Chapter 145: Pack of Wolves from the Northwest (Part I)

"Look, the disadvantage of the Xinjiang Youth Team is quite obvious now. Although their tactics are extremely versatile, there is still a significant gap between their bench players and their starters. On the other hand, look at the North American Youth Team—anyone casually pulled off their bench possesses a physical aptitude that could easily make them a star player in our domestic league. How can we compete with that? Therefore, the state must vigorously promote various sports at the grassroots level, especially in basic educational institutions. It is one thing during regular classes, but locking up the school gates tightly during holidays is absurd. In a small community with barely any sports fields, you guard them like precious treasures. Are you planning to keep them locked up to breed more? "

Lin Zhifei was already over sixty years old, with life experiences and wisdom more than sufficient. He was not unaware that his words would offend people, but he truly did not care. There were already too many smooth-talkers in this society, and Lin Zhifei wanted to use his own uncompromising integrity to awaken everyone.

"Coach Zhang, Coach Zhang, who do you think will ultimately take this game?"

Huang Zhoucheng could no longer afford to worry about offending the elder Lin. He felt that if he let Elder Lin continue speaking, his own job might not survive, so he interrupted him almost directly to steer the conversation away.

The situation on the court was indeed precisely as Elder Lin had described. About halfway through the second quarter, relying on the exceptional performance of their bench players, the North American Youth Team widened the score gap to double digits.

After the start of the second quarter, Wang Lei substituted out Turgun and Hawul, though core players like Sundehun and Cai Aihong remained on the court. However, Sundehun and Cai Aihong failed to provide substantial help to the team. The disparity in physical fitness was far too obvious; even Sundehun, the fastest player on the team, was merely on par with ordinary players from the opposing side, rendering Sundehun's drives virtually ineffective in creating threats.

The substitute lineup of the Xinjiang Youth Team played with a somewhat more unrestrained style compared to the starters. With the perimeter missing Turgun, their most accurate sharpshooter, the team had to rely solely on drives to generate effective offense and attract the opponent's defensive attention. As a result, with Sundehun's drives failing to exert much impact, and Cai Aihong being tightly guarded by the opponent's power forward, the most threatening offensive weapon of the Xinjiang Youth Team had its wings clipped.

Wang Lei called a timeout, firstly to give the players a brief rest, and secondly to adjust the lineup. If the team continued to play like this, the remainder of the match would become extremely difficult.

"The state must invest, and our private capital must also pay attention to the issue of investment in basic sports facilities. Everyone is currently thinking only of making money. With a population of over a billion in our country, what a massive market this is! Everyone wants to grab a piece of the pie here, which is actually understandable. However, what I cannot comprehend is that these 'national entrepreneurs' would rather spend hundreds of millions or even billions to invite so-called big-name foreign stars than lower their pride and take a long-term view to cultivate our own grassroots sports industry. Wake up, comrades! If we only think about making quick money and focus solely on immediate gains, then one day, our spectators will be disappointed, and our fans will be disappointed. When that time comes, the market will be gone, and where will there be any money left to make?"

Huang Zhoucheng and Zhang Guohai exchanged glances, feeling not only depressed in their hearts but also a deep admiration for Elder Lin. In truth, what Elder Lin said made a great deal of sense and deserved everyone's attention, but in the current environment, anyone daring to utter such words would hardly come to a good end. Elder Lin could speak his mind regardless of the consequences, leaving the two of them with nothing to do but respect him.

"Actually, I know that vigorously promoting youth training requires a lot of money, and it cannot yield results overnight. Moreover, our entire society lacks a new understanding of sports professionalization. But if we still do not act now and keep dragging our feet, our future generations will suffer, and suffer terribly. Here, I also want to use this opportunity to appeal to the audience in front of their televisions: take your children out more often to play, kick a football, shoot a basketball. Perhaps your child might not truly become a sports star, but a child who has undergone athletic training will definitely be physically healthier than a bookworm who only knows how to study. Am I right?"

Finally, Lin Zhifei finished everything he wanted to say in one breath, and Huang Zhoucheng and Zhang Guohai collectively breathed a sigh of relief as the game entered the final three minutes of the second quarter.

Cai Aihong and Sundehun were substituted out, and the Xinjiang Youth Team now fielded Hawul, Turgun, Wang Zhaohui, and others.

Having rested for nearly eight or nine minutes, Turgun immediately used a three-pointer upon returning to court to narrow the deficit to single digits.

The North American Youth Team indeed placed great emphasis on guarding Turgun, but Turgun was no longer terribly afraid of individual full-court pressure or partial double-teams.

After dribbling the ball across half-court, Turgun first used Hawul's screen to shake off a defender, then, facing the recovering Robert Lee, Turgun accelerated directly into a drive on the right side. At the exact split-second when Robert Lee shifted his center of gravity, Turgun abruptly executed a behind-the-back dribble to pull the ball back.

Robert Lee immediately adjusted his balance, attempting to chase and defend Turgun, but by then Turgun had executed a gentle hop-step into a pull-up jumper behind the three-point line. It was already too late for Robert Lee to attempt a defense.

The three-pointer was released smoothly. The ball traced a high arc, the net rippled slightly, and the ball hit the floor. Without close observation, one might even have thought the ball had flown directly out of bounds.

Turgun's brilliant individual offensive play elicited a wave of cheers from the spectators on the sidelines. Although both competing sides could be considered compatriots, regardless of how one looked at it, the Xinjiang Youth Team was still much more warmly welcomed than a team composed of overseas Chinese. Especially Turgun—this young man suffering from a medical condition had currently become immensely popular domestically. Some female fans hardly even understood basketball, yet they had all grown fond of Turgun. One had to admit that sometimes, good looks really could serve as a meal ticket.

Robert Lee was somewhat astonished. He was amazed by Turgun's exceptional individual ability; such dribbling skills and shooting proficiency were rarely seen across the entire North American continent, especially at such a young age.

"Hey, you, oh right, your shooting is really accurate."

At this moment, Robert Lee no longer dared to harbor any carelessness toward Turgun. Wanting to strike up a conversation with him, he spoke in his rather unpolished Mandarin.

However, Turgun did not reply to Robert Lee. This somewhat cocky North American youth player was actually quite irritating; Robert Lee's blockhead-like behavior earlier in the match had already formed a consensus among the Xinjiang Youth Team players.

Seeing that the opponent did not respond, Robert Lee did not mind at all. In his view, the strong naturally possessed the dignity of the strong.