"It's very obvious that after the elimination rounds, Zhuji Middle School has made significant progress in organizing fast breaks..." Yu Chu answered seemingly calmly, but internally, he was far from peaceful.
Yu Chu remembered that during the provincial top 12 competition, Zhuji Middle School's strength was on par with Caota Middle School, evenly matched. But now, Zhuji Middle School's overall strength was clearly no longer something Caota Middle School could contend with...
And the provincial top 12 competition was just a summer break away. In such a short summer, why did Zhuji Middle School's strength change so drastically?
And He Ximeng, his personal strength, compared to his past self, was like a completely different person...
Could it be, as Chen Qiudao suspected, that He Ximeng was on banned substances?
Yu Chu's gaze swept across the court, looking at He Ximeng on the other side, completely perplexed.
When He Ximeng was coaching, he used to stand on the sidelines, loudly reminding his players of any issues. But now, He Ximeng wasn't a coach but a player, and players were not allowed to roam freely on the sidelines. Therefore, He Ximeng now stood with his arms crossed, seated on the bench. He would only stand up when adjustments were needed. Or sometimes, he would just shout from the bench... as long as his voice was loud enough, standing or not made little difference.
The joint team, in the opening stages, used their strong individual abilities to repeatedly attack and score. If tactics were disregarded and it was a casual streetball game, Zhuji Middle School might not have been the joint team's opponent.
However, Zhuji Middle School was, after all, a complete team, with He Ximeng directing from the sidelines.
Initially, Zhuji Middle School employed a fast-break strategy, catching the joint team off guard. But as the joint team gradually adapted to Zhuji Middle School's rhythm, their defense became more timely, and Zhuji's chances of scoring directly became increasingly slim.
Thus, under He Ximeng's command from the sidelines, the offensive focus gradually shifted to Yan Hui in the paint.
Overall, the opening exchanges saw each team playing at their own pace.
Facing one of the strongest lineups in the Zhejiang region, Zhuji Middle School played commendably even without He Ximeng controlling the game. Although they were not dominating the play, there were no signs of disarray whatsoever.
This was something the Zhuji players couldn't even imagine two months ago, but now they could face such an opponent with composure. After all, they had defeated Hui Pu, the champion team!
Victory brings confidence. And confidence, in turn, can improve a player's strength. This is a positive feedback loop.
Seeing his teammates' performance on the court, He Ximeng felt a sense of relief.
However, to defeat the joint team, his teammates were still slightly lacking.
Therefore, after the first quarter was halfway through, He Ximeng finally called Zhang Zhenpeng onto the court, preparing to get serious with the joint team!
Zhang Zhenpeng had long been impatient. He took off his jersey and eagerly ran onto the court.
He Ximeng implemented a full substitution, bringing the starting lineup off for a rest and bringing himself onto the court with Zhang Zhenpeng, Qin Rui, Huangfu Yanlin, and Fu Xinyuan.
The rival pair, Huangfu Yanlin and Fu Xinyuan, had gradually resolved their differences during the game and were cooperating with increasing默契 (mòqì - tacit understanding/harmony). Especially in fast-break situations, when Zhang Zhenpeng, Huangfu Yanlin, and Fu Xinyuan were on the court together, they were like three arrows, posing an extreme threat!
On He Ximeng's first possession after coming on, although it wasn't a fast break, he called for Qin Rui to set a high pick-and-roll. During the drive, he saw Huangfu Yanlin and Fu Xinyuan execute a screen off the ball, creating an opportunity for an off-ball cut to the basket on the left.
He Ximeng naturally wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. With a disguised bounce pass, he directly fed the ball to Huangfu Yanlin. Huangfu Yanlin caught the ball and finished with a layup in one fluid motion. Xiao Yu didn't even have time to turn around for a help defense.
However, the joint team was no pushover.
Turning the tables, Yu Zhibo used Xiao Yu's high pick-and-roll, shook off Feng Chen, and made a long-range pull-up jump shot.
After all, in terms of individual ability, the joint team held an advantage in multiple positions. As long as the rhythm was not disrupted and they played steadily, Zhuji Middle School wouldn't gain much of an advantage.
However, He Ximeng's objective for this game was primarily to practice tactics, so he wasn't overly concerned with the score.
On the next offensive play, He Ximeng once again used a high pick-and-roll, consecutively shaking off Yuan Zhangyang and driving past Xiao Yu. However, because his teammates didn't keep up, He Ximeng abandoned the opportunity for a direct layup and controlled the ball, driving out from the other side...
"Damn it! Are you really treating us like practice dummies?" Yuan Zhangyang chased him back, wanting to curse. "I didn't take a bus all the way from Changxing just to play with you guys... I'm here for revenge..."
"Got it, got it... revenge..." He Ximeng placated Yuan Zhangyang while dribbling and directing his teammates' movements.
"Zhang Zhenpeng, don't just run around aimlessly, look for an off-ball screen...
"Right, Feng Chen's position is setting a great screen!"
"Catch!"
Under Feng Chen's screen, Zhang Zhenpeng found himself open for a shot in the right corner. With the pass arriving as he caught it, He Ximeng assisted Zhang Zhenpeng for a soaring layup!
Yuan Zhangyang was furious. This was completely disregarding his declaration of revenge! How could this be tolerated?
Turning around, Yuan Zhangyang ran hard, used Hu Yunlong's open screen, shook off He Ximeng, received the ball at the left elbow, and made a beautiful three-pointer!
After making the shot, Yuan Zhangyang arrogantly jutted his chin towards He Ximeng... In response, He Ximeng executed a swift drive, startling the joint team into thinking he was going straight for the basket. They all collapsed in defense. However, He Ximeng stopped abruptly one step beyond the three-point line, and to everyone's astonishment, launched an ultra-long-range three-pointer...
The arc of the basketball was extremely high, to the extent that even if Yuan Zhangyang stood in front of He Ximeng, he couldn't block it...
Before the ball even reached the basket, Zhang Tianai's scream could be heard from the sidelines: "Ultra-long three-pointer... so cool..."
As Zhang Tianai predicted, the ball went in accurately. He Ximeng returned the three-pointer to the joint team.
"Is there any justice? A shot like that goes in?"
Yuan Zhangyang was dumbfounded. Had He Ximeng's three-point range expanded this much?
Yes, in preparation for directly connecting with the NBA three-point line distance in the near future, He Ximeng had intentionally increased his three-point shooting range from the very beginning. For others, this was an ultra-long three-pointer, but for He Ximeng himself, this was his standard three-pointer, still quite a distance from a truly "ultra-long three-pointer"...