"Miley, your boyfriend's not exactly shining tonight," Demi said during halftime, tilting her head toward the court. "He's only made one shot. I thought he was supposed to be the star of the night."
Demi's tone wasn't mocking, but Miley Cyrus still felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
She wasn't sure if Snoopy could turn things around in the second half, but her pride wouldn't let her back down. She clenched her jaw and replied firmly, "Just watch. Snoopy's going to take over the whole game in the second half!"
Demi and Selena Gomez both stretched lazily. Neither of them cared much about basketball, but the company insisted they appear together courtside, smiling, chatting , to prove their friendship was perfectly fine and that the rumored feud over Nick Jonas was pure fiction.
After all, Disney's golden generation of young idols , Miley, Demi, Selena, and the Jonas Brothers , were the crown jewels of the brand. Any scandal would be catastrophic.
They still hadn't recovered from the last PR disaster: when Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan's fight over Aaron Carter had gone public, it had left a permanent stain on Disney's squeaky-clean image.
Now, Lindsay had completely gone off the rails, every tabloid photo showed her either drunk or being hauled out of another luxury store for shoplifting. Hilary, on the other hand, had half-retired; reporters spotted her at football games more often than on TV.
Who knew why she'd fallen for a football player? Maybe it was because, after losing that backstage brawl with Lindsay years ago, she wanted a boyfriend who could actually defend her this time.
Disney's young starlets were always a handful.
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The whistle blew , the second half began.
But much to Miley's dismay, Snoopy didn't return to the floor. Coach Ben Howland still believed that running Luc Mbah a Moute and Brian Wright together would give the team more offensive bite.
Unfortunately, there was a problem: Only one basketball existed on the court, and that ball belonged to Russell Westbrook.
Neither Mbah a Moute nor Wright had the authority (or the skill) to take the ball out of Westbrook's hands and organize the offense. Even Kevin Love couldn't really do that.
So instead of boosting their attack, the Bruins' offense sputtered , and their defense got worse.
Mbah a Moute was a superb wing defender, but his strength was on the perimeter, not in the paint.
Kevin Love could hold his ground one-on-one, but his slow lateral movement and poor rotation awareness made him helpless against Derrick Rose's lightning-fast drives.
Five minutes later, the Bruins' deficit had grown from five to nine.
In that span, Derrick Rose had slashed through the defense for three layups, assisted one three-pointer, and drawn a foul off Joey Dorsey with a pinpoint pass.
If Mbah a Moute hadn't literally grabbed Dorsey in midair, Dorsey would've hammered another dunk and strutted toward the UCLA bench to flex his biceps and taunt Snoopy again.
"UCLA's season is over," sighed Jordan Farmar , once a Bruins star himself , watching from the stands as hope slipped away. "Memphis is just too strong."
The TNT commentators shared the same sentiment.
The Bruins had thrown everything they had onto the floor. Their playbook was empty, their arsenal spent. Maybe if their former floor general Darren Collison could somehow teleport from the hospital to the court, they might spark a comeback.
But Rose was a monster tonight.
"This year's number one pick is locked in," Earl Johnson declared. "Derrick Rose will be the second point guard since 1996 to go first overall , after Allen Iverson and Magic Johnson before him."
"Westbrook's the closest thing to Rose in the NCAA," Kenny Smith added. "But only close. No doubt, he's being outclassed tonight , even if the box score looks even, maybe even leaning Russell's way."
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Ben Howland called a timeout.
Out of plays and options, he turned back to his bench and waved Snoopy in.
"Protect the defensive boards," he said. "And on offense, set solid screens at the elbows. Create space."
The Bruins' morale was low. You could see it in their eyes , that dull, defeated glaze of players already thinking about the offseason.
Before checking in, Snoopy gathered them in a tight huddle.
"Listen up!" he said, voice sharp and commanding. "This game isn't over yet. So stop slumping like lambs waiting for slaughter."
"They're not invincible. Trust me , victory tastes way sweeter than the tears of defeat. If you've got the courage to accept losing, why not use that same courage to fight for a win?"
He thrust his fist forward. "Put your hands on mine. Out there, shoot decisively , no hesitation. I'll protect our glass and fight for every rebound."
He looked each teammate in the eye. "Until I fall, none of you are allowed to give up."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried weight , steady, burning, alive.
"One, two, three!" Snoopy barked.
"Bruins!"
Four voices roared back in unison.
They turned, shoulders squared, and marched back onto the court.
Ben Howland stood frozen on the sideline. Until now, he'd assumed Snoopy , the rich kid from a privileged background , treated basketball as just another hobby, not a battlefield.
But what he'd just seen, that was leadership. Real leadership.
In that moment, Snoopy wasn't a rookie or a substitute. He was a commander. And somehow, even veterans like Mbah a Moute , who'd once bristled at him , were rallying behind his voice.
So this is what charisma looks like, Howland thought, eyebrows raised in awe.
"I can't believe it," Earl Johnson said in the booth. "I thought the team's leader was Kevin Love or Russell Westbrook. Turns out, it's Snoopy. He's UCLA's real spiritual core."
"They look like a completely different team now," Kenny Smith said, leaning forward. "They're moving with purpose again. A few minutes ago, they looked like sheep led to slaughter , now there's a spark. Let's see if it lasts. If this turns into a comeback, we might have a game on our hands."
Charles Barkley snorted. "Emotion only carries you so far. Young players burn hot, but they burn out fast. Once that fire dies, you can't reignite it."
Before he could finish his sentence, Luc Mbah a Moute rose up from the three-point line and fired.
Clang!
The ball hit the rim and bounced high into the air.
Underneath the basket, Joey Dorsey and Snoopy were already locked in a brutal wrestling match , fighting tooth and nail for rebounding position.