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墨書 Inktalez
We are about to play at Wu Jieyun High School. After gathering at the school, we prepared to set off. We still have eleven team members, and I hope Bing Ge recovers soon. While we were on the bus, I sat by the window, and A Fei was still looking at the eagle around his neck. The world outside the bus looked chaotic. "Team members, there's no need to be too nervous about this game at Wu Jieyun High School. After all, our strength is evident. Since Yan Bing's absence, Kang Lin and Tu Lei have adapted well and filled that gap, so our advantage should remain clear as always."
Wu Jieyun High School is located in the northwest corner of the city. After a long journey of more than an hour, we finally arrived and headed straight to their gymnasium. The Wu Jieyun team members were already warming up there. When we walked in, their head coach smiled and greeted Teacher Qiu. I watched their players practicing diligently and found it strange that they worked so hard yet always played the role of underdogs in the City High League group matches. I really couldn't understand it.
After some time warming up, the referee blew the whistle, and the game officially began. I wasn't in the starting lineup; Zhongqi Senior, Ouyang, Zhang Jun, Qiu Junze, and Li Kanglin started the game. At the beginning, Qiu Junze jumped for the ball against their number four player. The ball was tipped to Zhongqi Senior's hands. After catching it, Zhongqi Senior stepped back to the top of the arc and took a three-pointer—swish! Wu Jieyun quickly inbounded the ball; their point guard organized an attack. Wu Jieyun's attitude towards the game was much stronger than that of City South. The point guard received the ball and rushed to the edge of our paint area before stepping back for a jump shot—score! They countered with a fast break.
In the following game, we engaged in a tug-of-war with Wu Jieyun. They were determined to pull off an upset, running and defending aggressively. By the end of the first quarter, we were tied at 1 point; we led Wu Jieyun by only two points. After leaving the court, Teacher Qiu took out a tactics board and said to us, "Adjust yourselves well. Wu Jieyun's tactics in this game are almost non-targeted; they rely entirely on physicality to withstand our offense. So let's run with them. In the second quarter, Jieti will replace Zhongqi, Zhi Kai will replace Ouyang, and A Fei will replace Zhang Jun. You three young players have better agility and speed; you should be able to wear them down..." Teacher Qiu was drawing on the tactics board while I stood up to warm up. I casually noticed that Wu Jieyun's players were huddled together with serious expressions discussing strategies; they were really going all out for this match.
The whistle for the second quarter sounded, and both teams returned to the court. A Fei passed me the ball as I organized our offense. It was interesting; my most played position now was point guard; I had hardly ever played shooting guard before. A Fei used to primarily play shooting guard but now seemed to drift toward forward positions. I sprinted into their paint area while being double-teamed by three Wu Jieyun players and passed the ball behind me to Wu Zhi Kai. Wu Zhi Kai stepped forward for a jump shot in the paint—score! As they inbounded again, I saw an opportunity when their point guard made a long pass to their shooting guard; I intercepted it and tossed it to Li Kanglin for an assist on a dunk—71! We scored two consecutive baskets against them.
In the first half of the second quarter, we managed to extend our lead to ten points; however, Wu Jieyun High School refused to give up and improved their offensive efficiency in the second half. By halftime, we led by only four points at 49-45. We entered the locker room where Teacher Qiu showed some concern in his eyes: "It seems Yan Bing's absence has really cost us a significant part of our dominance inside. In our last game against City South, their players were complacent so our weaknesses weren't very apparent; but when facing a team like Wu Jieyun that has a strong desire to win, our shortcomings inside become evident. Kang Lin has done well replacing Yan Bing but he is still a freshman; his lack of experience in big games and adjustment period for mismatches aren't sufficient. Kang Lin, pay attention to their center's layups and hooks; Tu Lei will replace Junze..." Teacher Qiu spoke extensively while Li Kanglin listened attentively with his head down.
The second half was about to start; we all raised our hands together shouting "Go!" before walking out of the locker room onto the court as the second half officially began with Wu Jieyun inbounding the ball. Their point guard slowly brought it upcourt while I went up to defend him; he suddenly made a crossover step and accelerated past me almost causing me to stumble before taking three steps directly for a layup—score! 44-46; our lead was further diminished! Just a week ago we had beaten them by nearly 30 points! Teacher Qiu anxiously shouted from the sidelines: "Jie, don't rush it! Take your time!" Yes, perhaps I was too eager on that play.
As we prepared for another inbound play near our sideline, Teacher Qiu called for a timeout and substituted me out for Zhongqi Senior: "Jie, take your time to adjust." Teacher Qiu patted my shoulder as Zhongqi Senior entered and slowed down our pace significantly; sometimes he would wait until only two or three seconds were left on the shot clock before taking a shot. This tactic proved effective as their offense became disjointed while ours maintained high accuracy; by the end of the third quarter we had extended our lead back to nine points at 59-50.
Watching everything unfold on court made me realize how immature my ability to organize plays was compared to Zhongqi Senior’s experience—I still lacked that big heart needed to control the game's tempo effectively; this is essential for any backcourt leader. As teammates came off court I high-fived each one of them; after sitting down Zhongqi Senior quietly said: "Jie, watch my playing style closely; next year Yulin's ball-handling responsibilities will fall on you. I'll make sure to pass on everything I know to you because next season I'll be gone—you need to learn how to energize the whole team..." Zhongqi Senior sighed lightly.
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