"Have you heard? It seems that Kobe are declaring war on 'Who' in Nefalia!"
"Listen, listen! It's really true!"
"Interesting, very interesting!"
On Nefalia's bench, neither Tony Jones nor Anthony had recovered.
At this moment, Su Feng slowly stood up.
The audience in the stands near Nefalia's bench saw this and immediately erupted.
"I've heard of him—he's the 'Philadelphia Hero'!"
"Does Kobe know him?"
"It looks like he does! Just look at Kobe's eyes!"
On the court, as Su Feng stood up, Kobe smirked slightly. "Come on, I've been waiting for this day for a long time."
Even though Su Feng found Kobe's words a bit strange, he thought, If you want to fight, I'll fight!
Friendship between men is often forged through competition.
Su Feng and Kobe were no exception.
"Coach, let me play."
Su Feng looked at Coach Tony Jones calmly, and the latter almost nodded subconsciously.
Once Su Feng finished registering at the scorer's table, Kobe, eager to speed things up, directly fouled and slapped John's hand.
At that moment, the entire basketball arena erupted.
What had seemed like a one-sided slaughter suddenly looked like a story unfolding.
"Come on, Nefalia!"
"I don't know your name, Philadelphia Hero, but GO! GO! GO!"
"See? Only fools waste time with their girlfriends—basketball is way more exciting!"
Amid the crowd's noise, Su Feng took a deep breath and then stepped onto the court, replacing John.
This poor guy, who had unknowingly helped Su Feng withstand a figurative trial by fire, might carry a psychological shadow from basketball in the future...
Su Feng was now in the game!
On Lower Merion High School's bench, Donner and his son watched Su Feng's presence with deep contemplation.
In the stands, scouts exchanged information rapidly.
Kobe was no stranger to them.
But at this moment, when it came to Su Feng, they were all wondering...
"Who is this guy?"
As the game continued, Nefalia retained possession.
Su Feng's second-team teammates still seemed tense.
Downs nearly made another mistake while dribbling.
Fortunately, Su Feng clapped his hands at the critical moment.
Like tossing away a hot potato, Downs immediately passed the ball to Su Feng.
As Kobe had mentioned before the game, he did not intentionally seek his own matchup.
Su Feng was now being guarded by Raul Merion High School's shooting guard, Donnell.
Yes, Kobe was indeed a stubborn and determined competitor.
Since Donner and his son refused to believe his words, Kobe wanted everyone to see it for themselves—he hadn't lied.
In Kobe's view, Su Feng was stronger than Donnell and Swartz.
So, even though Kobe was eager to face Su Feng one-on-one, he believed Su Feng first had to prove himself by defeating Donnell and Swartz.
Maybe that was his competitive obsession.
Donnell, Kobe's teammate, stood at 188 cm—similar in height to Su Feng—but was noticeably more muscular.
Though Donnell wasn't sure about Su Feng's playing style, he immediately lowered his center of gravity and stepped back after Su Feng received the ball.
"He's thin, so he's probably a speed type. As long as I stop him from breaking through…" Donnell thought.
However, while Donnell was still analyzing Su Feng's potential move, suddenly...
A quick step, a lift in the air, a flick of the wrist!
Su Feng's jump wasn't remarkably high, but his rhythm was unpredictable.
His hang time wasn't long, but the soft flick of his wrist added a touch of grace.
Donnell barely had time to react.
On the court, Su Feng's shot traced a perfect arc through the air.
Bounce, bounce—swish!
Although the ball playfully bounced off the rim twice, it ultimately sank through the net.
2–6!
Su Feng scored Nefalia's first two points of the night.
At the same time, it was also the first official basket of his basketball career…
Seeing Su Feng's signature move, Kobe's mind momentarily drifted back to three months ago.
"Not bad!"
Shaking his head and smiling, Kobe ran up to Su Feng. "Your shooting form is better, and your release is faster, but…"
Before Kobe could finish, Su Feng interrupted. "But I'm still not a match for the great American high school phenom Kobe Bryant, right?"
Kobe didn't say a word but raised his eyebrows proudly.
"However, you know my personality," Su Feng suddenly said seriously.
"Of course."
Unlike his previous matchup against John, Kobe now became serious as well.
Thump, thump, thump!
After dribbling three times to remind his teammates to focus on defense, the whole stadium turned its attention to the showdown between Su Feng and Kobe.
There was no choice—although Kobe hadn't actively sought out Su Feng for a direct duel, judging by his teammates' hesitant expressions, Su Feng knew...
Defending Kobe would be his responsibility.
"Interesting," murmured Duke University scout Wesley, narrowing his eyes while analyzing Su Feng's defensive stance and awareness.
While casual fans of Raul Merion High School were busy hyping up the drama, professional scouts and coaching teams were carefully observing Su Feng.
After all, in Pennsylvania, there weren't many players his age brave enough to go head-to-head with Bryant.
However, at this moment, Su Feng on the court exuded the aura of a professional player.
Thump, thump, thump!
On the court, after toolman guard Swartz dribbled past half court, Kobe launched his attack the instant he received the pass.
Kobe's head and body swayed with a distinct rhythm. As his right and left hands executed a crossover dribble, he swiftly faked a move to the right.
This was...
A crossover!
On the court, Su Feng didn't bite on the fake. His extensive experience in one-on-one battles with Kobe had conditioned him to anticipate Kobe's deceptive movements...
But Kobe had anticipated that Su Feng would anticipate his fake moves.
And Su Feng, knowing Kobe's tendencies, had anticipated that Kobe would anticipate his reactions.
Yet, the saying goes—there's always a taller mountain. At the precise moment Kobe was about to close in on Su Feng with his dribble, he suddenly pulled the ball back.
That was close! Kobe looked at Su Feng and thought, For someone who makes such great sandwiches and sports drinks, he's strong!
Almost! Su Feng glanced at Kobe and thought, He's a tool of labor and capital… cough, no—he's my idol. Impressive!
"Brilliant!" In the stands, watching Kobe's dribbling strategy unfold, Wesley felt reassured—he had certainly made the right decision coming today.
Since American high school basketball has a 35-second shot clock, Kobe wasn't in a rush after his initial breakthrough attempt failed.
On the court, the players of Nefalia and Raul Merion watched Kobe and Su Feng's duel in silence. No one wanted to interrupt the moment.
Although the two teams had different perspectives, for now, they had somehow reached a mutual understanding.
On the sidelines, Tony Jones and Anthony were once again surprised by Su Feng, while Downer and his son exchanged very peculiar expressions.
Thump, thump, thump!
On the court, Kobe attacked Su Feng again!
Even though Su Feng fully utilized the hand-checking rules this time, Kobe's breakthrough was simply too overwhelming…
Because this time, he relied purely on brute force!
Charging in like an unstoppable force, he bulldozed his way through with reckless abandon.
An unstoppable force.
Uh, wait—isn't he still just a kid?
BOOM!
Su Feng failed to keep up in the final step and was left behind.
Kobe Bryant was ruthless—finishing his fourth dunk of the game.
2–8!
Landing gracefully, Kobe looked at Su Feng with an arrogant smirk, his face brimming with confidence.
"That's not fair!" Su Feng protested.
"Huh?" Kobe raised an eyebrow.
"You can't break through me using normal means. You must be afraid of me blocking you, so you resorted to such a timid and cowardly move!" Su Feng argued convincingly.
Kobe: "..."
Fortunately, after three months of rivalry, Su Feng had adapted to Kobe's relentless competitiveness, and Kobe had grown accustomed to Su Feng's annoying provocations. These two were truly…
"Fine! Then I'll defeat you using pure skill!" Kobe declared, igniting the competitive fire in his eyes once again.
Su Feng nodded in satisfaction.
Honestly, Su Feng wasn't being unfair—after all, who called Kobe a rogue player first?
Su Feng had completely figured things out.
The story was simple. Kobe had likely recommended Su Feng to his coach, but the coach didn't believe him.
After all, in the 1990s, a Chinese high school student going one-on-one against Kobe Bryant? It sounded impossible.
So Kobe had told Su Feng before the game that he wouldn't deliberately seek a direct matchup.
Because he wanted Su Feng to prove himself first by beating his teammates—showing that Kobe hadn't lied.
This might seem strange if it were anyone else, but when it came to Kobe…
Everything suddenly made perfect sense.
Realizing this, Su Feng knew he couldn't waste Kobe's effort.
And that's why—if Kobe initiated a duel, it wouldn't be right to turn it into an outright beating.
One must stay true to their principles.
Since Kobe had set the stage, Su Feng was ready to perform...
Swish—!
On the court, Raul Merion's shooting guard Donnell stood frozen.
Because...
Su Feng had launched his shot one meter behind the three-point line right after receiving the pass.
What?!
Unbelievable!
Donnell wanted to argue, but there was no time.
On the sidelines, both Nefalia's head coach Tony Jones and assistant coach Anthony watched Su Feng's move unfold and suddenly remembered their conversation with him before the game.
"Su, why don't you like stepping forward when taking a three-pointer?" Anthony had asked, puzzled by Su Feng's habit of shooting from deep range.
"Because... that's how I practice!" Su Feng had replied innocently.
Su Feng truly wasn't trying to show off—he just knew that the NBA three-point line would be moved back eventually, and he wanted to be ready.
So he had always trained his three-pointers from 7.25 meters out.
And so…
The Raul Merion crowd erupted.
Because just moments earlier—Su Feng had also stolen the ball from Kobe!
"How often do you get caught slipping by the river?" Kobe thought.
Just moments ago, when Kobe had dunked spectacularly, he hadn't realized Su Feng had laid a trap.
For some reason, Kobe's grip loosened and the ball struck his shoe—allowing Su Feng to steal it effortlessly.
Kobe was stunned.
"Did Su Feng curse me or something?"
There was no time to dwell on it.
He couldn't let this pest mock him!
As Su Feng sprinted toward Raul Merion's half-court with the stolen ball, Kobe chased after him furiously.
And perhaps due to his intense focus, Su Feng didn't notice Kobe behind him.
Seeing an open lane, Su Feng thought, Maybe I should try dunking?
He decided to go for it.
And so, as he leaped for the dunk—
"Oh no!" Kobe thought in horror.
Su Feng had jumped too far forward.
Realizing the danger, Kobe abandoned his defensive stance and sprinted toward Su Feng's landing spot.
Su Feng managed to put the ball in the hoop before descending—
But gravity had other plans.
He fell—straight into Kobe's arms.
For three seconds, the stadium was silent.
Then, everyone applauded Kobe's incredible sportsmanship.
"Are you crazy?" Kobe, still shaken, muttered to Su Feng.
Even the calmest individuals lose their composure sometimes.
Su Feng hurriedly reflected on his reckless decision-making.
"I shouldn't be this reckless… Maybe I shouldn't have watched so much Xiucha before. Why do I always end up like a squirrel jumping into danger?" he thought.
But, deep down—he was grateful that Kobe had been there to catch him.
"Thanks!" Su Feng smiled at Kobe.
Kobe shook his head. "Thanks? Don't get too comfortable—I won't go easy next time."
And just like that—the game continued!
...
combo (2/4)