Y13 [EN]: Chapter 259

Y13-259

00259 2011-2012 Playoff Round 1 ==========================================================================

※ Please make sure to read today’s afterword.

[Tyson Chandler! Comes to the top and blocks Chris Paul!]

At that moment, Youngjae began to move past Chandler’s screen. Now, hovering between the 29th and 30th minute, Youngjae was in better physical condition compared to Paul. Moreover, Youngjae didn’t have as much mental burden as Paul. Paul tried to force his dragging feet to get past Chandler’s screen, but he couldn’t catch up.

“Ugh!”

[Chris Paul pushed back! And Youngjae Yoon leisurely penetrates to the high post!]

[Blake Griffin rushes forward!]

At that moment, Youngjae, spotting Terry skillfully cutting in along the baseline from the right side, rushed towards Griffin in what seemed like a reckless move. Then, he stopped abruptly, stepped back, and unleashed a razor-sharp bounce pass that grazed Griffin’s side.

[Y13 TO JET!!!]

[Exquisite cut-in and bounce pass! Jason Terry goes up for the layup without hesitation!]

Terry was about to easily lay the ball in, but his vision was suddenly blocked by a sky-blue uniform, causing him to panic. Due to DeAndre Jordan’s tremendous cover play, who was guarding Nowitzki, Terry had no choice but to shoot a forced shot to avoid getting blocked.

Thud!

[Jason Terry’s forced shot hits only the backboard and falls!]

[Now there’s not much attack time left!]

Because the ball didn’t even touch the rim, the shot clock continued to run down, and the falling ball was contested by Chandler, who had moved to the basket after setting the screen, and Griffin, who was covering Youngjae. Griffin had the advantage in jumping ability, but with a significant difference in standing reach from the start, it was absurd to expect Griffin to grab the rebound against Chandler without properly boxing him out.

Thwack!!!

[The ball hits the backboard! Chandler forcefully taps it out!]

Chandler, judging that it would be difficult to secure the ball, attempted a tap (the act of hitting the ball) rather than trying to catch it forcefully. After all, there would likely be more Dallas players on the backcourt side.

Swoosh!!

The player who received the ball that Chandler tapped out was none other than Dallas’s ace, wearing the number 13. It was Youngjae.

[Y13 FOR THREE!!!!]

Beeeep!

Thanks to the incredibly quick release after catching the ball, it left his hand just before the shot clock expired. Even in that urgent situation, Youngjae shot with precise form, and although it wasn’t the usual high-arching rainbow shot, the ball flew with a low trajectory close to a straight line.

Thud!

Swish!!!

[BAAAAAANG!!!!!!!]

[Big shot!!! This is truly a big shot!!! Y13!!!! The Dallas Mavericks’ curse that Chris Paul and Blake Griffin can’t control!!! The curse cannot be broken!]

[The score is 93 to 83!!! The 7 points become a 10-point difference!!! LA Clippers must be losing steam!!!]

Youngjae made eye contact with Parsons, who was standing up from the bench and waving a towel, and performed the archery ceremony, and Parsons also enthusiastically mimicked the motion of drawing a bow.

ARCHER!!!!!

ARCHER!!!!!

[Tens of thousands of fans are shouting at Y13, the sharpshooter! Y13, truly a big shot! A big shot reminiscent of Robin Hood!!]

[With this, he’s recorded 8/13, including 2/4 from three-point range, in 30 minutes of today’s game!!! Plus 4/4 from free throws, he’s currently at 22 points and 9 assists. It looks like a double-double is possible, truly amazing!]

Clippers’ players and coaching staff, including coach Vinny Del Negro, were losing steam. That last three-pointer had really poured cold water on them. They thought they had defended it properly, but for it to become a three-pointer widened the score gap and dealt a significant mental blow.

[Only 3 minutes left! Can the Clippers overcome this trial?]

The Clippers players were disheartened, but they resolved to do their best with the remaining time. They couldn’t possibly give up already in the playoffs. Giving up the game was the coach’s prerogative, and they had to do their best on the court. That was the best they could do for the fans around the world who came to watch the game and supported them through the media. They couldn’t survive in the NBA without that level of professionalism.

Swish- swish-

[Youngjae Yoon to Dirk Nowitzki, Dirk Nowitzki, as soon as Blake Griffin sticks to him, immediately kicks out the pass!]

[Jason Terry, dribbles the ball for a moment and then passes it back to Youngjae Yoon.]

[Dallas doesn’t need to rush, right? They can use the full 24 seconds and solve it with a set offense.]

In contrast, Dallas was cleverly finishing the game. As if preparing for any possible counterattacks, they thoroughly slowed down the tempo with a set offense, and as the passes continued like an endless, unbroken chain, the Clippers’ defensive rotation began to self-destruct.

“Alright, try it!”

Terry, thoroughly enjoying himself, dribbled the ball low and quickly back and forth between his legs in front of Randy Foye. He was even performing by shaking his upper body irregularly from side to side, making Randy Foye feel humiliated.

[Haha! Jason Terry’s performance is amazing!]

[He’s openly doing a dangerous dribble as if telling him to steal it, but Randy Foye can’t do anything!]

Like a wily snake, Terry recovered the ball with his right hand as soon as Foye reacted, and safely protected the ball behind him with his left shoulder forward. Foye was furious and panting, but Terry smirked and slowly moved to the right.

“Foye!!!”

Paul’s shout was useless, and Foye was blocked by Marion, and as soon as Foye was caught on the screen, Caron Butler rushed at Terry, but Terry was already soaring as soon as Marion set the screen.

[J.E.T !!!! FOR THREE!!!]

Swish!

[BAAANG!!!!]

[The devil’s jet bombing the Clippers! That’s Jason Terry! Haha! This one shot is decisive!!! Only 1 minute left! The score is 99 to 87!!!]

Jason Terry, seeing the clean three-pointer go in, was excited and spread his arms wide to the sides, imitating a jet as he went back to the backcourt. In fact, the game was over, but coach Vinny Del Negro did not call back the starters. Rest was important, but regaining momentum at the end would increase the chances of winning the second game in two days.

[Coach Vinny Del Negro doesn’t bother to take out the starters. The LA Clippers players fought hard in enemy territory, but it’s not enough! Only 30 seconds left!]

Chris Paul, making an effort to shake off Youngjae despite DeAndre Jordan’s clumsy screen. He could lose, but he refused a listless defeat.

“Get out of the way!”

Paul put his shoulder into Youngjae and began to penetrate roughly. Youngjae, with respect for Chris Paul, thought that he had to do his best defense, even if he collapsed from exhaustion.

Swish-

[Youngjae Yoon’s steal attempts that penetrate fiercely from moment to moment! The hand that stretches out like Lance is a skillful hand!]

But Paul didn’t give in easily. The experience of hard-carrying the team alone in the ace position for a much longer period than Youngjae was a tremendous asset. Based on that asset, Paul showed a 모습 [demeanor] that didn’t 밀리지 [yield] against Youngjae, and Youngjae was struggling against such Paul.

“Keuh!”

But the innate physical limitations were like a destiny that even Paul couldn’t avoid. Youngjae’s size and speed were difficult for Paul to match. He looked around momentarily, but the other players were already holding their positions and not showing much movement.

[Chris Paul eventually goes up! A floater shot over Youngjae Yoon!]

Youngjae thought Paul would aim for a mid-range jumper, but he was surprised that he shot a floater instead. But Youngjae, who didn’t repeat the mistake from before, was ready to react no matter what gesture Paul made, and the moment the ball floated high, Youngjae stretched out his right hand and was able to lightly scrape the bottom of the ball that left Paul’s hand.

Clang!

[MISS!!! Paul’s floater ends up being rejected by the rim!!!]

[He mainly plays mid-range, so he might have been careless about preparing for floaters, but it seems Youngjae Yoon’s defense takes everything into account!]

Paul stopped both feet that were running only after seeing that even the floater had grazed Youngjae’s fingertips. Today’s game was a complete defeat. It was a game that had to be acknowledged cleanly.

It was the last Dallas attack with about 15 seconds left, but when the score difference is large, it was customary to finish the last possession without attacking. Youngjae dribbled the ball leisurely, and the players watched the clock while loosening up and resting.

Beeeep!!!

[Game over! With this, the first game of the Western Conference Playoffs Round 1! The winner is the home team Dallas Mavericks!]

[99 to 89! In the end, they fail to narrow the 10-point difference and it ends!]

Paul looked at Youngjae as soon as the game was over, and Youngjae also stared straight ahead without avoiding Paul’s gaze.

“I lost. Today is my defeat.”

Paul nodded as if he was relieved, then reached out his hand, and Youngjae smiled slightly and accepted Paul’s handshake.

“Today, you’re the one who brought the Clippers this far. Paul.”

“But I lost. Losing makes everything useless. I struggled and led the team this far, but I lost. This is a comment I’ve heard so much that I’m sick of it for years.”

Paul, recalling his time in New Orleans, let out a faint sigh. But Youngjae felt sorry for Paul, but he didn’t want to sympathize or go easy on him at all.

“Sorry, but that doesn’t mean I’ll back down.”

“I know. That’s why I hate it more.”

Seeing Chris Paul smiling playfully as usual even while saying he hated it, Youngjae also smiled brightly and lightly hugged Paul, and Paul handed Youngjae the black arm sleeve he was wearing.

“It’s good to wash and use.”

With those words, Paul strode towards the locker room.

“…”

Youngjae stared at Paul’s arm sleeve, then put it on his arm and applauded the fans, fully enjoying the victory of the game.

“Hoo, you worked hard today, Yoon. We lost today.”

Next, it was Griffin who came to hug him. They had met separately a few times, so they had some level of friendship.

“Yeah. You did well today too. Let’s both do our best in the remaining games.”

“Of course. I have no intention of backing down at all.”

Griffin also looked Youngjae in the eye, and Youngjae smiled first and gave Griffin a light hug. He then lightly hugged the other players and finished the game.

“Ootchya!”

Youngjae was wearing an arm sleeve while practicing, which he didn’t usually wear. It might be because it was the arm sleeve he received from Paul, but Youngjae was also thinking that wearing an arm sleeve could prevent unexpected injuries, so he was looking into it.

“This is good.”

He didn’t think Paul would use a common arm sleeve, but it was very elastic and had a protective pad made of soft material on the elbow, so it felt like there was a protective layer on his arm. Youngjae shot satisfactorily and wiped the sweat off with a towel.

“…”

Time passed quickly, already entering March 2012, and in yesterday’s game, Dallas was able to turn on the green light to pass the first round of the playoffs. On March 5, Dallas won the fourth game held at the Clippers’ home, thus securing 2 wins at home and 1 win and 1 loss on the road, for a total of 3 wins and 1 loss, putting them in a much more advantageous position than the LA Clippers.

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

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

＠ Um, I have something to tell you. It’s something that’s been talked about for a while, but I’ve been holding off on telling you because it wasn’t confirmed. I thought it would be right to tell you in advance, so I’m telling you today.

After talking with my parents, I’m going to study abroad. My parents’ friend’s son (I know him to some extent) is going to study abroad, and they told me to go with him. So I think I’ll be leaving the country in mid-to-late January. I wanted to finish this novel neatly, but since I started writing it in my fourth year of college, I couldn’t succeed in getting a job right away, so it turned out like this. It would have been nice if I had gotten a job… Almost all of my close classmates are either graduating or taking a leave of absence. I try to comfort myself by thinking that I’m not the only one who’s not doing well;;; I’m really sorry that I couldn’t finish it to the end.

So I think I’ll have to put it on hiatus after finishing Season 2. I could write a little more if I wanted to, but our conclusion was that it would be better to finish Season 2 neatly and continue writing after returning home, rather than stopping ambiguously in the early part of Season 3. If I stop after finishing Season 2, it will feel like the end of Part 1.

According to the synopsis, there are still more than 120 episodes left from now on, so it’s impossible to run within that period. However, I don’t think it’s appropriate to suddenly finish Season 2 because it doesn’t fit the flow of the story.

This story is written together by two people, so it’s difficult for my younger sibling to finish it alone. My expected return date is the end of June. I’m planning to meet up and write together as soon as I get back. The synopsis is almost complete, so I can write almost immediately. I promise to finish it after I get back. I will post a survival report before returning home.

I’m sorry for the unintended hiatus. I will gladly accept cancellations [of subscriptions]. I just hope that you will wait for me, as I will definitely come back and finish it. I will try to finish Season 2 as neatly as possible so that it feels like the end of Part 1.

＠ I have a feeling that there will be a lot of comments on today’s episode because of the afterword… I’m just sorry that it’s not in a good way. The hiatus doesn’t start today. Season 2 hasn’t finished yet. I’m planning to finish Season 2 in the form of Part 1.

H0h nim/// Thank you for your comment. H0h nim, please take care of your health too ^^.

Ultra10 nim/// As expected, the knee injury took away Paul’s flashiness… His prime 2 years were comparable to Magic Johnson. Moreover, now that he’s getting older, it feels like his performance is not enough to receive the maximum [contract value].

Sarajilyeonghon nim, Lee Dongseokdong nim, ILfasd nim, misscherry nim, Omariyon nim, Painensia nim/// Thank you for your comments!!

-DarkANGEL- nim/// I’m also nervous every time I upload lol.

Jaemijigesalja nim/// Hoo, I’m sorry. I’ve been 고민중 [pondering] about when to tell you for the past few days, but after seeing some recent comments hoping that I would go without a hiatus, I thought I should tell you before it got too late.