Game Seven took place on June 5th.
On this day, Chen Yu and the United States Team, having finished their warm-up matches, set off for Germany—or rather, a small town called Rodenbach. Before their departure, Contiguglia had temporarily changed the United States Team’s base camp, relocating it to the Ramstein Air Force Base near Rodenbach.
Chen Yu asked Contiguglia for the specific reason. According to him, they had received intelligence that someone was targeting the United States Team. For security reasons, they had no choice but to change locations. Moving to a military base was undoubtedly the safest option.
Changing the base camp wasn’t a big deal in itself. Ramstein Air Force Base was fully equipped with everything they could possibly need. The problem was the inconvenience it caused Chen Yu. He had promised Beckenbauer that he would stay in Berlin during the World Cup to provide medical services for all participating teams. Now, Rodenbach was over five hundred kilometers away from Berlin. As the team doctor for the United States Team, Chen Yu couldn’t just abandon them during the group stage.
Chen Yu discussed this with Contiguglia, mentioning that Beckenbauer had also promised to beef up security for the United States Team. However, Contiguglia refused to compromise. This only meant the intelligence was highly credible—someone really was plotting against the United States Team.
Given the circumstances, Chen Yu had no choice but to stand Beckenbauer up. He was also afraid of getting caught in the crossfire and compromising his own safety. If any players were accidentally injured, they could just be sent over to the base. It had a large hospital with comprehensive medical equipment. He would simply wait until the United States Team was eliminated in the group stage. Although he didn’t want it to happen, it was highly likely to be the outcome. Therefore, it wouldn’t be too late to head to Berlin once the United States Team was knocked out, returned to the United States, and the crisis was resolved.
While Chen Yu accepted the situation, Alina complained incessantly, cursing that the men’s soccer team was treated like an unwanted stepchild. Giving up a five-star hotel in Berlin to live in a base dormitory was absolute torture.
He even pointed out the Dream Team as a comparison. "During the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the Dream Team also opted out of staying in the Olympic Village for security reasons," Alina griped. "But how were they accommodated? They chartered a luxury cruise ship. It’s fine if it’s for security, but you could have at least booked a luxury cruise for us too!"
Even after entering the base and meeting Contiguglia, Alina still gave him the cold shoulder. Knowing he was in the wrong, Contiguglia offered a few simple words of comfort before walking over to speak with Chen Yu. He also introduced Chen Yu to the base commander, Seth Macmillan.
Three gleaming silver stars adorned his epaulets. His rank was certainly not low. Chen Yu wasn’t particularly impressed. He frequently met with the President, so a general was nothing out of the ordinary. However, Macmillan was extremely enthusiastic, chatting with him the entire way to the dormitories.
"So what you’re saying is, you want me to set aside some time to diagnose and treat your pilots," Chen Yu said. He had finally grasped Macmillan’s true intentions after listening to the lengthy pitch.
Macmillan nodded hastily, his face full of anticipation. The world’s top orthopedic surgeon, the absolute god of the field, the highest authority—now that he had finally met him, how could he let the opportunity slip?
"I’m very expensive, and I’m very busy. Most importantly, you have too many people." Chen Yu wanted to refuse. There were tens of thousands of personnel on this base.
"Chen, I’m only talking about the pilots," Macmillan quickly clarified. Other than the highly valued pilots, no one else was worth seeking Chen Yu’s treatment.
"That’s still a lot." There were several wings stationed there; the pilots alone numbered in the hundreds.
Macmillan immediately changed his approach, claiming they had plenty of money and guaranteed Chen Yu would be satisfied. If prestige couldn’t sway him, money would have to do. He was well aware of Chen Yu’s steep fees. As the world’s top expert, countless wealthy businessmen and celebrities lined up to see him. If a patient didn’t first cough up a consultation fee of ten thousand US dollars, they wouldn’t even have the nerve to step through his clinic’s doors.
At the mention of money, Chen Yu sighed silently. This whole situation made it seem like he had come to the World Cup just to earn some extra cash.
"Alright," Chen Yu gave a slight nod. He might as well treat it as a money-making opportunity. Recently, he and Lexi had been considering having a second child. With more kids, he needed to work even harder to earn money.
Right now, however, Chen Yu’s primary concern was the Game Seven showdown between the Phoenix Suns and the Pioneer. Everything hinged on this single game.
Late that night, in a large conference room on the base, Chen Yu, Contiguglia, Alina, Macmillan, and a few on-duty officers gathered together to watch the game. Macmillan even specifically wore a Hardaway jersey, claiming the Phoenix Suns were his team. That was utter nonsense—he was a New Yorker. Out of ten basketball fans in New York, nine were fans of the Nicks.
Seeing the starting lineups for both teams, Chen Yu suddenly frowned. The Phoenix Suns had surprisingly kept their lineup from the second half of Game Six, continuing to push Nowitzki into the center position. On the flip side, the Pioneer had changed their formation again, bringing on Salemport. Randolph was still benched by Rivers.
This lineup change essentially meant they were abandoning the fast-paced style they used in Game Six. Could it be that they had actually believed the reporters’ nonsense?
Chen Yu had been paying attention to the media’s rubbish, and he vaguely sensed something abnormal. It felt as if someone was deliberately fueling the flames. Perhaps it was the league. For instance, they might have wanted to spark some discussion. With the Pioneer’s rise over the past two years, their run-and-gun style had attracted significant attention.
Some were optimistic, feeling that the fast pace and smooth coordination made the games highly entertaining. However, there were also many detractors who felt it was too untraditional, as if the center position had become entirely dispensable. From the league’s perspective, since there was controversy, they might as well let it play out, allow the discussion, and test the waters. Therefore, after the two teams scored a massive 223 points combined, it was the perfect opportunity.
But no matter what the media said, a head coach shouldn’t let himself be influenced. Chen Yu genuinely thought the Pioneer had played very well in the previous game. Their offense had been fluid, and they hadn’t completely abandoned their defense. Their shooting touch had just been a bit off in the second half. If they had stuck to their guns, they really would have had a chance.
Then there were the Phoenix Suns. Chen Yu didn’t believe that Skiles was unaware of the Pioneer’s starting lineup before the game. Since he knew it, what was he thinking by choosing this starting roster? Since the Pioneer had abandoned their extreme fast pace, why was he adopting it instead? Was he really not afraid of coordination issues?
Since the Pioneer had given it up, the Phoenix Suns should have just stuck to the tactics they used in Games Four and Five. They had won Game Five, so their chances of winning Game Seven would definitely be high as well.
Chen Yu took out his phone, hesitating over whether he should send a message to ask Nelson. When the camera panned over the Phoenix Suns’ bench just now, Chen Yu had spotted Nelson on the sidelines. But he was also afraid that asking too many questions might affect Skiles’s judgment.
Amidst his inner conflict, the game began.
By pushing Nowitzki to the center position, the Phoenix Suns didn’t achieve the Pioneer’s blazing speed of completing an offensive play in just a few seconds, but they certainly weren’t slow either. To Chen Yu’s surprise, the Phoenix Suns seized the initiative right from the opening tip-off.
In the first quarter, Nowitzki’s shooting touch was excellent. He single-handedly scored 11 points in the quarter, leading the team to a high score of 31 points. With a quarter score of 31 to 25, they took a 6-point lead.
In this do-or-die Game Seven, neither team made many rotations. Nowitzki rested for barely over a minute before stepping back onto the court. In the second quarter, the Phoenix Suns’ shooting remained hot. They drained four three-pointers, dropping another massive 33 points. They scored exactly 64 points in the first half, taking a commanding 10-point lead over the Pioneer.
Chen Yu suddenly realized that with the Pioneer slowing their pace, the entire first half was practically a carbon copy of the first half of Game Six. The only difference was that the Phoenix Suns were now the ones scoring 60-plus points in a half.
Chen Yu crossed his arms, falling into deep thought. The game was getting quite interesting.
At that moment, the camera panned to Rivers on the sidelines. He stood by the court, a look of utter bewilderment written all over his face. In that instant, Rivers’s mind went completely blank. Down by 10 points at the half.
"Could I really be on the verge of blowing a 3-1 lead?" he thought.

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