With lush greenery gradually growing, Qingbei City is already showing signs of vitality.
The stadium where the Qingbei team plays is packed to capacity.
"Dear viewers, we meet again! This is the second match between Qingbei Team and Jiang Team, Qingbei Team is playing at home. Currently, Qingbei Team is leading by one game." Liu Du read out the opening remarks.
Feng Xu said, "Judging from the starting lineup, Qingbei team has not made any personnel changes, but Jiang team has replaced the point guard, which may be one of the variables in this game."
Luo Yan glanced around the venue and said, "It's incredibly popular. Both Qingbei Team and Jiang Team are very popular. As far as I know, the tickets for this match sold out in just a few minutes."
"It can only be said that these are two very interesting teams. At the end of the last game, Jiang seemed to have found a way to deal with Qingbei's two swingmen. Let's see who comes out on top in this game."
Liu Du's voice still echoed in the stadium, and the sharp opening whistle broke through all the echoes.
The basketball was tossed high into the air, and the centers of both teams jumped at roughly the same time.
Taking advantage of her slightly longer arms, Yang Lingling first dribbled the basketball.
Lu Yu leaped up and hooked the basketball back.
The Qingbei team has been working together with this stable lineup for some time and has also experienced the high-pressure training on the field, and their cooperation with each other has become more and more tacit.
In just a second or two, Qingbei's offensive formation followed Lu Yu's movement and pressed towards Jiang's half.
As expected, Jiang team used the same tactic as in the last five minutes of the previous game: double-teaming Sun Meng and having Weng Pei mark Lu Yu.
Weng Pei chased down Lu Yu for defense. Lu Yu tried to dribble behind his back, but only managed one step before Weng Pei blocked him again. Sun Meng, watching from a distance, was preoccupied with her own situation.
Lu Yu quickly assessed the situation on the court, suddenly dribbled to the right, and used the rebound of the basketball to exert force outwards on the same side, sending the basketball flying towards Chu Feiyu in an instant.
Chu Feiyu caught the rapidly spinning basketball, and without hesitation, jumped up from the spot.
This is the fake shot she practiced all day.
Now is the time to test whether they can get past the Jiang team's defenders.
In mid-air, Chu Feiyu leaned back slightly, in her signature shooting motion. The next second, the shadow of Jiang's point guard's hand actually appeared before Chu Feiyu's eyes.
Chu Feiyu retrieved the ball in mid-air and passed it towards the inside area before landing.
Just as Chu Feiyu was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a shout of "Back on defense!" shattered all her beautiful fantasies.
It turned out that the basketball was intercepted by Jiang's center, who had just run to the basket, halfway through its flight towards Yang Lingling's position.
Jiang's center forward launched a long ball, and Weng Pei jumped to catch it, dribbling along. Only Lu Yu could keep up with Weng Pei's attacking speed.
Before most of the Qingbei team had arrived, Weng Pei, in coordination with Jiang's power forward, made a quick pass and Jiang's power forward dunked the ball for a score.
"A classic fast-paced counter-attack!"
"True violent aesthetics".
Liu Du and Luo Yan's exclamations echoed throughout the venue.
Possession of the ball returned to the Qingbei team.
Facing Weng Pei's relentless and close marking, Lu Yu dared not waste any more time. She had to take advantage of the moment before Jiang's interior defense could fully close in and rescue Sun Meng from the double-team. As soon as she dribbled the ball across half-court, she quickly passed it to Sun Meng.
But Jiang's defense is too fast now. Sun Meng had only run two steps and hadn't even reached the basket when she was double-teamed by Jiang again.
Sun Meng maintained her speed, using the momentum of her forward thrust to leap into the air. Jiang's two blocking hands arrived as expected, one after the other. Sun Meng immediately gathered the ball while adjusting her posture, her knees slightly bent.
A scene that seems familiar.
From a distance, Weng Pei knew immediately that this was another layup attempt. Without thinking twice, she leaped towards the basketball.
The timing was slightly off.
Sun Meng's body tensed instantly, and the long hang time gave her another chance to dunk. The basketball swished through the hoop.
A second layup for a score!
Sun Meng and the basketball were both in free fall, and the basketball hit the ground with a "thud".
"Thump—"
Just before Sun Meng landed, she was knocked down by Weng Pei, who was lunging at her. From a distance, it looked as if Sun Meng had been knocked to the ground.
As Weng Pei's body tilted to one side, he rolled over to absorb most of the impact.
But Sun Meng's situation was not good. After landing, her wrists and elbows hit the ground first, and all the impact force piled up on her wrists, causing her to slam straight to the ground.
The Qingbei team members instantly gathered around. Lu Yu saw the large beads of sweat suddenly appearing on Sun Meng's forehead and knew that she must be injured.
The team doctor immediately came onto the field to carefully examine the injury and then gave emergency pain relief.
"It's hard to assess the extent of the injury right now; we'll need to take X-rays to know."
"Then please have the logistics staff accompany Sun Meng to the hospital. The rest of you, continue the competition." Coach Wang gave the order, his brows furrowing into a line.
The game had barely started when this unexpected turn of events occurred, which was a complete shock to the Qingbei team.
Feng Xu, who was in the commentary booth, sighed, and Luo Yan caught his gaze.
Luo Yan explained in detail: "Coach Feng mentioned this topic in the last game. It is not suitable for athletes who have just finished warming up to do such difficult shooting moves at the beginning of the game. The main reason is that the layup requires too much core strength. The players on the court are stimulated by excitement, and their limbs cannot coordinate well after the layup. Once the body loses balance, there is indeed a risk of injury."
Liu Du also looked regretful, saying, "Teacher Feng really loves talent. Such a gifted player is a rare find. We must pay attention to how he dissipates the force when he falls."
Coach Wang, sitting on the sidelines, was well aware of this. He had been trying to curb Sun Meng's weakness for a long time, but whenever the Qingbei team's starting lineup struggled, Sun Meng would habitually rely on her jumping advantage. Now, all he could do was focus on the current game and hope the injury wasn't serious.
Qingbei team's substitute small forward Yang Liu took over the position, and the game continued.
Without Sun Meng, Jiang's defensive formation was a piece of cake for the Qingbei team.
The Qingbei team's inside play was no longer a real threat, Yang Liu was unable to organize the offense, and Lu Yu on the perimeter was left to fend for himself.
Lu Yu had no choice but to grit his teeth and cut into it with a single knife.
Team Jiang naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass; he'd strike while the iron was hot.
The double-team defense was immediately applied to Lu Yu, completely shutting down her inside drives, and only managing to shake off one defender on the perimeter before passing the ball out. Exhausted, Lu Yu could only look for opportunities to shoot or pass the ball to Chu Feiyu, who was also on the perimeter.
The entire Qingbei team was devastated by Sun Meng's injury. Chu Feiyu's three consecutive missed shots only exacerbated the already dire situation.
At the end of the first half, Qingbei team was down by 19 points, a deficit that was utterly embarrassing.
Coach Wang's loud shouts were clearly heard by everyone through the director's camera.
Lu Yu and Chu Feiyu were naturally the names Coach Wang frequently used in his cursing.
"You're hopeless! You can't even make a shot when no one's interfering, Chu Feiyu!"
"Lu Yu, this is the result of your method, you see?"
"You two are giving me a whole bunch of high-sounding principles, but even excluding Sun Meng's influence, just look at this perimeter defense – it's a complete mess!"
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