Chapter 113: Wolf and Tiger (Part I)

Eastern Guangdong Province, the largest province in the southern region of the Republic.

Here, “largest” does not refer to land area, but rather to Eastern Guangdong’s economic standing within the southern region and throughout the entire Republic.

Across the Republic, Eastern Guangdong Province is the most economically advanced. Thanks to its strategic location and favorable natural conditions, the economic strength of this single province alone surpasses that of some small countries in Southeast Asia and even around the world.

The total GDP of the entire frontier province barely reaches half of the GDP of Eastern Guangdong’s capital city, Yuezhou.

While, in a sense, a region’s basketball level is not solely determined by its economic power, without a solid economic foundation, improving grassroots basketball in modern society is merely an empty promise.

Without ample resources, there aren’t enough coaches to train young players.

For someone like Wang Lei to lead a team of players with virtually no professional training to qualify for a national-level competition is truly unprecedented. If not for Wang Lei’s own experience in two different worlds and his unique skills, such an achievement would have been impossible.

In today’s era, advancing the level of any sport relies not only on a few outstanding individuals. To truly improve, there must be a deep grassroots base and sufficient foundational conditions.

Eastern Guangdong alone boasts four professional basketball clubs competing in the nation’s top leagues. Beneath them are numerous teams in secondary and semi-professional leagues, providing ample platforms for basketball-loving youth. Moreover, the university teams throughout Eastern Guangdong are all quite formidable, each maintaining its own youth training system.

As for Wang Lei’s first opponent now, their foundational conditions are far beyond what Wang Lei’s team can compare with.

They have professional nutritionists and fitness coaches hired from North America, as well as a professional head coach within their system. The salary for just their head coach exceeds the entire expenses of Wang Lei’s frontier youth team.

Even the subsidies their players receive are unimaginable to Wang Lei’s team—five-figure sums versus the four-figure allowances of the frontier youth players.

For this youth tournament, the Eastern Guangdong youth team even arranged warm-up matches against overseas teams—opportunities completely out of reach for Wang Lei’s team.

Compared to them, the frontier youth team is nothing but an utterly “outsider” squad.

“Keep looking, keep looking—I heard it, we made it into the newspaper,”

In the locker room, the frontier youth players gathered, their mood surprisingly relaxed.

“Here it is! Damn, it’s just this little bit, not even a photo. Coach, this feels like such a lack of recognition. We’re the number one team in the northern division, after all.”

The group of young men found the coverage of their youth team’s match tucked away in a tiny corner of the newspaper.

“What more recognition do you expect? Everyone needs to understand, we’re not the main story. The spotlight is on the senior teams. Having any coverage at all is already pretty good. When I first made the national team, I didn’t even get this much coverage. Later on, after my injury, I made all the front pages,”

Wang Lei never shied away from his own struggles. The loss of his family was something he could never forget, yet for himself, he considered it not so extraordinary. In a lifetime of a hundred years, countless people have suffered far worse. The fact that he still had the chance to stand in the spotlight was already a blessing.

As the match approached, Wang Lei refrained from drilling the team on tactics. He appeared relaxed, aiming to put the players at ease. The game plan had long been set. Talking too much now would only make them more anxious. Better to chat about other things and help the players loosen up so they could perform to their true potential on the court.

Those unfamiliar with competitive sports might not realize that the skill displayed during training and the skill shown in actual competition are entirely different matters. Some players shine like stars in practice but can only perform at 80 percent—or less—in real games.

“Everyone, when you get on the court, just play relaxed, like in our usual training. I have no other demands for this game. Winning is our glory; losing is our lesson. Getting this far to the finals is already a success. Don’t stress about anything else. But there’s one thing—don’t get too relaxed. Remember our training rules: you might not have impressive stats, but you absolutely cannot be idle. Anyone standing still on the court should just come off and let someone willing to move take their place.”

Wang Lei was generally satisfied with the team’s current state. The Frontier Province Sports Administration had given him few directives before departure—just to play well and show some style. But concepts like “playing well” or “showing style” are hard to define, so Wang Lei simply told the players not to focus on the results.

A bunch of young men just over twenty years old—telling them the stakes are huge is nonsense. Once on the court, especially in a big event like this, everyone wants to show results and earn some respect. But basketball is, after all, a team sport. If everyone only thinks about showcasing themselves, the team will never achieve good results.

Wang Lei’s proudest achievement was instilling a soul in this team. Everyone knew their role clearly. There were no instances of players hogging the ball or seeking the spotlight. The entire team was united in purpose.

The game began while the National Games’ opening ceremony was underway, so the arena held few spectators. Neither team was local, and both were youth squads. Perhaps only Wang Lei and Turgon had some name recognition. The Eastern Guangdong youth team included two players who had previously played for the national junior and youth teams, but neither was a core starter, so their fame was limited.

Both teams entered the court with a relaxed demeanor. They had never faced each other before, so there was no history or grudges between them. Being young, they could even chat with each other casually—no one was arrogant enough to think their opponents were trash or that they themselves were the best.

Anyone who sniffs disdainfully at an unknown opponent is either truly arrogant or truly foolish.

However, Turgon’s presence drew considerable attention from the other side. He had indeed caused a stir in domestic basketball circles before—small, but noticeable to those paying attention. His head of white hair and snow-white skin made him an even more striking figure.