Chapter Twelve A Basin of Cold Water

  Xiang Qingyun, who secured the starting position due to Yan Lingfeng's unexpected injury, walked by Yan Lingfeng with a swagger, flicking her hair and leaving behind a disdainful remark: "That Wang Qun is such a coward? The words 'hot-blooded' are an insult to the profound Chinese characters when applied to him!"

  It's indeed like that, Yan Lingfeng nodded in deep agreement, and he couldn't help but want to say to the non-existent camera "Cut this part, replay!" Yan Lingfeng sat at the very front of the class, his left hand wrapped in thick gauze, extremely eye-catching. Han Dengyun thought he was blocking Xiang Ziyu's line of sight, and several times wanted to come over and move him to the back, the whole class, except for him and Fu Zijun, really didn't have anyone who could look Yan Lingfeng straight in the eye, of course, excluding a few people who suspected that he was a pig demon who had eaten hormones as a child.

  Yan Lingfeng threatened shamelessly that if Han Dengyun dared to come hard, he would rather pass the ball to his opponent after he recovered than pass it to him. Han Dengyun, a simple-minded child, was intimidated by Yan Lingfeng, who was ten years older than him in actual age, and slunk away with his tail between his legs.

  Yan Lingfeng looked at the back of Han Dengyun with a pleased expression, thought for a moment, moved his chair slightly to make room for Xiangziyan to watch that big fool Wang Qun being bullied by Ling Yun.

  "Move out of my way!" A clear voice came from behind, without turning around, Yan Lingfeng also knew the owner of the voice. For Tian Hui, a violent woman who specialized in data statistics, Yan Lingfeng didn't dare to offend her, so he could only move his chair a little further away.

  He turned his head back and saw that Qin Xuedan was staring at him with a blank expression, continuing to shift, Yan Lingfeng had already moved to the edge of the class's formation, muttering in dissatisfaction, but no one heard what he said.

  At this time, with the referee's whistle, the basketball match 1/8 final between two freshman classes officially kicked off. The starting lineup of Class 5 of Grade 1 was obviously shorter than that of Class 8 by a big margin. The No. 3 player, Yan Lingfeng, who jumped for the ball with Handen Yun, was estimated to be no taller than himself. However, a surprising scene appeared.

  In the process of the basketball rolling upwards, the No. 3 in blue Pistons jersey jumped into the air early, and Han Dengyun was taken aback, then revealed a sneer, looking like his opponent was a complete rookie, guessing that before the ball even reached its peak, he would already be back on the ground.

  Han Dengyun stared at the orange basketball, his legs slightly flexing, ready to jump up at any moment.

  It's now! Handengyun let out a loud roar, raising his right hand to meet the basketball that had already begun to fall, he saw the hem of jersey No. 3, Handengyun smiled, thinking that after 0.1 seconds it would be your shorts.

  Yan Lingfeng felt a bad premonition rising in his heart, and the No. 3 was still not showing any signs of falling, this kind of hovering was really too terrifying.

  What disappointed Handengyun was that when he saw the opponent's shorts, the basketball had already flown far into the opponent's half court. Looking at the expressionless No. 3 with some astonishment, Handengyun muttered a curse and turned his head to walk towards his own half court.

  The Detroit Pistons won the championship in June 2004, with their unadorned basketball style and sincere teamwork, unexpectedly defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, who had assembled four superstars, to win the title. Although their playing style was not aesthetically pleasing, their championship status still earned them a lot of fans' affection, such as this opponent in front of us.

  No. 3 of the jump ball should be playing in the center position, Yan Lingfeng smiled wryly, and indeed had a Big Ben style!

  Wang Qun's number is 36, as expected, he should appear in the power forward position like Rashid, according to Zhao Senming, he and Fu Zijun have similar characteristics, also a type of accurate shooter, but his shooting range has not extended beyond the three-point line, today's matchup between the two teams' power forwards, it will be about who has better luck.

  Three players who looked almost the same height, all under 1.8 meters, were wearing numbers 1, 32 and 22, they should be the three outside line positions.

  The game has just started, and Yan Lingfeng can't see their characteristics yet. I guess it's just a matter of following the elegant style, if they all have the style of having five tigers like No. 3, then the eighth class that was full of confidence before the game really needs to ask a big question mark about winning.

  The No. 1 defender, who was the shortest player on the entire field, looked like he was about 1 meter 7 tall at most, and wore a white headband in a very pretentious manner, but when facing Zhao Senming's defense, he actually accelerated and broke through directly.

  Yan Lingfeng's eyes widened in shock at the speed of No. 1, even with his own evolution through washing his marrow and cutting his tendons, he feared that he couldn't compare to this small, dark-skinned player.

  It wasn't just Yan Lingfeng, Zhao Senming on the court was also looking at the back of No. 1 with an incredulous expression, after No. 1 broke through Zhao Senming's defense and rushed to the basket, facing Han Dengyun's supplementary defense, he directly threw a high lob shot.

  "Brush!"

  No. 1's sudden breakthrough was like a basin of cold water, drenching the high school class 8 people who underestimated their opponent, leaving them chilled to the bone. Han Dengyun looked at No. 1's increasingly distant back and said viciously: "Next time, I won't let you get away with it, or else I'll have eaten 15 years of rice for nothing!"

  Sun Feiyang clapped his hands and said: "The ball is served, what are you all stunned for? Ling Feng has said it before, he's strong if he wants to be strong, but we will be even stronger! Sen Ming, return one!"

  Zhao Senming gritted his teeth and nodded silently, taking the basketball handed over by Han Dengyun. He slowly walked towards the front court, making a hand gesture at the arc top to signal everyone to spread out. He turned sideways to face defender No. 1, ready for a one-on-one showdown.

  Number 1 seemed to have anticipated this outcome, calmly watching Zhao Senming's hands spread apart. Zhao Senming feigned a move to the right, Number 1 smiled slightly and took a small step to his left, as if he had been deceived. Zhao Senming dribbled the ball with his left hand, turning his body to the right, and at this moment, the ball was already in his right hand. Without thinking, Zhao Senming was about to drive towards the inside line. In his mind, his move of changing hands and direction had reached perfection, and even if Number 1 had exceptional eyesight, he would still be unable to see through his breakthrough direction.

  Indeed, No. 1 couldn't tell Zhao Senming's breakthrough direction, but his ultra-fast speed made up for everything. Although he was deceived twice, he relied on his short and sturdy body as well as his quick footwork to stand in front of Zhao Senming again just as he was about to break through successfully. Zhao Senming had no choice but to withdraw his prepared step forward, pull the ball back with his right hand, take a step back with his left foot, and jump up for a shot.

  The basket was completely empty, so Zhao Senming easily found the direction of the basket. He still had confidence in this distance's jump shot, and his right hand, which was holding the ball, slowly rose up.

  A blue shadow flashed by his side, and Zhao Senming only felt a lightness in his hand. His right hand instinctively made a shooting motion, but the basketball had already flown away.

  No. 1 rushed up at the moment Zhao Senming wanted to raise the basketball and shoot, lightly poking the basketball that Zhao Senming had no control over with a quick movement, then quickly ran a few steps to catch up with the ball in hand, rushing towards the half court of Class 8 like a blue storm. Zhao Senming couldn't help but regret it, and as soon as he landed, he quickly turned around and ran towards his own half court. Sun Feiying reacted even faster than him, and at the moment No. 1 touched the ball, she was already running towards her own half court first.

  No. 1, who was dribbling the ball and sprinting, glanced to his left at Sun Feiyang, who was about a meter ahead of him, and with a burst of speed from his feet, his already fast pace incredibly increased again, a yellow shadow, a blue shadow, like two flashes of lightning, rapidly rushed to the halfway line of Class 8.

  Yan Lingfeng stared at No. 1, who was the first to arrive after the shot, and completed a difficult overtaking of Sun Feiyang with a simple layup, completing this attack from stealing to scoring in less than 5 seconds.

  Zhao Senming ran back to his own half with a gloomy face, and just brushed past the No. 1 who had made the shot, hearing a pure Northeastern accent in his ear: "You're too slow..."

  Zhao Senming's face changed, about to get angry, but he quickly calmed down, his expression calm and slightly smiling. He looked at Yan Lingfeng on the sidelines with a worried look and thought: "I should have gotten used to Lingfeng's sudden moves long ago, there's no need to be angry with him. What advantage do I have in this? Let's see how you'll be so arrogant when I provoke that terrifying monster under the basket, Deng Yun?"

  Sun Feiyang passed the ball to Zhao Senming, who had calmed down, and whispered in his ear: "Where did this No. 1 come from? Why have I never heard of him before?"

  Zhao Senming said while dribbling the ball forward: "A Northeastern dialect, I reckon you didn't attend junior high school in Shuiyun."

  Sun Feiyang nodded and said: "No wonder, don't compete with him anymore. Just use your height to bully them to death!"

  Zhao Senming dodged No. 1's steal and hung the ball to the basket, where Hande Yun had already been pushed to the back by No. 3. Hande Yun received the ball and sneered, "Prepare to die!"

  The players of Class 5 seemed to have great confidence in No. 3, and didn't even move forward to defend. Han Dengyun, facing the much shorter No. 3, appeared extremely confident, pushing No. 3 towards the basket with a few steps, pinning his left shoulder against his opponent, and using his right hand to hook the ball into the hoop. As soon as the ball left his hand, Han Dengyun immediately realized he might have been too excited - this shot was clearly too forceful, and without any unexpected events, it would be impossible for the ball to go through the net.

  Hantian Yun let out a loud roar, and as the basketball bounced off the backboard, he leaped into the air, stretching his long arms to grab the ball in mid-air. Just as Hantian Yun was about to get the rebound, player No. 3, who seemed weaker than Hantian Yun, suddenly sprang up and with his right hand, he tapped the ball down before Hantian Yun could get it, embracing it in his arms.

  Yan Lingfeng was stunned, if the surprise of the jump ball couldn't see anything, then this rebound has fully proven that No. 3's bounce height, speed and hang time are all top-notch, and Yan Lingfeng had already noticed that although No. 3 is not tall, his long arms are almost as wide as Han Dengyun's 1.93m arm span.

  No. 3 took down the rebound and, without hesitation, forcefully threw it forward to the front court. The players on both teams had complete trust in their teammates. Sun Feiying and Zhao Senming believed that Han Dengyun would grab this easily obtainable frontcourt rebound, so they instinctively ran back to the backcourt when the ball fell into someone else's hands.

  As they turned around, a big, bright red No. 1 appeared before their eyes, making them feel like they couldn't open their eyes wide enough. The basketball was still in the air when No. 1 had already turned around and rushed towards the abdomen of Class 8, and as soon as his feet crossed the half-court line, No. 3's long pass fell into his hands, and it was another simple dunk. As the ball rolled on the ground, Sun Feiying and Zhao Senming had just stepped into the three-point line.

  The game had just begun, and the unexpectedly strong Class 5 of High School Year 1 won with a score of 6 to 0, stunning everyone, including Yan Lingfeng, who was frowning.

  From this short 1-minute video, the abilities of the five players are very single-minded. From Yan Lingfeng's analysis with his eyes that have been watching basketball for over a decade, No. 1's shooting should be his weakness, while No. 3, from his slightly awkward basketball steps and movements, it can be seen that this person has not been in contact with basketball for a long time. The successful pass just now was largely due to No. 1's clever running position, but these two people have caused the entire team to become disorganized. One move is fresh, eating all over the sky, in the NBA, even Ray Allen, who only shoots three-pointers at the end of his career, is more welcomed by each team than Josh Smith, who looks like he can do everything. Maybe it's this reason that although all-around players have good data, when it comes to real competition, being all-around may become a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. Of course, Yan Lingfeng thinks so not to belittle his teammates, the disadvantage at the beginning is more because of everyone's arrogance and underestimation before the game. Hopefully, everyone won't be confused like this, as long as everyone can calm down and play each ball well, the chances of winning for Class 8 are still great. The problem now is whether the four kings of the primary school era, who are not yet mature, can stabilize the team?

  Yan Lingfeng took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "Don't rush into action! Don't shoot without 90% confidence, just dribble the ball!"

  This is because after seeing the strong bounce ability of No. 3, Yan Lingfeng knew that his team's rebounding today was lost. Rebounding is a team's lifeline! In the lineup of Class 8, Han Dengyun relied on his height, which was higher than his peers, and got nearly 20 rebounds in the first two games. It was because of the guarantee of rebounds that Class 8 could advance to the top 16 with ease. But today, from the current situation, Han Dengyun should be tightly pressed by No. 3, not to mention Fu Zijun's rebounding ability!

  Under the reminder of Yan Lingfeng, in the next attack, Class 8 patiently passed the ball, and the shortcomings of Class 5's players were also exposed under Class 8's deliberate arrangement. That is, their basketball awareness was general, except for No. 1 and Wang Qun, the other three people often inexplicably lost their defensive position. Finally, under the patient passing of Class 8, the ball appeared in Fu Zijun's hand outside the three-point line.

  Fu Zijun took a deep breath, this ball must be thrown, the attack time is almost gone. This ball must also go in, otherwise the situation on the field will be difficult to control.

  "Go! Baby." Fu Zijun lightly shouted, releasing his left hand that was holding the ball. The beautiful shooting posture, the beautiful arc, Yan Lingfeng excitedly let out a low shout as he watched the basketball fly through the air. From his angle, this shot was definitely going in.

  Things in the world are not as expected, eight or nine out of ten. The orange basketball flew in the air for a while and was probably a bit tired, so it dove into the basket with its head down. However, just when it was about to fall through the net, it playfully bumped against the rim, stopping its downward trend. The basketball spun around tirelessly in the basket, moving further and further away from the white net bag, until it finally fell out with a thud.

  "Damn it!" Yan Lingfeng cursed loudly, how could this be!

  Without a doubt, the rebound was grabbed by No. 3, and Sun Feiying and Zhao Senming, who had been burned once before, stuck tightly to No. 1. The three of them tangled together as they ran towards the eighth grade's half court.

  No. 3 saw no chance of a fast break and carefully passed the ball to No. 32, then ran forward with his head down.