Although Wang Xian did not expect He Ximeng to pass the ball to his side before receiving it.
Because He Ximeng initiated the offense from the right side, according to the standard tactical setup, Yan Hui, who was guarding the middle, was He Ximeng's first passing option. Tang Chenfeng in the right corner was He Ximeng's second passing option, and Wang Xian in the left corner was He Ximeng's third passing option, also a backup choice in an emergency.
Crossing from the right side through the paint to the left was a very risky choice. Usually, very few people would choose this. Having Wang Xian follow on the left was just to ensure there were no obvious loopholes in the tactical design…
However, to Wang Xian's surprise, and to the surprise of Hangzhou No. 4 High School, He Ximeng's first offensive play was an extremely risky long-range transfer pass, and it was a return pass after jumping out of bounds…
Fortunately, Wang Xian did not hesitate after receiving the ball and immediately shot a jump shot, helping Zhuji Middle School score this three-pointer!
"Captain, did he choose to make that play, or was he forced to?" On the bench, Chen Feng asked his teammates, looking bewildered.
"Of course, it was a conscious choice!" Zhang Zhenpeng affirmed.
"It looked a bit risky to me. Captain usually doesn't pass so aggressively…"
"In our tactical setup, Wang Xian's position back then was meant for a receiving play… that's right!"
…
The teammates had their own interpretations.
"Coach, what do you think?" Zhang Tian'ai quietly asked Head Coach Zhang Yide.
Zhang Yide was quite taciturn when facing his players. Especially after granting command authority to He Ximeng, he appeared even more strategic and composed, as if everything was under control… Only when facing the team manager Zhang Tian'ai would Zhang Yide put down his crossed legs and listen attentively to Zhang Tian'ai's questions.
"It was proactive! Given Simon's predictive ability, he should have passed earlier, but he didn't! He deliberately made a long-range cross-court pass, clearly intending to challenge the opponent's defensive strategy, showing that even with triple-teaming, they still couldn't stop his passes…"
"I knew it…" Zhang Tian'ai greatly agreed with the head coach's analysis, "Simon always has his unique understanding…"
The game continued, and Hangzhou No. 4 High School's second offensive play still involved finding Liu Yudong.
He Ximeng originally wanted to apply personal defensive pressure on Hangzhou No. 4 High School's point guard, but the opponent did not hesitate to call for a screen from a teammate, and then… still found an opportunity to pass the ball to Liu Yudong!
This time, Liu Yudong ran to the high post to receive the ball. Feng Chen loudly called for Yan Hui to pay attention to the help defense!
Liu Yudong's position was the left high post. Tang Chenfeng retreated a step, wanting to pressure Liu Yudong and create time for Yan Hui's help defense from the middle. As a result, Liu Yudong played very simply. After receiving the ball, he immediately went for a high post shot, facing Tang Chenfeng and launching another long-range, straight-arm jump shot!
Tang Chenfeng was far inferior to Liu Yudong in both height and weight. Facing Liu Yudong's decisive high post jump shot, he could only sigh in helplessness and watch Liu Yudong sink the basketball into the hoop again.
After scoring the second basket, Liu Yudong turned around and calmly asked He Ximeng, "Compared to you last year, you're much stronger this year… At least this year you're qualified to challenge me…"
Last year's National Tournament, Zhuji Middle School also encountered Hangzhou No. 4 High School in the group stage. As a result, Zhuji Middle School lost to Hangzhou No. 4 High School by 11 points. More crucially, Liu Yudong scored 31 points in that game, while He Ximeng, who had just become the starting point guard, only had 8 points and 3 rebounds… As Liu Yudong said, last year's He Ximeng was simply not qualified to be compared with Liu Yudong.
One was already the king of the Zhejiang region, and the other was just the newly appointed core point guard of Zhuji Middle School.
If Liu Yudong had only said this one sentence, He Ximeng would have accepted it. Because last year's He Ximeng and this year's He Ximeng were worlds apart in terms of talent and skills. But Liu Yudong's next sentence surprised He Ximeng… He didn't expect someone like Liu Yudong to also enjoy trash talk on the court?
"I noticed you have some talent in coaching, so I'm curious, how do you plan to stop me from scoring?"
When Liu Yudong said this, his tone seemed to lack any provocation, as if an old friend was asking He Ximeng a question. But this question, asked during the game between the two teams, felt more like a provocation than not.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, He Ximeng smiled slightly at Liu Yudong and retorted, "Why should I stop you from scoring?"
This time, it was Liu Yudong's turn to be stunned.
Liu Yudong had always disdained communicating with other high school students on the court. Because his mind was somewhat precocious, he could distinguish priorities early on and remained calm on the court, never losing emotional control. Facing provocations from opposing players, Liu Yudong was accustomed to retaliating with scores rather than engaging in verbal sparring.
"Is this… deliberately being mysterious?"
He Ximeng no longer paid attention to Liu Yudong. He turned to the baseline, received the ball from Feng Chen, used a crossover step to get past the opposing point guard who came to delay him, and then directly entered acceleration mode.
"Let's go!"
With He Ximeng's command, Wang Xian and Tang Chenfeng quickly advanced along the sidelines, one on the left and the other on the right.
Hangzhou No. 4 High School, being the second-strongest team in the province, did not panic in the face of Zhuji's fast break.
Liu Yudong immediately issued instructions. Hangzhou No. 4 High School's shooting guard and small forward retreated to the wings to block Zhuji's fast break. In the middle, Hangzhou No. 4 High School's point guard was still chasing He Ximeng from behind, while Liu Yudong immediately positioned himself near the free-throw line, ready to face He Ximeng head-on.
He Ximeng did not slow down as he advanced, feigning a pass to Wang Xian, who was driving on the left, trying to draw Liu Yudong out of position. However, Liu Yudong had full faith in his teammates and remained unmoved, only extending his hand to interfere.
For He Ximeng, this interference was enough. He pulled the ball back, got close to Liu Yudong, and executed a side-step drive!
Liu Yudong started his side-step, attempting to form a double-team with the center under the basket against He Ximeng… But He Ximeng directly caught the ball, completed a "serpentine drive" like the demon blade, slipped through the gap between the two players, shifted from the right side of the basket to the left side, and finally finished with a layup with his left hand…
Liu Yudong, while chasing back, collided with his own center, unable to block He Ximeng from behind…
After making this fast break layup, He Ximeng, while returning to defense, threw Liu Yudong's earlier words back at him: "And how will you stop me from scoring?"