HLM – Chapter 963 Basketball Game

“Through life and death, I make this promise with you.”

The poster had this phrase written in both Chinese and English; it was also the theme of the poster.

“I actually wanted to rename Sunset Town to Eva Town,” Wang Bo said with a smile to Eva. “But Bowen went to ask about it, and changing the name of a town is really complicated—it requires a lot of procedures.”

Eva exclaimed with delight, “Don’t do something foolish! Sunset Town is the name it should have. The most beautiful place in my heart is still Sunset Town!”

Renaming the town wasn’t easy, so Wang Bo worked on other ways to honor her.

There was a road under construction in town, named Eva Road. The lavender fields were thriving, and this flower field was named Eva Garden.

By the lakeside, a white tower was being built—Eva Tower…

“Oh my god, I’m so, so happy!” Eva gave Wang Bo a kiss. She looked at the planning map and said, “But let’s stop here. Eva Amusement Park? Eva Villas? No, I don’t like those names—they don’t sound right!”

Wang Bo said, “But you deserve all of it.”

“Don’t do everything, okay? We should leave some naming rights for the kids,” Eva said gently.

Wang Bo waved his hand and said boldly, “That’s easy. Sunset Town has so many projects under construction that there will definitely be room for them too.”

The villa complex’s skeleton was already complete; next came the interior decoration.

The biggest investment in town so far, the Christmas amusement park, had also begun construction.

During the time he was home, some projects were already completed, such as the town’s basketball court.

On the first weekend after returning, the basketball court officially opened. Bowen suggested holding an opening game to promote the court.

New Zealanders preferred rugby, but the rugby stadium was still under construction, so the opening game had to be basketball.

Bowen and Kidd signed up to participate, and Cousins, Darwin, and a group of cowboys formed another team.

Seeing that there were quite a few participants and multiple courts, Wang Bo decided to turn the opening game into a basketball invitational.

Oakley had returned from the U.S. to continue his recovery and was scheduled for an important junior heavyweight title fight afterward.

Having Oakley, a sports celebrity, would draw even more attention to the basketball game.

Oakley could also play basketball, and he brought a team called “Golden Belt,” consisting of his coach and trainers and nutritionists from the U.S.

He was already famous in America and considered a potential future boxing superstar.

His boxing style was clean and elegant, and his personality was low-key and kind, which attracted fans eager to see him lead the sport to new heights.

Nike had already signed him, offering a $20 million, two-year contract, including trainers and nutritionists provided by them.

While Wang Bo was in his office thinking about the basketball game, Oakley came to him and asked, “Hey, Mayor, I heard you’re not planning to play?”

“My expertise is elsewhere, brother. Haha, my basketball skills aren’t that good,” Wang Bo replied.

In fact, Wang Bo wanted to play, but his skills were really lacking. Last year, at Zhou Haojie’s wedding, he had played basketball with his classmates, relying on sheer physicality to dominate them.

But this time it wouldn’t work—his classmates were easily beaten before because their physical condition had declined, but here in New Zealand, people were athletic, so Wang Bo’s physical advantage wouldn’t stand out.

So he decided not to embarrass himself, especially since his fiancée would be watching.

Oakley protested, “No way! You’re a young mayor—why wouldn’t you play?”

Hani also encouraged him: “You have to play, Wang. This is a great opportunity to boost your popularity. Don’t forget, the election is only eight months away.”

The New Zealand general election would be on September 20, and a month afterward, local township elections would take place.

Wang Bo thought for a moment and said, “How about this—I play in a friendly match? We can organize a friendly game.”

Oakley nodded, “That works. Anyway, since you’re not playing, I won’t either. My trainer doesn’t allow me to take part in dangerous sports!”

“For others, maybe it’s dangerous,” Wang Bo said, eyeing him skeptically. “Look at your size and your fists. Who would dare face you?”

The basketball game was scheduled for the first weekend of mid-February. It would be a five-on-five formal match, with each team limited to eight players, using a two-half system, each half lasting twenty minutes.

There were prizes: the champion would get NZD 10,000 plus a luxury meal at Spreese’s Kitchen; the runner-up would get NZD 6,000 plus a buffet; third place would get NZD 3,000 plus a set-price meal.

Wang Bo wouldn’t participate in the official game but would join a pre-game friendly. Anyone could play for a few minutes, allowing everyone to get familiar and avoid conflicts during the main match.

West Pacific Bank also fielded a team, personally led by their overbearing CEO. Wang Bo was surprised: “You can handle it, buddy?”

Bartier smiled, “You probably don’t know, but I was captain of the basketball team while earning my PhD at Harvard Business School!”

In total, twenty-four teams signed up, including nearby towns like Oak City and Wanderer Town.

On Saturday, the weather was excellent—sunny, mild, a rare treat for late autumn.

Wang Bo put on his basketball uniform and shoes and went to the court with Little Wang, Zhuang Ding, and Queen.

Oakley was training with his teammates, surrounded by two to three hundred spectators, forming a dense crowd around the court.

Wang Bo scoffed, “Never seen a celebrity before? Such show-offs!”

Li Xing glanced over, “There’s a tall Black guy on their team. He looks familiar… like NBA star Shaquille O’Neal.”

“O’Neal? The Big Diesel?” Wang Bo exclaimed. “How could he be here?”

At that moment, there was a loud “bang” from the court, and the cheering crowd drew their attention. Wang Bo saw a massive bald Black man hanging from the rim, almost pulling the hoop down!

He had watched NBA games with classmates in college—it was O’Neal’s era—so he recognized the superstar. Sure enough, it was him.

O’Neal came down and high-fived Oakley. Of course, Oakley had brought him.

“Damn, so much showing off,” Kidd said admiringly.

Wang Bo smiled confidently, “When it comes to showing off, I’ve never been afraid of anyone!”