play well or poorly, they remain remarkably consistent.

The Huskies were so frustrated that they almost lost their composure and fell behind by 10 points. Although they launched a fierce attack in the final moments, they still fell short.

Yi Shui looked at his shooting performance of 6 out of 22, scoring 16 points, and was so frustrated that he had no temper left.

Losing is naturally frustrating, but seeing the news of the Amazing Team defeating the Mountaineer Team after the game lessened my frustration a little.

It wasn't because Joe Alexander got hammered by the Amazings—he had long since stopped caring about that insignificant opponent—but because the Amazings had won eight straight games, were 16-1, and had one game left to play.

Even if the Huskies win tonight, and win their last game, they'll only have a 15-3 record... It's a little easier not to lose the chance to compete for the top spot in the league because of this loss.

After a day of rest, on January 27th, the final match day of the Big East Conference stage, the Huskies traveled to Syracuse Dome Center in neighboring New York State to play against the Oranges.

As soon as he entered the stadium, Yi Shui was shocked. It was the first time he had ever heard a large group of fans shouting his name or nickname while playing away from home!

In fact, New Yorkers don't usually consider Syracuse as part of New York, or rather, they consider other cities in New York State as the countryside of New York.

But today, countless New York basketball fans 'occupied' the Dome Center, not to support the 'country college' Oranges, but to support their 'neighbors' Huskies.

Since the New York media began to praise Yi Shui in early December last year, his popularity among New York basketball fans has grown rapidly.

To be honest, not many of the people who came were actually fans of Yi Shui and wanted him to play in New York. And not many were Knicks fans who came to support Yi Shui after hearing that Dolan wanted to draft him. Most of the New Yorkers who came to 'occupy' the Dome Center were high-income white people who had plenty of money and nothing better to do than join the crowd and have some fun.

In fact, Madison Square Garden has been in a similar situation over the years, and Yi Shui got a taste of the treatment of visiting team stars in New York's 'basketball culture' in advance.

The competition started at 7 p.m.

Syracuse University's two prodigies, Dante Green and Jonny Flynn, played with great intensity, aiming to lead the Oranges to victory.

After losing to the Huskies on the road last time, the Oranges have a record of 3 wins and 1 loss, and currently have a record of 9 wins and 8 losses, the same as the Western California Big Hills. However, because they lost to the Hills in a direct matchup, they can only be ranked ninth. They don't know what the result of the Hills' last game will be, but they can only have a chance to move into the bottom half of the Big East Conference if they win the last game.

Besides that, the fact that their home court was taken over by those damn New Yorkers tonight also infuriated the two talented stars who were both averaging 15+ points per game in their freshman year, and they wanted to crush the opposing team.

But the Huskies played just as hard! They were just as eager to win!
They currently have a record of 13 wins and 4 losses, and like the Warriors, they are temporarily ranked second due to their head-to-head point differential. The Warriors' last game is against the DePaul Blue Devils, a group of civil engineers. Although it may be a tough game, Harlango is stronger than those guys and has a high probability of winning.

The Huskies must win their final battle to surpass the Warriors.

Furthermore, the Cardinals and Wildcats are currently 12-5. The Huskies have lost to both of those teams. If both of those teams win tonight and the Huskies lose, they could drop from second to fifth, falling into the bottom half of the bracket.

The second to fourth place teams in the upper bracket and the fifth to eighth place teams in the lower bracket are not just about how good or bad their ranking is or how embarrassing it is. The opponents they face in the later rounds are completely different. Teams in the lower bracket have to compete with teams from the upper brackets of other top leagues for their spots, while teams in the upper bracket mostly compete with teams from the lower brackets of other top leagues and teams from minor leagues. Moreover, once you enter the Madness Series, the rankings in the groups can vary greatly.

Geniuses are geniuses. In the crucial game, Dante Green and Jonny Flynn both exploded. The former went 8-for-15 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free-throw line, scoring 24 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. The latter went 8-for-20 from the field, including 4-for-11 from three-point range and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, scoring a season-high 26 points.

However, the senior is still the senior. Yad held his own against Dante Green, scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. His stats were a bit low, but he made 9 of 9 field goals and 5 of 5 free throws, achieving a 100% shooting percentage!

Yi Shui scored 35 points, a career high for college basketball, on 15-of-28 shooting, including 2-of-5 from three-point range and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line!

The Orange team, led by their two freshmen stars, played a fierce offense, scoring 86 points in total, but their defense was also quite poor, and they were overwhelmed by two juniors.

易水和亚德合砍58分，率领哈士奇队以94比86力克橘子人队，将战绩提升至14胜4负！
Regardless of the outcome of the final battles of their three competitors, the Huskies secured second place in the 2007-08 season's Big East League division with a hard-earned victory!
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(End of this chapter)