Chapter 133: Drawing the Bow and Felling Heroes (Part One)

For all the players on the Frontier Youth Team, Turgun’s status within the squad was beyond question. They admired not just his basketball skills, but more importantly, his passion and dedication to the game.

Imagine a seventeen-year-old boy who did not smoke, did not party, did not play video games, and rarely even watched television. Turgun devoted almost all his spare time to basketball; whenever conditions permitted, he would have a ball in his hands. If that were all, some might dismiss it as a performance, but anyone who had lived with Turgun for any length of time knew just how persistent this young man truly was.

Due to a medical condition, Turgun’s skin was exceptionally delicate—not a sign of health, but an unfortunate side effect of a lack of melanin. Players had seen calluses form on hands and skin scraped raw from play, but once the Frontier teammates saw Turgun’s palms bleeding from excessive ball-handling practice, no one ever doubted him again. In the parlance of the day, his teammates would simply say, "You deserve to be a star!" It was this relentless, death-defying attitude toward training that influenced the entire team, serving as a primary reason for the Frontier Youth Team’s current success.

When Turgun re-entered the game in the second quarter, he was a changed player. While Wang Lei’s words were no magical incantation, their impact on Turgun was profound, opening new doors for this youngster with superstar potential.

The Fujian Youth Team did not realize the shift immediately after Turgun’s first basket; they still viewed him as all flash and no substance. Even Yue Minghua on the sidelines dismissed it as a fleeting fluke. But after the next few possessions, Yue was forced to call a timeout. In the previous four exchanges, Turgun had tallied eight points and an assist.

Having found his rhythm, Turgun became a court jester of sorts. With agile, unpredictable dribbling, every movement seemed like a feint, yet every defensive challenge from the Fujian players was dismantled in ways that defied imagination. A between-the-legs crossover, a pull-back, another change of direction, a shot fake, then another pull-back. After this series of flashy moves, the Fujian defender had completely lost track of the ball. By the time he looked back, Cai Aihong had already cut to the rim for a dunk.

Within just two minutes, spectators who had intended to leave early found themselves sitting back down. By then, the Frontier Youth Team had caught up and overtaken the lead.

During the timeout, Coach Yue Minghua reconfigured his defensive strategy, tightening the coverage on Turgun, but the effect was negligible. Inspired by Turgun, the Frontier Youth Team began to display the intensity Wang Lei had hoped for. Each player’s movement became purposeful, and they began to find their feel for the game. Even though the opposition continued to push with physical contact, the Frontier team had undergone a complete transformation.

In the history of the sport, when the basketball god Michael Jordan first retired, the Chicago Bulls’ roster remained largely unchanged, yet they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals two years in a row, lacking the glory of their three-peat era. This underscored the importance of a core player to a team. As the saying goes, "A train runs fast only if the engine leads." This held true on the basketball court; for the Frontier Youth Team, Turgun was their Jordan and their locomotive.

Fujian’s intensified defense on Turgun inevitably left gaps elsewhere. If Turgun had been a pure scorer, that might have mattered, but he was a point guard with incredible court vision. Fujian’s double-teaming was ineffective; every pass Turgun made threatened the defense. Even when Fujian rotated correctly, the ball would inevitably find its way back to Turgun, and the game would return to his tempo.

In the remainder of the second quarter, Turgun delivered a staggering performance: 14 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Fujian’s defense began to crumble. Forced into a corner, Tang Song ramped up his own offense, taking more shots and relying on individual ability to carry the team. To be fair, Tang Song’s physical gifts were immense. Even when Wang Lei employed a fouling strategy to send him to the line, Tang Song still managed to score; at times, the Frontier team couldn't even foul him fast enough. Neither Hawul nor Cai Aihong could contain him.

Thanks to Tang Song’s eruption, Fujian managed to keep the score from ballooning, but by halftime, the Frontier Youth Team still led by eight points. During the break, Wang Lei praised the team’s performance. Though he routinely encouraged his players, this time he was sincere; the team had withstood the opponent’s rugged play without a hint of hesitation or fear.

As the second half began, Yue Minghua changed tactics again, switching to man-to-man coverage on Turgun while instructing the others to cut off his passing lanes, attempting to stifle the team's overall offense. But the strategy was dealt a blow immediately. Despite the defenders’ focus, no one expected Turgun to be this bold.

Just a step past the mid-court arc, as a Fujian defender moved up to challenge him, the white-haired, seemingly shy Uyghur lad launched the ball. It was a shot from nearly three meters behind the three-point line—certainly not a conventional spot.

From that impossible distance, amid the stunned gazes of everyone in the arena, Turgun shot with absolute conviction. His confidence was infectious. His form was textbook, the ball propelled by the snap of his strong wrists, spinning rapidly with a high, perfect arc.

*Swish.*

As the ball passed through the net, the entire arena went silent for a second before erupting into a roar. In a youth game, even with the boldness of young players, such an act was unheard of. Turgun’s shot redefined the perception of the three-pointer: it turned out that even from that far away, it could go in.