Chapter 152 Volunteering

The reporters continued to do their duty to stir up the atmosphere. After the quarterfinals, a new "enemy" was created for UCLA. The intense atmosphere in Athens also continued to rise. The smoke in the air made the audience excited.

Regardless of the will of the players on both sides, the tense atmosphere in the news media has already been surging. The local media in California and Oklahoma have even shown their fangs. The first battle has started before entering the official game. May Madness is indeed worthy of its reputation.

What's more, the media are not satisfied with this. Don't forget that there is another semi-final.

At the same time, the final match of the quarterfinals has been decided. The fourth seed University of Virginia successfully defeated its opponent and met the University of Southern California in the semifinals.

As a result, all the four seeds in this year's U.S. Championship have returned to their positions smoothly, and the semi-final matchups are presented exactly as the draw shows, with the No. 1 seed facing the No. 3 seed, and the No. 2 seed facing the No. 4 seed. This is absolutely the situation that everyone expected, and the two matches in the semi-finals are definitely a clash of titans.

This immediately made the media excited.

Whoosh whoosh.

Boom boom boom.

Reporters' busy figures were everywhere in Athens, constantly creating the atmosphere before the battle. Even when the sun went down, one could still feel the boiling air that had not settled for a long time. The game between "University of Southern California VS University of Virginia" was also full of sparks.

and!

Almost all reporters were exaggerating that "the two Los Angeles teams both advanced to the finals, turning the last championship game into a civil war within the Pacific 12 Conference." The University of Oklahoma and the University of Virginia were about to become background boards again, and they naturally would never agree.

This also inspired the fighting spirit of the players and fans of the two universities. The more lively the media was, the more excited they were. They wanted to go to the court immediately and personally end the beautiful vision of "the two Los Angeles giants meeting in the finals". They persisted in fighting for the entire season, not to play a supporting role in Athens.

Gurgling.

Gurgling.

The air has begun to burn.

There are still three games left before the U.S. championship trophy. The whole of Athens is filled with a strong smell of gunpowder, even late at night.

The lights were on in the rooms of the head coaches of the four teams, and they were all racking their brains over the lineups.

Coach Martin is no exception.

"Coach, why do you look unhappy? Are you worried about tomorrow's game?"

Grant looked at Martin, who was rubbing his brow with his head down, his eyes full of fatigue, and took the initiative to ask.

Martin nodded slightly, "Against Alcorta, Thompson still has the upper hand. Thompson came over tonight and volunteered, saying that he is ready to play, but..."

But Thompson is still not in his best form.

Even though they won the last game against the Eagles, their overall batting condition and game rhythm were still not very good. Against a smart player like Alcorta, once their strength could not suppress their opponent, the game would be in trouble.

Oh, Alcorta's playing style is closer to Gawain's. He is also a player who plays with his head. His absolute strength may not be outstanding, and his game may not seem to be grand and vigorous, but the details throughout the game can make the game very rich.

Overall, players with a power-based style of play will have some advantages.

Martin didn't say the rest of the words, but Grant understood them.

"So just trust Thompson for once?"

Grant said this with a little hesitation, but in fact, he was not expressing his own opinion, but was just throwing out a brick to stimulate Martin's thinking and see what he really thought.

If Martin has already decided to use Thompson, then he will follow Grant's words; otherwise, it means that Martin has other better options in his mind.

Hesitation is often not because one is really unsure, but because one has already made a decision deep in one's heart and just needs a little affirmation from others. Once the answer given by others does not match one's own ideas, one will automatically refute it; however, if others give the answer one wants, one will be satisfied.

After a brief pause, Martin continued, "Gawain also came over tonight and volunteered to fight."

really.

Grant immediately understood Martin's inner thoughts. "Since entering the U.S. Championships, Gao Wen has indeed been playing better and better, and he is becoming more and more like a general."

"Indeed." Martin nodded slightly to express his affirmation. "The temperament of the game is still different. I originally thought that Marcos would come over and volunteer tonight, but now it seems that his personality still lacks a bit of edge."

Jilong, as a child of destiny, has his pride. Sometimes, this is a good thing, but sometimes, it is not.

Grant knew that Martin always had high expectations for Geelong.

At the end of the season, the form of Thompson and Gillon both fluctuated, but the difference could be seen from Martin's attitude. He was still willing to give Gillon more opportunities, first singles, second singles, and constantly give him opportunities to adjust his form.

Of course, a large part of the reason is also determined by the playing style.

Thompson plays with an offensive style, and when he is not in good form, he has less room for error, just like Kilbert; Giron plays with a defensive counterattack style, and even if he is not in good form, his bottom line is still there and he is not likely to collapse easily.

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But despite this, Martin's inner balance can still be seen to have a tendency.

Unfortunately, after arriving in Athens, in the quarterfinals and semifinals, at least in terms of "fighting will", Gillon's performance was not as good as Gawain and Thompson, and his weaknesses in character were still revealed.

No wonder Martin felt a little lost.

"But Geelong's game is still stable." Grant still catered to Martin's mood and said a good word for Geelong.

"Being stable is not necessarily a good thing."

Martin waved his hand, not wanting to say anything more on the subject.

"No matter what, the initiative shown by Thompson and Gao Wen is a good thing, and their overall mental outlook deserves recognition."

The more difficult the situation is, the more we should show the attitude of facing challenges head-on. This is very rare in competitive sports. Don't be afraid of losing, even when facing top players or giants who are much stronger than yourself, never be afraid of facing off. Such competitive temperament is priceless.

Martin was very pleased with Gawain and Thompson's initiative to volunteer.

Grant could understand Martin's hesitation.

Objectively analyzing from the perspective of playing style, Thompson was able to suppress Alcorta's power, which was an advantageous position - just like their regular season match, once Thompson's offensive state was brought into play, Alcorta was indeed unable to resist.

Gawain and Alcorta are a match of similar styles. It is impossible to suppress the opponent purely by sheer strength. On-the-spot performance is crucial. In terms of difficulty, it is similar to the match between Gawain and the Trojans, but the method and content of the difficulty are different. This also means that the game will be more difficult.

However, the status of Thompson and Gawain is another matter.

Second update.

(End of this chapter)