novelraw Chapter 226 What’s Wrong with Xiao Qiu
Chapter 226 What’s Wrong with Xiao Qiu
"The ball’s in!"
"The ball’s in!"
......
The players from Yingbo University were all incredibly excited. Lin Feng had only been on the court for a short time, and he had already scored two consecutive baskets. Before Lin Feng’s appearance, such a thing had been simply impossible. It seemed that today’s match might just turn the tide! The more they thought about it, the more excited they became, quickly gathering around Wang Dayong and Lin Feng to cheer.
Post and Telecommunications University’s point guard, Xiao Qiu, stared dumbfounded at his own hands, then again at the player who had stolen the ball, number 7, still unable to comprehend how he had lost the ball. As a point guard with 11 years of experience, the basketball had practically grown attached to his hand. Yet, today, it had been unexpectedly snatched away—impossible! Never had his ball been taken during league matches, and now in such an amateur game, to be stripped of the ball... it was utterly humiliating! How could he face his buddies on the court after this!
"It’s okay, Xiao Qiu, just play your game."
"Just be careful next time, don’t dwell on it."
"Cheer up, Xiao Qiu."
...
As each Post and Telecommunications University player passed by Xiao Qiu, they offered words of encouragement because everyone absolutely trusted his skills. As a perfect point guard, he was the soul of the team. The fact that he had the ball stolen today by the opponent was simply because of carelessness, nothing more. Everyone knew that in the entire Tianhai, no one could steal the ball from Xiao Qiu. This had to be an accident.
At that moment, the third quarter ended, and the score on the court became 22 to 79, with Yingbo University trailing by 57 points.
"Listen up, everyone. In the next quarter, find your offensive positions. Don’t worry about me; I’ll pass the ball to whoever has the best shot, and if there aren’t any good opportunities, pass it back to me." Lin Feng immediately shared his tactical thinking with the team upon returning to the sideline. With only one 12-minute quarter left and a 57-point gap to close, it was going to be very difficult, so he didn’t want to waste time.
"Got it, we understand."
"Understood!"
"Okay."
Hearing Lin Feng speak this way, everyone decided to firmly do as he said. As long as Yingbo University didn’t lose, anything was acceptable. Besides, everyone had witnessed Wang Dayong’s four points, enabled by Lin Feng’s passes. If they followed Lin Feng’s plan, they would surely score just like Wang Dayong.
Ding Wan’er heard Lin Feng arrange the tactics and didn’t disturb him, just watched Lin Feng quietly, her mind still pondering his words about never having played before. Without prior experience, how could he play basketball so well, not just in assisting with passes but also in strategizing? It’s rare for even professional players to coach or devise tactics!
"Come on, Lin Feng." Leng Mei had felt reassured from Lin Feng’s two shots; Lin Feng knew how to play basketball and played exceptionally well. Now, she could only hope he would lead the faculty team to victory. In front of everyone, she couldn’t say much else but to encourage Lin Feng and express her feelings.
"What’s going on, how did they start scoring?" Miao Qingjun saw the players returning to the sideline and immediately rushed up to inquire about the situation.
"We might have been too complacent since we were doing so well earlier, but it’s no big deal. They won’t be able to cause any trouble in the last quarter, no matter what."
"We’ll be serious next quarter, they won’t stand a chance."
"Relax! The score will widen again."
...
Seeing Miao Qingjun a bit anxious, the players from Post and Telecommunications University quickly reassured him. It was just an unexpected event. Once the fourth quarter started and everyone played seriously, there wouldn’t be any problems. They were worried over such a small change? There was still a 57-point difference, dreaming of closing a 57-point gap in 12 minutes—preposterous!
"That’s a relief!" Hearing his teammates, Miao Qingjun’s mind eased. Right, with only 12 minutes left, a 57-point difference was insurmountable. What was there to worry about? With that thought, he relaxed and sat back down, thinking about how the student team could triumph even more smoothly after this victory.
"How did that number 7 from Yingbo University steal the ball when he just got on the court?"
"How is number 7 so amazing, stealing the ball as soon as he came on?"
"Number 7 started scoring as soon as he entered the game."
...
The audience was puzzled about who this number 7 from Yingbo University was. As soon as he entered the game, he began to turn around Yingbo’s losing situation. He looked to be in his early twenties, his awareness and skills extraordinary. He was stealing balls and delivering brilliant assists to his teammates, leading to scores! Why hadn’t Yingbo University put him in the game sooner? Now that he was playing, what use was it when there’s only one quarter left and a 57-point gap? Even if he was impressive, it couldn’t be possible to recover from that...
The fourth quarter began.
Stung by the two baskets made earlier by Lin Feng, although the Post and Telecommunications University team was ahead by more than fifty points, they dared not be complacent. They concentrated, took the game seriously, and decided to assign two players to deal with number 7 from Yingbo University, who had just come onto the field. Having been outplayed by him twice was unbearable; they couldn’t let it happen again no matter what. Now, with two of their players keeping an eye on him, they’d see how he’d manage!
So, from the onset, the players from Post and Telecommunications University brought their A-game, determined to snuff out the rising momentum of their opponents. All their players crossed the half-court line, and Xiao Qiu was once again facing the player who had just defended him, number 7.
Xiao Qiu was certain his previous mistake was due to carelessness and resolved not to let number 7 steal the ball from him again. With this thought, he became incredibly focused, dribbling the ball rapidly while keeping his eyes fixed on Lin Feng, looking for an opportunity to break through. Suddenly, he spotted an opening in Lin Feng’s defense and charged forward, confident that Lin Feng couldn’t reach his ball at this angle!
"Slap!"
Lin Feng knocked the ball away once more.
"Whoosh!"
The basketball flew like a missile, tossed by Lin Feng into the opponents’ half-court.
What’s wrong with Xiao Qiu?
Why is he losing the ball continuously today?
Is this still Xiao Qiu?
Lin Feng’s initial steal had thrown the players from Post and Telecommunications University off balance, each turning their eyes towards Xiao Qiu, wondering if this was indeed their star point guard. The Xiao Qiu they knew had never been like this; it was rare for him to have his passes intercepted even once during a whole game. But today, he had been stripped by number 7 not once, but twice. What was going on?
"Bang!" By the time everyone had recovered, Wang Dayong already had the ball, and in an undefended moment, executed a super slam dunk!
"Nice shot!"
"Beautiful!"
"That was amazing!"
"Satisfying!"
...
This slam dunk excited the entire audience. Nobody expected Yingbo University, which had been suppressed during the first three quarters, to explode in the fourth and deliver such a beautiful play. Although number 10’s dunk was stunning, the assist was even more incredible. How did he steal the ball? It seemed as though he passed by the player and the ball just ended up in his hands. What exactly happened? His hands must be incredibly fast to steal the ball without any reaction from the opponent!
"This..."
How did he steal my ball...
If Xiao Qiu had been careless the first time, by the second steal he was certain that number 7 was a master, an extremely skilled player. He had never encountered anyone in league games who could steal the ball from him twice, and here it happened today, especially when he was taking the game extremely seriously. There were scarcely a few people in the entire country who could steal the ball from him in such a state of full effort, yet a university teacher managed to do so, which seemed impossible!
What puzzled him even more was that he couldn’t figure out how his ball had been stolen, not the first time and not the second. It was eerie, his hands were just too fast. Normally when someone steals the ball, you can see their hand move, but with number 7 it was different, as if the ball just ran into his hands on its own. Could he be performing some kind of magic? Otherwise, how could his hands be so fast!
How are we going to play the rest of the game in this situation, the ball disappearing just like that, how can we continue playing...
"Toot..." The referee’s whistle blew, calling the first full timeout for Post and Telecommunications University.
"Xiao Qiu, what’s going on, how did you lose the ball again?"
"Yeah, when have you ever been like this?"
"Xiao Qiu, what happened?"
...
As soon as they returned to the bench area, Xiao Qiu was surrounded by his team, impenetrable as everyone wanted to understand why he had allowed number 7 to steal the ball from him twice. They immediately pressed Xiao Qiu for an explanation, because according to his character, he would never make the same mistake twice, so today’s events were completely out of character!
"Right, how did you let that number 7 steal the ball and then allow them to perform a dunk, boosting their morale?"
Miao Qingjun also joined the group, eager to understand how the ball could mysteriously be lost whenever it reached that number 7, leading to a dunk that gave the opponents a surge in momentum. What was happening?
He was puzzled. Everything was fine before number 7 appeared, but after that, all his plans had been disrupted. Although they hadn’t turned their defeat into victory yet, if the current trend continued, it wouldn’t be good. If they ended up being overtaken by the opponents, wouldn’t he be shooting himself in the foot?...