Chapter 260
I felt like it was an appropriate time to test our cla.s.s basketball team’s skills at the next break.
Coincidentally, You Chen was injured during yesterday’s practice session and could only self-study in the cla.s.sroom. The only ones under the hoop were Niu ShiLi, Xu LiJun, Sun Yu, Pi ZeGuang, and Mu ZhongMing. They couldn’t even play a game of 3v3.
I ran onto the court without a word and intercepted a pa.s.s between Sun Yu and Xu LiJun. I caused a huge gust of wind with a simple swat.
Niu ShiLi’s outfit today was interesting, no it’s not because it’s special, but because he was wearing Jabbar’s trademark goggles to prevent eye injuries.
It seems like it’s from an athletic specialty store, and they are actually pretty expensive. Looks like he’s really going all-out in order for me to drink Fu Yan Jie!
“You won’t improve much by only shooting hoops.” I said to Niu ShiLi, “The best way to practice is through compet.i.tion. We could play half-court 3v3. You take Xu LiJun and Sun Yu and I’ll take the two subst.i.tutes, how about it?”
Niu ShiLi agreed without much thought. He must have confidence in himself since he survived Captain Guo SongTao’s h.e.l.l training.
The match was about to begin and the subst.i.tute players Pi ZeGuang and Mu ZhongMing walked to my side. Pi ZeGuang who was as skinny as a stick was acting sulky, but Mu ZhongMing was gloomy as usual.
“Get more energetic!” I reprimanded my team members, “Do you think I don’t know what you guys are thinking! You want me to drink Fu Yan Jie! Let me tell you, once we’re actually in the tournament, your biggest rival isn’t me but the students of other cla.s.ses! It would be pointless if you can’t actually score any points!”
I pointed towards Niu ShiLi and the players behind him, “Do you see them? You have to treat them as if they were your actual opponents in the tournament! You’ll only have a chance of actually getting points if you can score on them! If you lose vigor when you’re on the same team as me, you’ll have some bad luck in the future!”
What I actually meant was that they wouldn’t fare well in the actual tournament, but they misunderstood and thought they would feel my wrath if they don’t play seriously, thus they grimaced and became slightly more energetic.
I wanted to see how much Niu ShiLi improved so I didn’t fight over the toss and let him attack first.
Niu ShiLi’s eyes met mines through the google and sparks flew. But as I made a feint for the ball, he immediately pa.s.sed it to Sun Yu.
Is he not confident in his own skills because he is only a beginner? But he did not hesitate at all on the pa.s.s and even calculated the amount of time it would take Sun Yu to run to forward, which was praiseworthy.
Mu ZhongMing stuck in front of Sun Yu like an apparition. Su Yu made a few feints but wasn’t able to breakthrough, so he pa.s.sed the ball to Xu LiJun who came to his rescue.
Pi ZeGuang was too slow on the interception and wasn’t able to correct his posture in time. It left an opening in front of Xu LiJun. Xu LiJu did not pa.s.s on this great opportunity and shot the ball towards the basket from the penalty line.
People who are familiar with basketball can generally tell if the ball will go in or not based on the positioning of their hands, especially the shooter themselves. I could tell there’s an 80-90% chance the ball will go in based on the slight grin on his face.
We’re here to test the team’s strength, not get giddy over some small achievements. It’s about time to show them some strength.
So I yelled out loud, jumped really high in front of Xu LiJun and completely denied him!
It was before the ball even left his hand for 0.1 seconds, before the ball drew a perfect arc, I had already intercepted. I could have took advantage of the moment and pa.s.sed it to Pi ZeGuang so he could score a point while they were off guard, but I was intentionally trying to destroy Xu LiJun’s hopeful att.i.tude and preventing him from shooting on the spot like a fool. Thus I forcefully pulled the ball into my embrace and caught it with my other hand.
I glanced provocatively at Niu ShiLi while gripping the ball tightly with both hands, which meant: You can do it too, no, you have to be able to do it!
For 3v3 half-court rules, if you intercept a ball, you have to clear the ball past the penalty line to attack.
I easily dribbled the ball to the three-point line and instigated Niu ShiLi with my gaze to come intercept, but he didn’t fall for it and stayed on guard under the hoop.
I didn’t have the three-pointer skills of 28 Middle’s Shen ShaoYi. If I took a shot, it would definitely end up giving possession back to Niu ShiLi.
After some thought, I went for a breakthrough at a 45-degree angle while keeping in mind of my teammates’ positions.
Xu LiJun was unsatisfied because I blocked him, so he ran over to guard me. I could see a section of his scalp on top of Xu LiJun’s head due to a barber mishap and it always reminds me of a shedding dog and makes me laugh.
It’s good to be compet.i.tive, but don’t rush. Basketball isn’t a street fight with no rules, courage alone won’t get you far!
I tossed the ball towards Xu LiJun’s face without warning!
It wasn’t an intentional foul, but seems like I accidentally made an error during a pa.s.s and gave the ball to the opposing team!
But Xu LiJun wasn’t mentally prepared and subconsciously covered his face with both his hands. So, the ball rebounded and came back to my hands.
“Thanks!” I mischievously waved and broke through his defense before he recovered.
Niu ShiLi rushed forward like a bull before I could even catch my breath.
It might be because he was too st.u.r.dy, but every route was blocked and it even caused trouble for a skilled player like me.
I realized Mu ZhongMing was hiding under the net and was sending me signals with his two will-o-wisp eyes.
On the other side of the basket, Pi ZeGuang was being tightly guarded by Sun Yu. Since Pi ZeGuang was only good at shooting from mid-line, he kept moving towards the middle to try and find a suitable spot.
Xu LiJun cooled his head after being teased and went back to guard Mu ZhongMing. Mu ZhongMing made a ghastly sigh after feeling like he missed a great opportunity.
Not bad! Basketball is simply a mesh of skills, cooperation, and awareness. Currently, although they are lacking in all 3 areas, at least it’s not completely non-existent!
I now felt becoming the champions of our grade was no longer just a dream. The crucial point is how I should instruct these greenhorns.
I already showed off some moves to Xu LiJun, so I guess Niu ShiLi should feel some frustration too? I feel like he’s the type who improves with setbacks. It would be more beneficial to the team if he suffers some more.
I used my left shoulder to face Niu ShiLi and began to lower the dribble on my right hand. I decided to break through with brute force, this move is pretty effective against Shen ShaoYi and Liu HuaiShui.
I never expected Niu ShiLi to be as still as a rock and not even budge an inch when I pushed into him.
f.u.c.k, this feels like running into a wall! I originally thought that even if Niu ShiLi was st.u.r.dier than me, I would still have a stronger core. But who knew he could maintain his center of gravity like a deeply rooted weed!
Brother Tao, how did you train Niu ShiLi’s leg muscles? Did you make him bunny hop around the track a thousand times? Now I know what it feels like when Shen ShaoYi is facing me!
But that’s all there is! I still played basketball for two to three years and faced many experts. I won’t panic simply because he has more muscles.
Just like how Xiao Qin has a speed advantage when she faces me, I also have a certain speed advantage against Niu ShiLi.
I suddenly straightened my body and began dribbling higher as if I was about to pa.s.s the ball.
Although Niu ShiLi was worried it was fake, he still glanced behind him with his peripheral vision.
In that split second, I suddenly lowered my body and rushed forward. I was so lowe I couldn’t get any lower. If Niu ShiLi wanted to intercept, there’s a large chance he would commit a foul and hit my hand.
After some consideration, he tightly guarded my path and planned to act right before I shot like how I blocked Xu LiJun.
I soared into the air and used my left hand to prevent him from getting closer. Then I raised the ball with my right and flicked the ball in a beautiful arc straight into the hoop with a sweet-sounding swish.
I admit I was cowardly, but if I was blocked by Niu ShiLi, it would be too embarra.s.sing.
That’s why I went with a method least likely to be blocked —— a hook shot. I only had a 30% score rate with hook shots, so I was prepared to go in for the rebound.
But the result was magnificent. I broke through multiple layers of defense alone and finished with an NBlevel hook shot and everyone was taken aback.
I said to Niu ShiLi:
“How about it? Since you’re wearing ‘sky hook’ Jabbar’s goggles, why don’t you learn hook shots? Even I can’t do anything against you if you can learn it.”
Niu ShiLi furrowed his brows with discontent, but my hook shot was already deeply imprinted in his mind.
I never used another hook shot for the rest of the match. The reason was simple —— I would be exposed if I used it again.