Chapter 34: A Stunning Finish, A Historic Moment
"There are only two minutes left in the game, and Texas is trailing by six! Kevin Durant, one of their core players, has already fouled out. This might be their toughest moment yet!"
From the commentary booth, Mike Breen's voice rang out, full of intensity.
Van Gundy nodded beside him. "Florida's feeling the pressure too. If they lose here, they won't just miss a shot at back-to-back titles—they could tank the draft stock of several guys on this roster."
Mike added, "It all comes down to these final two minutes. Let's see what these two teams are made of."
---
University of Texas Bench
As Coach Rick Barnes diagrammed the final plays, Chen Yan stared up at the scoreboard.
Down by 6. It wasn't the biggest deficit ever—but it was the largest gap Texas had faced all night.
A line suddenly echoed in his mind—something Takehiko Inoue, author of Slam Dunk, once wrote: Youth is full of regrets...
Chen Yan clenched his fists.
Regrets?
No. That's what losers say.
Real youth is about giving everything you've got—leaving no regrets behind.
As Barnes wrapped up the huddle, Chen stepped forward, clapped his hands, and gathered the team.
"Listen up!" he said, eyes scanning each of his teammates. "I'm not gonna give some long speech. We've got two minutes left. All we need to do is take our shots—one after another!"
He paused, voice hardening.
"We deserve to win. But that doesn't mean they're gonna hand it to us. We gotta take it."
The Longhorns raised their hands together in unison.
"One! Two! Three! TEXAS LONGHORNS!"
Before stepping back on the floor, Chen Yan walked up to Durant. The freshman phenom had a towel draped over his head, looking crushed by his disqualification.
"KD, this isn't your last NCAA game," Chen said, patting his shoulder. "I got the rest."
Durant offered a weak nod and a handshake but stayed silent, still shaken by the foul-out.
---
Back to the Game
BZZZZT! Timeout over. Action resumed.
"DEFENSE!"
"DEFENSE!"
"DEFENSE!"
The Gators' fans roared as DJ Augustin brought the ball past half court.
Augustin came off a screen, drove to the elbow, and spun before dumping the ball to Chen Yan near the wing.
The moment Chen touched it, he exploded left off the dribble. If he hesitated for even a second, Florida's double-team would've closed in.
Brewer met him step for step, sticking close. He'd been torched by Chen all night, but he wasn't giving up now.
Then—Chen slowed down.
A hesitation. A phantom step.
Then a no-look overhead pass fake.
Brewer bit on it—just for a second—and that was enough. Chen slipped past him and kissed the ball high off the glass before Horford and Noah could rotate.
Smooth. Efficient. Ice-cold.
Brewer shook his head.
If he didn't go full speed, Chen would've had the lane.
If he did go full speed, Chen would shake him with a rhythm break.
Unstoppable.
But despite the highlight, Florida still held the edge. Up four with 1:45 left, they weren't panicking yet.
---
Florida's Possession
Taurean Green walked the ball up slowly, controlling the tempo. The Gator fans were deafening.
"DEFENSE!"
"DEFENSE!"
Now the Texas fans fired back, turning the arena into a battleground.
Security guards lined the fan sections. Without them, there might've been real brawls in the stands.
With 10 seconds left on the shot clock, Green dumped it into Horford down low. Florida's go-to scorer didn't hesitate. A quick spin, soft hook—
Bucket.
83–77. Gators back up by six. Only 1:23 remaining.
The Florida fans erupted again. In their minds, the win was all but sealed.
---
But Then—
Chen Yan cracked open the floodgates.
Receiving the inbound, he faced a double-team from Brewer and Frahn. But Chen's footwork was masterful—tight handles, crossovers, spins.
He was running on fumes, but so were the Gators.
At this point, it wasn't just about stamina—it was about will.
Chen danced around the pressure, and just when it looked like he had nowhere to go—
He split the defenders.
Straight down the middle.
Noah rotated hard—he and Brewer both went up.
Didn't matter.
Chen rose between them, shifted midair, and flipped in a hanging layup with the contact.
"BEEP!"
Whistle.
AND ONE!
Chen crashed to the floor, then jumped up, arms raised, roaring to the crowd.
The building shook.
"Chen has a crazy way of turning a neutral court into a home game," Van Gundy laughed.
"He plays with so much fire, you can't help but root for him," Breen added.
Even the commentators had to hold themselves back from jumping out of their seats.
---
Free Throw Line
Bang!
Missed it.
But Damian James soared into the lane, slapped the rebound out—right into Chen's hands!
Without even thinking, Chen drove again—this time a direct cut to the rim.
One step. Two. Glide. Slam.
A violent glide-by layup!
SWISH!
The arena exploded.
"OH!!!!!!!"
The crowd lost its mind. That was a 2+2 combo!
Chen Yan had just dropped four straight points in ten seconds.
Texas was now down by just 2.
And Chen?
48 points.
Van Gundy immediately covered his ears.
"The cheers are insane! It feels like a 3.5-magnitude earthquake just hit the entire arena!"
(TL: Yeah even me i feel the energy here)
Even Lakers legends Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were visibly shaken. They shook their heads as they talked among themselves.
No one could hear what they were saying, but it was obvious—they were talking about Chen Yan.
Florida head coach Billy Donovan had no choice but to call a timeout.
The stadium was rocking. There was no way to run a play with that kind of energy flooding the court.
After the break, Texas came out swinging—pressing full court, trying to shift the momentum.
But Florida wasn't letting this game slip through their fingers so easily. With sharp passing to break the press, Joakim Noah attacked the rim hard and drew a foul on Damian James!
Swish!
He calmly sank the first free throw.
But the second one clanked off the rim! The ball popped high in the air—and chaos erupted under the basket.
Bodies collided in a scrum, and in the end, Al Horford came down with the huge offensive rebound!
He made a clutch play—but it wasn't over.
The moment Horford turned and tried to kick the ball out—Chen Yan was already there.
He knew it was coming.
[God-Level Steal] Activated.
His body was running on fumes, but this moment called for greatness.
Snap!
Chen Yan leaped, snatching the ball right out of the air!
Using the momentum from his forward drive, he blew past Corey Brewer with a lightning-quick move—steal and go!
Horford could only curse himself.
Why didn't I secure that pass!?
But it was too late. Chen Yan was already a blur, sprinting ahead into transition.
"Stop him! Don't let him score!" Coach Donovan screamed from the sidelines.
Too late.
Chen Yan cut through the lane like wind—smooth, fast, unstoppable.
Taurean Green trailed behind him but didn't even dare to contest. He knew what was coming.
With just over 40 seconds left, and Texas down one, Chen Yan soared toward the rim and finished the layup!
The pressure on Florida's defenders was sky-high. No one wanted to foul and give him a possible 2+1. That might have cracked the game wide open.
Florida brought the ball past half court slowly.
They were still clinging to a 1-point lead. They had to milk the clock—drag it out and force Texas into a late-game situation.
With five seconds left on the shot clock, Brewer ran off a screen from the corner and got an open look.
He rose and fired without hesitation.
The shot looked good—but it rimmed out!
Brewer turned toward the referee, signaling he'd been hit on the wrist.
No whistle.
At this point in the game, the refs tend to let the players play. Unless it's blatant, no one's getting that call.
Florida fans gasped.
Chen Yan had already grabbed the rebound and was pushing the break.
Texas still had one timeout left, but Chen Yan waved it off—motioning to Coach Rick Barnes on the sideline.
He wanted the last shot. No stoppage. No trap. No risk of not getting the ball back.
Everyone in the building knew—this was his moment.
He pushed the ball into the front court.
Right wing.
Sixty-degree angle from the basket.
Three seconds left.
Suddenly—he crossed through the legs, cut inside sharply.
Florida's defense collapsed.
Taurean Green at the top of the key left D.J. Augustin wide open, rotating over for the double-team.
At the free-throw line, Chen Yan rose—Brewer right on him.
As he jumped, Chen twisted his body in mid-air like he was about to pass...
Green hesitated.
Was it a dish to the corner?
Nope.
In one smooth motion, Chen snapped his core back around and launched the shot!
His balance was ridiculous—superhuman. Even his teammates didn't expect it.
D.J. Augustin had his hands up ready to catch... only to realize Chen had pulled the trigger himself.
Bang!
The basketball sliced through the air and hit nothing but net.
Game over. Lights on. Pandemonium.
The crowd erupted into a deafening roar—decibel levels soared past 140. It was like the roof had been blown off the building.
Mike Breen's voice echoed through the broadcast booth—
"BANG!!"
His iconic call hit with force.
He only reserved it for the most epic shots.
Tonight? He let it rip.
The Texas bench exploded. Every player swarmed Chen Yan.
Kevin Durant sprinted over first. This shot didn't just save the team—it saved him.
Chen Yan took off Durant's mask of pain—and handed that agony straight to Florida.
Joakim Noah dropped to the floor, hands on his head, eyes red with tears.
The moment the ball went in, he broke down.
He had imagined losing—but never like this.
A buzzer beater.
The cruelest way to fall.
Everything they worked for—gone in a single moment.
Fans who hated Noah? They loved it. They had more fuel now. Another meme. Another collapse.
Coach Rick Barnes ran across the sideline like a man possessed—arms flailing, face flushed, yelling at the top of his lungs.
He didn't care how he looked.
They had done it.
The Texas Longhorns were going to the NCAA Finals—for the first time in history.
Chen Yan's miracle shot had made history.
In the stands, Longhorns fans screamed, hugged, and high-fived everyone in sight.
People were tossing beers in the air—drenching the front rows—but no one cared.
Not tonight.
Texas was going to the championship.
All of Austin was about to explode.
Fans had waited decades for this moment.
"Let's congratulate the Texas Longhorns on reaching the finals!" Mike Breen said, still catching his breath. "Chen Yan just punched their ticket to the biggest stage next Monday! And to the University of Florida—thank you for giving us one hell of a game. We hope to see you back stronger next year."
Van Gundy couldn't help adding a jab.
"Florida might be back next year… but let's be real—most of their starters are headed to the NBA."
He wasn't wrong.
Before March Madness even tipped off, several Florida players had declared for the draft.
And just like that, the final seconds of their college careers… ended with a dagger from Chen Yan.
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