Chapter 99: The Fierce Battle at the Nine Pines Gymnasium (Part 1)

“Long time no see, Coach Liu. Your health is still so good.”

Wang Lei’s greeting was still quite routine, but the tone could not avoid carrying a trace of resentment. Many words Liu Sicheng had said back then really hurt Wang Lei. Although he had experienced so much ups and downs, Wang Lei’s nature was not particularly open-minded. Even with a second life, some things he could not let go of, he simply could not.

“Mmm, really good. The young guys now are all quite sensible. But I heard you had an accident? Feeling better now? If you can’t play ball, what can’t you do to make a living? But since you’re a coach, I need to say a couple things. What the hell are you teaching your players? You’re messing around, wasting the young people’s talent. If you still have a bit of sense, resign quickly. Coaching isn’t something anyone can do.”

It did not surprise Wang Lei at all that Liu Sicheng was still that old Liu Sicheng. Even though this person had his own set of skills in coaching young players, Wang Lei still looked down on his character. In Wang Lei’s view, people like Liu Sicheng never knew how to respect others.

“Hey, whether I do this job or not is really none of your business. Besides, whether I’m messing around or not, you’ll know after the game. What do you say?”

“Haha, young man, you’re still the same as before, not backing down until you hit the wall. Okay, since you’ve reached this point, cherish it.”

The words did not match, half a sentence more. Liu Sicheng no longer had the desire to argue with Wang Lei, and Wang Lei did not want to entangle with this sarcastic old ghost anymore. Everything would wait for the match result to slap faces.

This match was arranged to be held at the well-known JiSong Stadium in the capital. This place was originally a royal garden built in the previous feudal dynasty, later destroyed by fire, and after the founding of the Republic, it was rebuilt with funds invested in constructing the most luxurious sports hall in the country at that time. Since the old royal garden only had nine old pines left by the time of reconstruction, it was called JiSong Stadium.

After entering the new century, JiSong Stadium underwent renovations. Being located in the current prosperous area, the stadium’s business was very good, and ordinary people also liked to come watch the games in their spare time.

Different from the first three games, Wang Lei and his players noticed the presence of cameras and reporters on the sidelines of this match. After all, it was the youth team of the capital, even though the level was not high, the attention received was much more than from their side of the border.

This match was not broadcast live by top TV stations, but the Capital Sports Channel would broadcast this match live on site.

Compared to the first three games, Wang Lei made some minor adjustments to the starting lineup for this game. First, Hawule, the short center who had always started, sat on the bench this time. Cai Aihong would take on the center role today. This was unavoidable. The opponent’s center was indeed strong. Although Hawule had sufficient physical strength, facing such a talented center, he lacked game experience. Wang Lei did not want Hawule to commit two fouls in just a few minutes, which would make the following game absolutely hard to play. So for the sake of the entire game, he could only let the slender but relatively more experienced Cai Aihong take on the center.

On the backcourt line, Sun Dexun and Turong both got the starting positions. Previously he had always been a backup, but Wang Lei estimated that the opponent would double-team Turong, so having two guards was also very necessary.

After the game started, Wang Lei’s estimation was indeed accurate. The opponent started with an inside feint, then used the opportunity of the border youth team contracting defense to pass the ball to the outside shooter. As home team, the Capital Youth Team had great momentum, and the first outside shot hit a three-pointer.

In the subsequent defense, the Capital Youth Team tightly double-teamed Turong. They were in a zone defense formation, but the defense positions were quite far out, and two to three people were always subtly surrounding Turong.

However, Wang Lei’s pre-match adjustment was to have Sun Dexun as the ball handler, while Turong more pulled down to the baseline to stretch the space.

What the players of the Capital Youth Team did not expect at all was that the Border Youth Team, which usually directly attacked from the outside, this time actually started from the inside.

After Sun Dexun advanced to the frontcourt, he passed the ball to Cai Aihong who was barely managing to back up.

Tao Zhayong, only seventeen years old, was already considered an experienced “veteran player.” Compared to the Border Youth Team players’ game experience, Tao Zhayong who played international matches with the National U15 team at fifteen was absolutely considered old seniority. He had also watched the Border Youth Team’s game videos before the match, knowing that the skinny player in front of him actually did not have the ability to back up, at most had good mid-range shots. So in defense, he did not perform very hard, because he thought the opponent could not pose too much threat.

Sure enough, Tao Zhayong felt that the player in front did not push back, but took a step back and turned his body as if to directly shoot.

Tao Zhayong immediately got the position, he did not intend to give the opponent a big air. Such rash jumping behavior was absolutely an error in Liu Sicheng’s view. What Tao Zhayong needed to do was to try to block the opponent’s position, and interfere with the shot was enough.

At this time, most of the Capital Youth Team’s defense attention was still on Turong and Cai Aihong, after all, these two were the most threatening players in the entire Border Youth Team. Liu Sicheng had given strict instructions before the game to keep an eye on these two.

However, what the players of the Capital Youth Team did not expect was that the originally passed ball and patrolling outside guard Sun Dexun suddenly bypassed the defense and slanted into the inside.

Cai Aihong’s body was indeed thin and did not have the ability to back up single-handedly, but Wang Lei discovered that this young man actually had quite good passing talent. Perhaps due to practicing long-distance running, he had a natural sensitivity to his teammates’ running positions and timing. At this moment, when Cai Aihong received the ball, he suddenly hit the ground and passed it out. The timing was perfect, Sun Dexun utilized the speed advantage to exactly insert into the arc position, after receiving the ball without any pause, he directly dunked for two points.

It seemed like a simple slant insertion and counter run tactic, but such a tactic just hit the soft spot of the Capital Youth Team. Sun Dexun was originally known for his speed, and the change in Turong and Cai Aihong’s playing style just opened up space for Sun Dexun’s penetration. Wang Lei’s tactical arrangement was executed very well.

In just one offensive and defensive round, Wang Lei and Liu Sicheng felt the pressure. Each of them felt that the opponent’s team was coming better than they imagined. The Capital Youth Team’s combination of inside and outside play was very good, and the Border Youth Team’s tactics were variable, which also made Liu Sicheng very surprised.