Y13 [EN]: Chapter 229

00229 2011-12 All-Star Weekend
=========================================================================

Youngjae considered dunking over Irving, but Wall, who was fired up about being picked sixth, was staring at him with blazing eyes. Youngjae could only chuckle.

Thud-!

[Youngjae Yoon throws the ball and hits the backboard! The ball soars high, and John Wall jumps up to meet it!]

John Wall spun in the air, completing a 360-degree turn in an instant, and caught the ball with his right hand far above the rim.

Thwack!!

…

JOHN WALL!!!

JOHN WALL!!!

A tremendous roar erupted from the crowd. John Wall’s name began to fill the Amway Center.

[BANG!]

[A sleek and elegant honey dip slam after a 360-degree spin! Amazing!]

A honey dip dunk. Instead of just grabbing the rim, his hand and the ball were seemingly sucked into it, and he hung his elbow on the rim to show off an even more powerful move. It’s rarely used in real games, but Vince Carter’s honey dip is a highlight-reel dunk, boasting the highest level of flair even in the NBA. [A “honey dip” dunk is a flashy dunk where the player hangs their elbow on the rim after dunking.]

[If you take just one scene, it’s a GORGEOUS honey dip slam that rivals Vince Carter, the epitome of elegant dunks!]

John Wall, who performed a honey dip dunk as beautiful as Vince Carter’s, looked around without coming down from the rim. Youngjae ran to the back of the backboard so John Wall could see him and gave him a thumbs up.

“Nice!”

The crowd was amazed by John Wall’s incredible strength as he supported his entire body with his right elbow, as if showing off his arm strength, and even lifted his body with just his elbow. Afterwards, Kevin Harlan, Chris Webber, and Reggie Miller couldn’t help but laugh at John Wall’s playful ceremony, where he extended his left hand to Youngjae for a high-five.

[Haha! John Wall perfectly recreates Vince Carter’s honey dip dunk and even the ceremony afterwards!]

[Immediately after coming down from the rim, John Wall gestures to Shaquille O’Neal! It’s a ceremony to show that he is better than Kyrie Irving!]

Shaquille O’Neal chuckled and smiled at John Wall, putting his hands together as if begging for forgiveness. John Wall also mimicked Shaquille O’Neal’s pose and backpedaled.

As expected, the Rising Stars Challenge Game was a festival, pleasing the audience’s eyes. The audience’s enjoyment amplified the cheers, creating a synergy effect where the players felt a thrilling pleasure and put in even more effort. It wasn’t quite as big as the All-Star Game itself, but it was the most popular of the preliminary events like the Skills Challenge and Dunk Contest.

[There are only about 3 minutes left in the first quarter. The score is 44 to 54. Team Chuck is leading by 10 points.]

[Both teams are using their starting members again. Kyrie Irving, who struggled against John Wall, walks out with a determined look! In contrast, John Wall and Youngjae Yoon come onto the court with joyful expressions.]

[Team Shaq features Irving, Rubio, Fields, Griffin, and Monroe. Team Chuck features Wall, Yoon, George, Williams, and Cousins!]

Youngjae focused on giving Wall the shots he wanted. Of course, he didn’t pass exclusively to Wall, but he passed to players who created openings in every corner. However, he prioritized passes to Wall.

Perhaps because of this, Youngjae only scored 6 points in about 12 minutes out of 20, but he already had 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 turnover, showing good teamwork with Wall. Youngjae wasn’t particularly greedy when it came to scoring, so he thought this kind of exhibition game wasn’t bad.

Thud- thud-

But he was getting bored of playing only as a passer. Youngjae and Wall’s teamwork was a perfect match, creating highlight plays one after another, but Youngjae felt like he was promoting Wall too much as the main attraction, so he decided to score some points himself.

[Ricky Rubio penetrates from the right wing to the high post?!]

As Rubio and Irving intentionally overlapped their movements, Wall and Youngjae inevitably had a slight disruption in their defensive rotation. In the end, they tacitly agreed to switch, with Wall guarding Rubio and Youngjae guarding Irving, blocking their opponents.

[Here comes the switch! It seems to be the first switch in this game! Wall blocks Rubio! It’s impossible for Rubio to push Wall away with force, right?]

Rubio knew this well, so he didn’t push it any further. He took a smooth step back, created distance from Wall, and passed safely to Irving, who was positioned on the opposite wing.

Thud!!

[Kyrie Irving! Penetrates with tremendous speed! But Youngjae Yoon quickly blocks him, not fooled by Irving’s step! Irving is struggling greatly against two top-notch defenders, Wall and Yoon, today!]

[What an amazing offense and defense?! Kyrie Irving’s sharp drive-in, and Youngjae Yoon’s skillful backstep, chasing after him without missing him!]

“…”

In that moment, as they struggled to create space for each other, Wall briefly entered the high post to slow down Irving’s forward momentum. Then, Rubio instantly had an open shot from the outside, and Irving quickly turned his head to the right, re-gripping the ball as if to push his dribbling right hand outwards.

“Ugh!”

Wall thought Irving would pass to Rubio and reached out his hand, but the ball didn’t fly. Irving, who had stretched out his right arm, snatched the ball just before it left his hand and rushed towards the rim.

[Wow! Kyrie Irving!!! Amazing fake! Anyone would fall for that fake…]

Whack!!

Woaaaaaaa!!!!!

[There’s also a player who doesn’t fall for it! Y13! It’s a steal by Y13!! Neither Rubio nor Irving can get past his wall!]

The moment Youngjae regained the ball, he knocked it out of Irving’s hand with his left hand. The ball rolled backwards and went into Rubio’s hand on the outside, and Rubio shot a desperate 3-pointer, pressed by the shot clock.

Clang!

[Rubio’s 3-pointer fails! Youngjae Yoon grabs the long rebound!]

Youngjae slowly crossed the half-court line to control the tempo and exchanged passes with John Wall. John Wall dribbled low, staring at Irving in front of him as a habit to lead the offense, but seeing Youngjae gesturing for the ball from the right wing at the top of the key, Wall passed the ball as if to say, “Go ahead and try.”

Thud- thud-

[Ricky Rubio versus Youngjae Yoon! Thanks to Youngjae Yoon’s focus on passing today, it seems to be Yoon’s first isolation play! Originally, he’s a player who enjoys 2-on-2 using screeners, and he extremely refrains from isolation, right?]

Youngjae smiled playfully and began to sway his body left and right, taking small steps as if teasing Rubio.

“Eek!!”

Squeak- squeak-

Rubio tried to anticipate Youngjae’s penetration direction, but because of Youngjae’s low and fast side-to-side movements, he continued to be dragged around by Youngjae. In the end, he was a beat late and allowed Youngjae to penetrate.

Youngjae had already penetrated to the high post, and he momentarily switched the dribbling hand from his right hand to his left hand, then spun 180 degrees clockwise to shake off Rubio.

[Ah!! What a humiliation! Ricky Rubio!]

[Immediately drives in! Youngjae Yoon passes by the staggering Rubio like the wind! Now, only Greg Monroe stands before him!]

Youngjae smiled and penetrated deeply to within a step of Greg Monroe. Greg Monroe spread his arms to block Youngjae, but at that moment, Youngjae grabbed the ball with both hands, turned his head to the left, and stretched out both arms to the left with all his might.

“?!”

Monroe unknowingly took a step forward and extended his right hand in the direction Youngjae was looking. But Youngjae immediately pulled the ball into his arms and took a long step forward.

“Ha!!”

One step was a little short, but the two steps were stretched out as long as possible, stepping on the court and pushing off with all his might until the end. Youngjae, who had smoothly passed by Monroe, jumped up to the rim that no one was blocking and slammed both hands down on the rim.

Thwack!!

[OHHH!!! YES!!! THAT’S IT!!!]

[Youngjae Yoon successfully executes the fake that Kyrie Irving failed! Kyrie Irving, who was watching the scene from behind, has a look on his face as if he’s chewing something unpleasant! It’s a play by Youngjae Yoon that properly shows the difference in experience today!]

Youngjae landed lightly from the rim and made a heart with his thumbs and index fingers, looking at where Emily was. The heart went high above Youngjae’s head, and the camera naturally captured the audience section that Youngjae was looking at.

[Haha! Is it a serenade of love?! Youngjae Yoon!]

[Ah! Actress and singer Emily Kinney, who is appearing in *The Walking Dead*, is at the Amway Center! Haha! What a lovely couple!]

Emily, who was sitting in the front row of the audience and watching the game, shyly waved her hand when she saw her appearance being captured on camera, and the audience was even more excited by Youngjae’s playful heart ceremony. As the heated first quarter ended, Orlando’s Amway Center was further eliciting the audience’s response with exciting events to match the heated atmosphere.

“Now!! Who will be the first couple for the Kiss Cam??!!”

Kiss Cam. It was an event where affectionate couples were captured in a two-shot, and the couples in the two-shot would kiss. The more passionate the kiss, the more prizes they would receive. It was an event that was often held, so the audience didn’t have much aversion or unfamiliarity, but it was the perfect event for an atmosphere that was as heated as it was now.

The first was a man and woman who looked like a mother and son. The son smiled and kissed his mother in her arms, and the people around them applauded. The second couple seemed to be a couple in their early 20s who had just started dating, and they shyly glanced at each other, then the woman suddenly rushed in and kissed her boyfriend’s lips almost as if she was crashing into them.

“Haha! What if all her front teeth break while doing that! Anyway, congratulations to both of you on your first kiss!”

At the MC’s shout, the audience at the Amway Center laughed, applauded, and cheered. The two people’s faces turned red, but seeing the two people, who couldn’t even hold hands before the kiss, now holding hands and smiling with their shoulders touching, the audience wished them blessings in their future.

After the third and fourth passionate kisses ended, the MC looked around to find the last couple.

‘Hmm?’

At that moment, the MC, who discovered a woman with an unusual appearance in the distance, sent a signal to the cameraman, and the cameraman smiled and fixed the camera on the place the MC had told him.

“Now! The last couple is here!!”

“Huh?”

The person captured on camera was none other than Emily, and the players were walking out of the locker room at the right timing.

“Ah, I, I…”

Emily was flustered and couldn’t say anything, and Youngjae couldn’t help but gasp in shock as soon as he came out of the locker room, seeing Emily being shown largely on the electronic display.

‘Kiss… cam?’

The words written in the lower right corner were clearly Kiss Cam. Youngjae hesitated about what to do, and Emily was just fanning herself with her face flushed red.

============================ Author’s Afterword ============================

★Thank you to those who gave advance subscriptions, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

＠Since it’s an event game, the game is focused on flashiness. I’m trying to depict scenes that are hard to see in regular games. And events too. If Youngjae and Wall were a 1-2 punch combination, it would be the strongest in all 30 teams based on the 11-12 season. No matter how you combine the guards of Team Shaq, which is composed only of players in their second year or less, it can’t be handled. Griffin can’t guard guards like LeBron or Leonard either.

Mukhon 乃: Oh, you’re fast, haha.

Rango: Since it’s an event, it’ll only be a slight mood down. If that happens in the regular season or playoffs, their mentality will be shattered for months.

Thank you for your comments, Sarajiyeonghon, Omariyon, misscherry, Painensia, -DarkANGEL-, and Lee Dongseokdong!!

Ultra10: For 2 years, from 11-12 to 12-13 seasons, Shaq and Barkley’s teams compete like this, and in the 13-14 season, Hill and Webber compete. And in the 14-15 season, the American team and the non-American team compete. Seeing them constantly trying to make changes, it seems like the popularity or topicality is not meeting expectations.

H0H: Haha, well, Shaquille O’Neal picks players with an entertainment feel. He lightly responds even if they provoke him.

Blue Gurnard: Haha, thank you for the compliment. If only the game is included without daily life, it becomes too monotonous. Love scenes are… a light seasoning? Hehe.