"Actually, Simon had already practiced this jump shot before, but he just didn't put in as much effort as he did for three-pointers..." Cui Tianci explained from the side.
"But I think this move is very practical!" Chen Feng joined the conversation, and Zhang Tian'ai nodded in agreement with Chen Feng's opinion.
"With such a good scoring skill, why didn't Captain use it before?"
"I asked Simon that too! Simon's explanation was that the scoring efficiency of mid-range jump shots is not high! It's not as stable as a layup, nor as high as a three-pointer... It's even less cost-effective than drawing defensive attention and then making a great assist..."
"I see! Now that you put it that way, Captain rarely shoots two-pointers from mid-range! I used to think Captain wasn't good at mid-range shooting..."
"It's not that he can't, he just thought it wasn't very cost-effective..."
Because of He Ximeng's rare two-point floater, Zhuji Middle School led 4-2, maintaining a slight lead.
"The national competition is different from grassroots games... Xiao Yong, don't try to make risky steals!" Sun Jun specially ran over to remind Li Xiaoyong as he was dribbling the ball forward.
Li Xiaoyong nodded. He Ximeng's breakthrough just now was so easy precisely because his defense had been too aggressive. He had to make up for his own mistake.
On this play, Li Xiaoyong wanted to return the favor, to score a point against He Ximeng! So he chose to go one-on-one against He Ximeng, using his speed to force his way into the paint and complete a layup!
However, Li Xiaoyong had clearly misjudged He Ximeng's speed, and also misjudged his own speed. With this all-out effort, Li Xiaoyong failed to get past He Ximeng. Instead, He Ximeng stuck to him, chasing him all the way into the paint.
For the sake of caution, Li Xiaoyong dared not attempt a conventional layup! After all, in the previous game, Chen Jianghua of Panyu Middle School being chased and blocked by He Ximeng was still a vivid memory. So, at the last moment, Li Xiaoyong chose a hook shot off the backboard from a distance after dodging! Although this shot was not blocked by He Ximeng, it was very difficult, and the ball rolled around the rim and missed.
Yan Hui and Wu Naiqun were battling fiercely under the basket. Zhang Zhenpeng's attention was on the ball, and he didn't notice Sun Jun behind him... As a result, Sun Jun rushed directly to the basket!
Sun Jun positioned himself in front of Zhang Zhenpeng, got the first rebound, and completed a one-handed put-back dunk in the air... By the time Zhang Zhenpeng caught up, Sun Jun had already shot, and scored two points...
Zhang Zhenpeng looked helplessly at Sun Jun scoring and suddenly had a bad premonition: in this game, he might become a background character...
Whether Zhang Zhenpeng would become a background character, He Ximeng was not very clear. But Sun Jun's style of play was indeed inspiring Shenyang No. 2 Middle School!
Shenyang No. 2 Middle School had two main offensive tactics.
The first was a half-court offense centered around Sun Jun.
The second was a fast-break tactic based on defense, led by Li Xiaoyong, Wu Qinglong, and Zhang Qingpeng!
However, because Zhuji Middle School had a high success rate in the first two offensive possessions, Shenyang No. 2 Middle School had not yet found an opportunity for a defensive fast break, so the three guards had not had a chance to showcase their skills yet.
Of course, it was also possible that Zhuji Middle School's defensive focus was on containing Sun Jun's teammates while individually defending Sun Jun...
The game continued. On Zhuji Middle School's side, Li Xiaoyong retreated steadily, no longer being aggressive.
He Ximeng called for Yan Hui to set a high pick-and-roll, attacking Shenyang No. 2 Middle School's defense, and then made a brilliant pass to Yan Hui, who was cutting down the middle!
Wu Naiqun was wary of Yan Hui's cutting play, but his height and strength were limited. Wu Naiqun was at a physical disadvantage against Yan Hui. And Yan Hui had the initiative, accelerating early and attacking... He successfully broke into the opponent's basket and made a shot for two points!
In half-court offense, Shenyang No. 2 Middle School had an advantage at the power forward position, while Zhuji Middle School had an advantage at the center position.
Shenyang No. 2 Middle School still couldn't get defensive rebounds, so they could only play a conventional half-court offense.
This time, Li Xiaoyong tried to break through and pass to Zhang Qingpeng in the right corner!
Zhang Qingpeng's open three-pointer was quite accurate!
However, Fu Xinyuan's defensive return speed was very fast, and he didn't give Zhang Qingpeng an open shot. Zhang Qingpeng faked, but Fu Xinyuan wasn't fooled and stayed close to Zhang Qingpeng. Zhang Qingpeng had to pass to Wu Qinglong, who was receiving the pass at the high post. Wu Qinglong made a direct pass, intending to give it to Wu Naiqun, who was cutting. However, He Ximeng anticipated the passing route of Shenyang No. 2 Middle School, ambushed in advance, and suddenly broke out to steal the pass!
After stealing the ball, He Ximeng broke away like lightning and drove directly to Shenyang No. 2 Middle School. He jumped high, and just when the spectators thought He Ximeng would deliver a spectacular one-handed dunk like in the previous game, He Ximeng changed his mind, adjusted his movements in mid-air, and finally opted for a gentle layup!
"This..." Chen Jianghua, watching from the sidelines, was stunned. "With no one defending him, such a good opportunity, and he didn't dunk? Yesterday, when I guarded him, he actually dunked... Is he targeting me deliberately?"
At this moment, Zhu Fangyu stepped forward and offered another possibility: "Perhaps, it was precisely because of your defense that he was forced to dunk?"
"How is that possible? Who would give up such an opportunity to perform like that?" Chen Jianghua retorted.
"That's hard to say!" Du Feng said in a low voice, "I've heard of some masters who have very strong self-control. To avoid the risk of injury, they deliberately reduce some explosive scoring moves... However, I've never encountered a master of this level in previous high school games, not even Da Zhi was close..."
Chen Jianghua fell silent.
The game continued, and Zhuji Middle School had a four-point lead. Shenyang No. 2 Middle School was starting to feel the pressure.
Li Xiaoyong called Wu Qinglong to pass the ball outside, trying to find loopholes in Zhuji Middle School's defense, but the results were not ideal.
Zhuji Middle School's help defense rotation speed was faster and smoother than Shenyang No. 2 Middle School had expected. The players were all performing their duties, with clear positioning and role awareness. Shenyang No. 2 Middle School's conventional off-ball movement and stretching were basically unable to disrupt the opponent's formation.
In this situation, Shenyang No. 2 Middle School had only two options. Either Li Xiaoyong continued to drive and pass, or Li Xiaoyong would pass the ball to Sun Jun and rely on Sun Jun's individual ability to force a shot.
So far in the game, Shenyang No. 2 Middle School's successful offensive possessions had all come from Sun Jun. As the point guard, Li Xiaoyong chose to hand the ball to Sun Jun.
Sun Jun didn't hesitate. Since the team needed him, he would play.