With only 45 seconds left, the players on the field understood what this offensive and defensive battle meant.
Even as the soreness in her calves began to creep in, Lu Yu paid no heed, her eyes fixed intently on Weng Pei.
Jiang team not only made offensive tactical arrangements, but also adjusted the defensive distribution, with Weng Pei guarding Lu Yu alone.
Weng Pei accelerated and stopped abruptly in front of Lu Yu. Lu Yu took a sprint to the left, then accelerated to the right and dribbled forward. Weng Pei immediately closed in again. If this continued, Jiang would block their attacking formation one by one, and Lu Yu had to pass the ball out as soon as possible.
Sun Meng was facing double coverage from Jiang's small forward and power forward, and the passing lane between Lu Yu and Chu Feiyu was blocked by Jiang's point guard.
Lu Yu seized the opportunity and immediately made a long pass to Shu Juan in front of the sideline.
The pace of the game is too intense; it's easy to make a mistake if you're distracted by even the slightest distraction.
Shu Juan stretched out her arm to retrieve the basketball that was flying towards her, but her feet felt heavy. She misjudged her position at first. It was as if her brain said she could move, but her legs said no.
In a split second, Shu Juan missed the ball.
As soon as the basketball went out of bounds and the whistle blew, excited cheers erupted from the Jiang team's fan area.
The giant timer showed "22". Both teams had used up all their timeouts, and everything depended on the players' own reactions on the court.
Shu Juan stood motionless at the corner of the court, supporting herself on her knees to calm her breathing. She frowned and muttered to herself in frustration, "I should have moved my feet first. I was too slow to react."
The other members of the Qingbei team also took advantage of the break between the ball possession parties to come over and comfort Shu Juan.
Lu Yu tugged at his jersey collar to wipe the sweat from his face and said, "Weng Pei is now organizing Jiang's offense, I'll defend her. Fei Yu, you guard Jiang's point guard, mark her closely. We're going to be marking her one-on-one, don't stand too still."
After Lu Yu finished speaking, he looked at Shu Juan and said, "Jiang's defense was excellent, but our team's defense is not bad either."
Shu Juan looked up at Lu Yu from below. The light shone through Lu Yu's bun and seemed to illuminate the shape of a torch of hope. Lu Yu's twisting posture was the twist of that torch.
Liu Du's voice in the commentary booth was tense. "There are 22 seconds left. Qingbei team is currently leading by 3 points, and the opportunity is in Jiang's hands."
Luo Yan said, "Now Jiang needs a three-pointer or a fast break within ten seconds."
The players are in position, and Team Jiang serves.
As expected, Jiang's team continued to have Weng Pei dribble the ball across the halfway line. Weng Pei went all out and actually ran out of control, leaving a blur in his wake.
The rest of the Jiang team pushed into the paint, creating an obvious fast break route. Lu Yu had to suppress Weng Pei's speed of advance.
Lu Yu suddenly stopped and blocked Weng Pei's path.
Their eyes met, focused and sharp.
Weng Pei adjusted her breathing rhythm, swayed her shoulder dramatically to the right, and then suddenly pressed her body back. The basketball bounced twice on the ground, and at the instant the basketball bounced back, Weng Pei took a big step forward to the left.
"Thump!"
Lu Yu intercepted the basketball from a low angle the instant it bounced back.
Weng Pei's pupils contracted slightly. She simply couldn't understand how Lu Yu could make such a significant adjustment to his center of gravity in such a short time.
"The ultimate showdown of butterfly steps!" Liu Du exclaimed.
Feng Xu gave a brief technical review, saying, "Weng Pei's butterfly step has a unique rhythm, and Lu Yu's interception of the ball matched the rhythm of the bounce."
Lu Yu had long forgotten the commentators' voices echoing throughout the arena. She accelerated her dribble across half-court and then made a long pass to Sun Meng.
When Sun Meng received the ball, there were already players from the Jiangxi team retreating to defend inside. Sun Meng took long strides, her feet clattering as she ran, and with the added speed, she jumped very high.
As Sun Meng rose, the hand of Jiang's center appeared before her eyes. She slightly withdrew the basketball and tried to shoot again at the highest point, but Jiang's small forward immediately followed up with a high-altitude blockade.
Time seemed to stand still. Sun Meng tensed her legs and body instantly, and for a moment she was suspended in mid-air as the basketball was slammed into the hoop!
"ah--!"
"A second layup!"
"Throughout the entire game, Sun Meng was still able to pull off a layup!"
Exclamations and discussions erupted from the audience.
Sun Meng fell back from the air, and the timer display ran out of time.
"Let's congratulate Qingbei team! 77 to 82, Qingbei team has won the first game of the semi-finals!" Liu Du's announcer's voice, combined with his hoarse voice after the shout, pushed the atmosphere of the whole place to the climax.
The cheers from the audience lasted for a long time.
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