He Ximeng jogged to the basket and passed the ball to Kobe.
Kobe, looking dejected, passed the ball back to He Ximeng. He Ximeng controlled the ball mid-court, but this time, Kobe didn't give him easy space to advance.
Kobe crouched down, adopting a strong defensive stance, trying to steal the ball from He Ximeng.
He Ximeng went with the flow, using a seemingly clumsy dribble-break move to bait Kobe into stealing, then as Kobe shifted his weight to the right, he spun around and blew past the aggressive Kobe...
"Beautiful!" Ginobili on the sidelines offered his cheers without hesitation.
After breaking through Kobe, He Ximeng intended to go for a layup.
However, Kobe chased after him relentlessly from behind, attempting to block He Ximeng. Forced to improvise, He Ximeng chose to hang in the air before performing a reverse layup, evading Kobe's block and scoring with a bank shot.
"Wow~" Ginobili on the sidelines, giving He Ximeng a lot of face, shouted loudly, "3:0!"
After He Ximeng made two consecutive shots, Kobe's expression turned a bit grim.
"If you have the guts, hit another super long three-pointer?"
Kobe taunted as he passed the ball to He Ximeng.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, if you dare, just shoot me to death..."
Before he finished speaking, He Ximeng launched the shot from two steps beyond the three-point line. Even further than the first three-pointer...
Kobe jumped up symbolically to interfere, then prepared to grab the rebound... only to find the ball's trajectory was not good... The angle was right, the force was right, and the ball went in precisely.
"5:0!" Ginobili reminded Kobe that with this round ending, it was his turn to face He Ximeng one-on-one.
"This round doesn't count! Let's go again!" Kobe ignored Ginobili, staring at He Ximeng with deep resentment.
"How about this! Let's count the three-pointer as one. In that case, I lead 3:0, and this round isn't over yet, what do you say?"
Ginobili didn't know how competitive Kobe was, but He Ximeng knew it clearly. If he were to be shut out by He Ximeng and leave, Kobe would probably fixate on He Ximeng and torment him during the upcoming summit... Although He Ximeng wasn't afraid of Kobe, the thought of being harassed by Kobe was terrifying...
He Ximeng gave Kobe a way to save face, slightly reducing Kobe's hostility towards him.
Although Kobe didn't intend to let He Ximeng off the hook, at least, in his eyes, He Ximeng was a sensible person! Skilled and understood the rules...
Ginobili was initially happy to see Kobe defeated by He Ximeng, but when He Ximeng himself said that the previous two three-pointers only counted as one, Ginobili, as an outsider, naturally couldn't say anything more.
In the next play, Kobe stuck to He Ximeng like glue, neither giving He Ximeng space to shoot easily nor enduring the temptation to steal. He Ximeng deliberately wanted to give Kobe an offensive opportunity, so he shouldered Kobe's defense and shot from beyond the three-point line... As expected, the ball bounced off the rim, and Kobe finally got his chance to counterattack!
Kobe's first possession was a face-up drive against He Ximeng. Relying on his powerful core strength, he drove deep into the paint and, after jumping, scored with a small floater while hanging in the air.
For the second possession, Kobe again drove head-on, faked a behind-the-back dribble, and then drove left with a change of direction, finishing with a left-handed layup!
For the third possession, Kobe faked a drive at the three-point line with a crossover, seemingly preparing to break through, but instead, he suddenly pulled up and hit a three-pointer!
After making the shot, Kobe gave He Ximeng a finger, likely saying: "I returned your three-pointer!"
For the fourth possession, Kobe pretended to continue shooting from beyond the three-point line, luring He Ximeng's weight forward. He then used a right-handed sidestep drive to blow past He Ximeng and soared for a powerful one-handed slam dunk!
For the final possession, Kobe, wanting to return He Ximeng's two three-pointers, insisted on shooting from beyond the three-point line despite He Ximeng's close defense... Honestly, this choice was not wise. But the basketball was very kind to Kobe, bouncing once before falling back into the hoop...
With a 5:0 run, Kobe successfully reversed the game and defeated He Ximeng!
Frankly, without teammate assistance, He Ximeng simply couldn't defend Kobe!
Kobe's skills were all mature, and his strength was truly unmatched among high school students.
After defeating He Ximeng, Kobe's disdain for him lessened considerably. He even waved Ginobili over.
"Come here, you two losers, let's introduce ourselves!"
"I'm Kobe Bryant from Lower Marion High School!"
"Manu Ginobili, from Bahia Blanca High School, Argentina!"
"He Ximeng, from Zhuji Middle School, China!"
"Welcome to America! I've already trained for two hours and am now a bit hungry. Are you guys interested in going for a burger together?"
He Ximeng and Ginobili both shook their heads. They had arrived at the stadium one after another and hadn't even properly warmed up yet!
"Alright then!" Kobe didn't insist, "Tomorrow, after the summit training camp ends, we'll meet here again, see you then..."
Kobe finished giving instructions to the two defeated opponents and turned to leave directly, without waiting for He Ximeng and Ginobili's agreement.
"That guy is so bossy!" Ginobili pouted.
Despite the Argentine's friendly appearance, he was actually a proud and rebellious individual!
In Argentina, Ginobili was known for his tough playing style!
"Don't be angry! This guy is the best high school player in America this year. It's rumored that several NBA teams have already scouted him, and he's very likely to participate in this year's draft and be selected in the first round..."
"Really?" After He Ximeng's introduction, Ginobili gained some respect for the Kobe who had just left.
"We'll see how he performs at the summit in the next couple of days, and you'll know!"
"Okay! American high schoolers are indeed quite strong... By the way, you don't look weak either? How about we have a game?" Ginobili looked eager.
"There's plenty of time! We'll be on the same team from now on, won't we have chances to spar? Today, let's just warm up and get familiar with the court!"
"That makes sense! Then how about we each take half the court?"
"No problem!"
...
He Ximeng originally planned to warm up for half an hour and leave, but after finishing his warm-up, he couldn't resist and played one-on-one with Ginobili for another half hour.
However, neither of them used their full strength, focusing on familiarizing themselves with each other.
By the time He Ximeng left the stadium, it was already dark. He Ximeng quickly bought a burger and returned to the dormitory.
Da Zhi almost thought He Ximeng had gotten lost and was about to call Quicken for help...
"Why did you take so long?"
"Met some interesting guys and played for a while... I'll introduce you tomorrow at the summit..."
The next day, as He Ximeng and Da Zhi took the elevator downstairs to head to the court, the elevator stopped on the 8th floor, and two familiar figures walked in.