The game began, Yan Hui won the tip-off, giving Zhu Zhong the opportunity for the opening offense.
Chen Feng dribbled the ball past half-court. Yan Hui stationed himself in the paint, holding off Yu Chu, and signaled for the ball.
Chen Feng made a bounce pass, sending the basketball into Yan Hui's hands. Yan Hui back-to-goal postered Yu Chu. The power forward from Caota Middle School immediately collapsed, helping Yu Chu double-team Yan Hui...
"Holy crap! They're thinking the same thing..."
Since the core players of both teams were big centers, basket area double-teaming was the most common defensive tactic.
"Feng Chen, make the cut! Cut to the basket..." He Ximeng shouted from the sidelines, reminding his team's power forward.
Feng Chen was positioned too far out to effectively support Yan Hui...
Trapped in a double-team, Yan Hui couldn't get support from Feng Chen. When he tried to pass back to Chen Feng, who was outside the three-point line, his vision was obstructed...
In a critical moment, Yan Hui chose to rely on his individual skill. He faked a spin, then faked again, disrupting the rhythm of Caota Middle School's two inside players. He then forcefully rose up and attempted a short hook shot under the basket!
The ball hit the backboard, and ultimately bounced in!
This first play was already so tough. The subsequent situation was bound to be grim...
Indeed, after Yan Hui's strong drive scored the first two points, his subsequent offensive attempts had to be passed out to the perimeter due to Caota Middle School's double-teaming.
And the person with the highest three-point shooting percentage for Zhu Zhong was He Ximeng, who was currently on the sidelines... The next best was shooting guard Tang Chenfeng.
However, Tang Chenfeng's shooting touch wasn't great today; both of his three-point attempts in the first quarter bounced off the rim.
On the other hand, although Yu Chu's situation was similar to Yan Hui's, scoring little under Zhu Zhong's double-team, Chen Qiudao was completely on fire in the opening stages today!
He frequently took advantage of Yu Chu drawing Zhu Zhong's defensive attention, making cuts and fast breaks into the paint for scores.
Chen Qiudao and Yu Chu were the absolute cores of Caota Middle School, and their chemistry was excellent. They barely needed any words; Chen Qiudao would appear in the right place at the right time...
"Switch! Switch players... Oh, too slow..."
"Don't just stare at the ball! Watch the player! Watch the player!"
"The defense is collapsing too slowly... It needs to be elastic, elastic..."
"Ah..."
He Ximeng, watching his teammates' performance from the sidelines, was speechless. Having grown accustomed to NBA-level positioning, watching these high school students' positioning and support play was as rotten as dog shit...
"Brother, Zhu Zhong's coach seems very young?" on the spectator stand, a goddess-like girl pointed at He Ximeng, who was shouting from the sidelines, and said to the boy beside her.
The boy looked a bit bewildered. At first, he thought He Ximeng was a player, given his young age. But after the game started, he saw He Ximeng's commanding demeanor... My goodness, his aura and style were even more impressive than his former school team coach's...
"Uh... maybe he just graduated from college..." the boy replied vaguely.
The girl's name was Zhang Tianai, and the boy's name was Zhang Zhenpeng. Both siblings were from Zhuji, but their businessman father had sent them overseas to study from a young age.
Zhang's father was a well-known entrepreneur in the Zhuji area, with a net worth of hundreds of millions.
A while ago, Zhang's father was critically injured in a car accident. Zhang's mother summoned the siblings back to China, ready to inherit the family business at any time... However, as Zhang's father's condition gradually stabilized, the siblings were no longer under immediate pressure to inherit the business. But Zhang's mother also told them not to go abroad anymore; they should attend high school in Zhejiang Province and then college.
It didn't matter what college they attended. For them, schooling wasn't important, and neither was a diploma, as they would eventually return to the family business to take over.
Brother Zhang Zhenpeng, 1.95 meters tall and weighing 95 kilograms, was passionate about basketball. He was a key player on the school basketball team while attending high school overseas. Now that he was back in China and didn't have to enter the family business early, he planned to join Huipu Middle School, the strongest school in Zhejiang, to continue his basketball dream, aiming to become the top high school player in China with the team and compete for the national championship.
Sister Zhang Tianai, 1.75 meters tall and weighing 55 kilograms, was a cheerleader and an avid basketball fan overseas. Upon her return to China, she planned to follow her brother to Huipu Middle School, hoping to find a basketball boy in Zhejiang's strongest basketball team who could conquer her with his skills.
Hearing today that the two strongest high schools in the Zhuji area, Zhu Zhong and Caota, were having a friendly match, the siblings, bored, came to watch out of curiosity.
Originally, this match was just a passing event. Zhang Zhenpeng and Zhang Tianai would eventually go to Huipu Middle School. That year, Huipu Middle School easily won the Zhejiang division, advanced through the playoffs, and, as the top team in the Eastern Division, joined forces with Nanjing No. 9 Middle School to reach the quarterfinals of the national tournament. In the semifinals of the national tournament, they faced the formidable Tsinghua.
Of course, Tsinghua High School ultimately advanced to the finals, and Zhang Zhenpeng missed out on the title of China's top high school player.
Now, He Ximeng's fate has changed. What about Zhang Zhenpeng and Zhang Tianai's fates? Will they also change?