"I knew it, He Ximeng must have been instigating everyone to practice extra at school!" Chen Qiudao's voice suddenly rang out from the entrance of the gym.
"That's great! Saves us the trouble of looking for you in the gym..." Yu Chu's voice followed closely behind.
He Ximeng wasn't surprised to see Chen Qiudao and Yu Chu appear at Zhuzhong's gym. Zhuji city wasn't large, and Chen Qiudao's home was on Renmin Road, not far from Zhuji Middle School. It only took about five minutes by bike. Yu Chu's home was a bit further, at Huansha Bridge, and it took about ten minutes by bike.
However, the few people who appeared with Chen Qiudao and Yu Chu caught He Ximeng by surprise!
Yu Zhibo and Xiao Yu from Ningbo No. 4 Middle School, Yuan Zhangyang from Changxing Middle School, Fu Zaifeng from Jinyun Middle School, and Hu Yunlong from Ou Hai Middle School.
These guys didn't live in Zhuji.
"How about it, seeing our powerful lineup, are you trembling?"
Yuan Zhangyang was still as flamboyant as ever. Even after being thoroughly beaten by Zhuji Middle School in the group stage, Yuan Zhangyang's arrogant personality remained unchanged.
"Are you guys... forming a League of Losers?"
He Ximeng retorted to these vanquished opponents while quickly stepping forward to embrace and shake hands with everyone.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, listen to him! After winning the provincial championship, his tone has changed, become a lot tougher!" Chen Qiudao immediately stepped forward to help Yuan Zhangyang. "I wonder who it was, with his face flushed, asking me and Yu Chu to transfer to Zhuzhong a month ago?"
Yu Chu didn't join in the teasing with Chen Qiudao and Yuan Zhangyang. Instead, he seriously replied to He Ximeng, "During the grassroots matches, we watched from the stands and unanimously agreed that you were holding back your strength in the game against us... This made us very unhappy!"
"Extremely unhappy!" Chen Qiudao added.
"So, we agreed to have an extra friendly match before you officially compete in the Eastern District Finals..."
"He Ximeng, you'd better not hold back this time..."
Before Yu Zhibo could finish, Chen Qiudao threatened, "We are here for victory!"
"Yeah, we want to redeem ourselves and get revenge..." Yuan Zhangyang waved his fists and shouted.
"Excellent! I was just worrying about not having anyone to play against! You guys have come at the perfect time..."
Zhang Zhenpeng had long been tired of He Ximeng's repetitive training. Even in intra-team scrimmages, He Ximeng wouldn't let his teammates go all out to prevent injuries. Especially Zhang Zhenpeng, whom He Ximeng had explicitly forbidden from playing at full intensity, ordering him to hold back!
Now, the League of Losers had arrived, and Zhang Zhenpeng could finally play to his heart's content!
"Brothers, quickly clear the court!" Zhang Zhenpeng shouted, signaling his teammates to remove all the training equipment from the court, preparing to go head-to-head with the League of Losers!
Although called the League of Losers, the seven challengers were basically ace players from the provincial top 12, core players second only to the best lineup.
In the interior positions, there were Xiao Yu and Yu Chu.
On the forward line, there were Yu Zhibo and Hu Yunlong.
On the guard line, there were Chen Qiudao, Yuan Zhangyang, and Fu Zaifeng.
Frankly, if this lineup played with good chemistry, their strength would not be inferior to Huipu Middle School.
Yu Chu was steady and, as a semi-host, was nominated as the interim captain to manage the rotation of the combined team.
Well, these proud guys naturally wouldn't admit to the title of "League of Losers." This time, under the guise of helping Zhuji Middle School warm up, their goal was to not accept their defeat and gather together to defeat Zhuji Middle School once to save face.
Zhang Zhenpeng didn't want to give the League of Losers a chance to win, but He Ximeng was indifferent.
"This game is a rare opportunity for us to practice new tactics and gel our new lineup before the Eastern District Finals... Don't overemphasize the outcome of the game... Yan Hui, Feng Chen, Wang Xian, Tang Chenfeng, and Chen Feng, you five will start first... Zhang Zhenpeng and I will play with the second lineup..."
Third Master was still absent, which was understandable, as weekends were the busiest time for Third Master to earn money... Fortunately, the team members were used to it. Whether Third Master was there or not wasn't important; what was important was that He Ximeng was there.
Seeing He Ximeng not starting and habitually sitting on the coach's bench, Yuan Zhangyang was the first to lose patience.
"Damn it! He Ximeng, are you still so arrogant facing our divine lineup? Believe it or not, we'll take you down in one go!"
He Ximeng made a "please" gesture with his hand: "I trust my teammates. If you have the ability, show me that one-go sweep..."
"I can't stand it! I strongly request to start and blow Zhuji Middle School away..." Yuan Zhangyang looked eager to play.
Yu Chu glanced at the temporarily assembled lineup and said, "Xiao Yu will play center, Yu Zhibo will play power forward, Hu Yunlong will play small forward, Chen Qiudao will play shooting guard, and Yuan Zhangyang will play point guard. Yu Chu and I will wait on the bench for now. If anyone gets tired, just call us, and we'll come in!"
Fu Zaifeng shrugged, indicating no problem, and the others had even fewer problems.
The game was about to start. Neither team had to jump for the ball. He Ximeng directly gave possession to the combined team, letting them attack first. They would switch in the second half.
Yuan Zhangyang dribbled the ball upcourt. Facing Chen Feng's defense, he didn't try to force a shot. Instead, he first attempted to pass the ball to see if there were any obvious weaknesses in Zhuji Middle School's defense. But clearly, Zhuzhong's defense was well-organized, and there were no apparent gaps.
The ball eventually ended up in Xiao Yu's hands. Xiao Yu post-up attacked Yan Hui. Zhuzhong didn't double-team, and the defensive intensity wasn't high.
After backing Yan Hui down, Xiao Yu forcefully shot the ball. After a few bounces, it finally went through the hoop. The combined team's luck seemed to be holding up.
After scoring, Xiao Yu turned to retreat. Unexpectedly, Zhuji Middle School imitated Huipu Middle School's fast-break style and immediately chased after the combined team for a counter-attack.
Yan Hui inbounded the ball from the baseline to Wang Xian. Wang Xian took two dribbles and passed to Chen Feng, who was driving in from the right. Chen Feng dribbled into the middle, and Feng Chen set an off-ball screen for Tang Chenfeng on the left, helping Tang Chenfeng easily cut into the paint.
Chen Feng's pass arrived on time, and Tang Chenfeng received the ball for a layup, easily scoring two points to counter the combined team!
The entire process was smooth and seamless.
"Holy crap! When did Zhuzhong's counter-attacks become so sharp?"
Fu Zaifeng, standing on the sidelines, was startled. In his impression, in the entire Zhejiang region, only Huipu Middle School could execute such fast and fluid fast breaks. Zhuji Middle School's previous fast breaks were based on successful defense and missed shots by opponents, leading to counter-attacks. They rarely had direct counter-attacks after baseline inbound passes like Huipu Middle School.
This was because such fast-break tactics demanded higher stamina from the players and a greater degree of tactical coordination...