r18novel Chapter 167
Chapter 167
Today's training was similar to yesterday's—basic skills in the morning, and sparring in the afternoon.
Coach Li stood on the sidelines, holding the black notebook in his hand, his gaze sweeping over everyone.
"We'll have a scrimmage this afternoon. We'll be divided into two groups of seven. We'll play two quarters, each lasting fifteen minutes. The tactics session will be moved to the evening to discuss issues that arose during today's game."
Someone hissed – the scrimmage meant real combat, and real combat meant being watched by Coach Li, and a poor performance might result in immediate criticism.
Lin Feng's heart started beating a little faster.
It wasn't nervousness, it was excitement.
He came to the provincial youth team to play basketball. To play against stronger opponents, at a faster pace, and at a higher level.
The competition started promptly at 3 PM.
Coach Li divided the players into two teams—the Red Team and the White Team—and distributed them as evenly as possible according to position and ability. Lin Feng was assigned to the White Team and played shooting guard. His teammates included Gao Yuan—he played point guard, Chen Hao played small forward, the center was a 1.98-meter-tall strong man named Zhou Qiang, and the power forward was another player named Li Ming.
On the red team's side, Sun Hao played center, Liu Yang played small forward, and the shooting guard was a guy named Zhang Lei—the one who ran the 100 meters in 11.8 seconds yesterday. He's not tall, about 1.85 meters, but extremely fast.
Coach Li blew the whistle.
"White team serves first."
He dribbled the ball across half-court from the plateau. His ball control was steady, his pace neither too fast nor too slow, and his eyes scanned the positions of everyone on the court.
Lin Feng stood at a 45-degree angle on the right, and Zhang Lei was defending him.
Zhang Lei was bent over, arms outstretched, his center of gravity low, like a fully drawn bow. His eyes were fixed on Lin Feng's chest—not on the ball, but on the center of gravity, a habit of an experienced player.
Gao Yuan passed the ball over.
Lin Feng caught the ball, spun it in his hand, and adjusted it to his shooting hand position. Zhang Lei immediately closed in, less than half a meter away, and stretched his hand in front of Lin Feng to obstruct his view.
Lin Feng dribbles, breaking to the right. First step—not fast enough. Zhang Lei moves sideways, blocking his path. Lin Feng stops abruptly, crossovers to the left, and Zhang Lei follows.
He was moving too fast.
Lin Feng forced a jump shot, and Zhang Lei jumped up to block it, reaching his hand towards Lin Feng's face. The ball's trajectory was disrupted, hitting the front of the rim and bouncing out. Sun Hao grabbed the rebound and made a long pass to Liu Yang, who was cutting inside, and Liu Yang scored a layup.
What did Coach Li write down in his notebook?
"The white team is too slow to get back on defense!" he shouted.
Gao Yuan ran over and patted Lin Feng on the shoulder. "It's okay, don't rush next time. He's fast, slow down and use your rhythm to get past him."
Lin Feng nodded.
The white team attacks again.
This time, Gao Yuan didn't pass to Lin Feng; instead, he passed to Zhou Qiang in the paint. Zhou Qiang backed down Sun Hao, but he couldn't overcome him in terms of strength—Sun Hao was seven centimeters taller and weighed fifteen kilograms more, like a wall. Zhou Qiang turned and shot, but Sun Hao slapped the ball away.
The red team has scored again.
Zero to four.
After dribbling the ball across half-court from the plateau, he immediately called for a tactic – a pick-and-roll.
Lin Feng understood immediately, circled around the baseline, and used Zhou Qiang's screen to run to the top of the arc to receive the ball. Zhang Lei, who was guarding him, was blocked by Zhou Qiang, and Sun Hao—a 2.05-meter center—switched to guard him from outside the three-point line.
Lin Feng glanced at Sun Hao's position—he took a step back, leaving space for a shot.
He raised the ball, and Sun Hao pounced on him.