The red earth stretches far and wide, the blue sky is clear and bright.
The sky and the earth on the horizon are clearly separated by red and blue.
Yunan City boasts unique highland scenery.
The first game of the finals was played at the home stadium of the Yunan team.
"Good evening, viewers. The finals are a best-of-five series, and tonight is the first match. This newly rebuilt Qingbei team has never played against the Yunan team before, and we never expected that our first encounter would be in the finals." Liu Du opened the show with a smile, full of energy and spirit.
Feng Xu chimed in, "Yes, this season's league has given us so many surprises, and I believe the finals will still spark even more amazing moments."
Luo Yan smiled broadly and said, "National team head coach Zeng Ling is also here to watch the game today, presumably to scout for promising young players."
Regarding the Olympic roster, Feng Xu added, "The five main players who participated in the Olympic qualifiers were directly included in the Olympic roster. In addition to Jiang's shooting guard Weng Pei and Zhou Qing's center Luo Yan, who is next to me, there is also Xijiang's power forward Liu Min, Yunan's small forward Du Xianglan, and Zhou Qing's point guard Yu Mengmeng. That is to say, Coach Zeng Ling still needs to find seven more players to add to the Olympic roster."
As someone who has already been confirmed for the Olympic roster, Luo Yan has no need to shy away from discussing player selection. She said, "The main roster for the Olympic qualifiers was selected a long time ago, before the league started, and many outstanding new players didn't have a stage to perform. So players who have just emerged this season are likely to be the focus of Coach Zeng's attention."
"Then let's cheer on our women's basketball team on the court today." Liu Du brought the topic back to the finals. "Sun Meng's name is still not on the starting lineup for the Qingbei team today. It seems that the first game of the finals for the Qingbei team will be very difficult."
"Yes, the pressure on Qingbei team's outside offense and inside defense is immense," Feng Xu remarked.
Luo Yan said, "Indeed, the strength of the Yunan team's inside game is beyond doubt. Center Ren Qiqi has a strong presence in the paint, small forward Du Xianglan is flexible and versatile, and power forward Ji Yun can switch to center position at any time to grab rebounds. With such an inside lineup, the difficulty of Qingbei team's defense is imaginable."
Feng Xu and Luo Yan tacitly avoided mentioning the time Sun Meng could play, which Lu Yu had discussed privately. After all, an uncertain roster would directly affect both teams' tactical preparations.
The whistle blew, and both teams took their positions.
The moment the basketball was tossed into the air, everyone's breath caught in their throats; Lu Yu could almost hear the echo of his heart pounding in his chest.
Yang Lingling and Yunan team center Ren Qiqi jumped at the same time, but Yang Lingling's jumping height was still a little lacking. Ren Qiqi touched the basketball first and flicked the ball towards the Yunan team's point guard.
After receiving the ball, the point guard of the Yunan team immediately organized a fast break inside, and just past half-court, he made a long pass towards the inside area.
Lu Yu barely managed to block the passing lanes of Yu Nan's point guard and power forward Ji Yun. However, small forward Du Xianglan at the far end made a sudden stop and then accelerated, easily shaking off Yang Liu to receive a long pass from Yu Nan's point guard.
Du Xianglan caught the spinning basketball steadily.
After receiving the pass, Du Xianglan headed straight for the penalty area, suddenly stopped running, and jumped in the penalty area. The basketball flew out with the force of Du Xianglan's gentle push.
"Thump—"
He made a mid-range shot and scored.
"It seems that Qingbei's one-on-one defense can't stop Yunan's aggressive inside attacks," Liu Du concluded.
The game is still going on.
Possession of the ball returned to the Qingbei team.
Lu Yu had just dribbled the ball across half-court when he used two shoulder feints to quickly get past the Yunan team's point guard, and Du Xianglan immediately followed up to mark him.
In a split second, Lu Yu quickly assessed the situation on the court. The paint was completely shut down, and Shu Juan couldn't get out of Ji Yun's defensive circle. Helpless, Lu Yu passed the ball out before the Yu Nan team's point guard could double-team her.
The basketball flew towards Chu Feiyu.
After Chu Feiyu caught the basketball, her left side was immediately blocked by the shooting guard of the Yu Nan team. She knew that her current shooting position was not ideal.
However, all of Chu Feiyu's teammates' positions were blocked by the Yu Nan team, so she had to take action even if she didn't want to.
Let's take a gamble!
She immediately jumped up and shot the basket.
The Yu Nan team had clearly studied Chu Feiyu's ball movement. When Chu Feiyu made a slight adjustment to her backward lean, the point guard stretched out his arms high, interfering with the original shooting high point. Chu Feiyu raised the basketball in her hands again and pushed the ball out instinctively.
The basketball missed the goal.
Ji Yun took a long stride and leaped from under the basket, his high jump allowing him to grab the rebound without any risk. As if without thinking, Ji Yun tossed the ball out.
Du Xianglan ran incredibly fast, caught the ball while running, and then shot without hesitation.
Another mid-range shot made.
After several rounds, the Yunan team started with a score of 13-5.
Lu Yu forced herself to calm down!
Keeping the score close and maintaining the team's morale are the top priorities.
Facing a fast break orchestrated by the Yunan team's point guard, Lu Yu had to intercept the ball before she could pass it. She silently chanted this in her mind, her eyes fixed on the Yunan point guard dribbling the ball.
Just as the Yunan team's point guard attempted to pass the ball to the side, Lu Yu simultaneously turned to the side, found the rhythm of the basketball's bounce, and stole the ball.
After Lu Yu intercepted the ball from the point guard, he ran a few steps to the three-point line.
The fleeting afterimage that appeared caused a gasp of surprise from the crowd.
Lu Yu threw the taro from afar.
"boom--"
Three point hit.
The gasps from the crowd rose even higher.
"Lu Yu quickly launched a three-pointer before the Yunan team's defensive net could be formed; this is the ability of an excellent shooting guard," Liu Du shouted.
The game on the field was ticking away second by second.
Even with all their might, Lu Yu couldn't reverse the decline and overtake Lu Yu in one fell swoop.
Lu Yu and Chu Feiyu's passing lanes were constantly being guarded. However, once they cut into the paint, Yunan's inside pressure forced Qingbei to take shots, resulting in abysmal shooting percentages.
Fortunately, Chu Feiyu's outside shooting percentage was decent, and the long-range shooting from Lu Yu and Chu Feiyu allowed the Qingbei team to barely keep the score close.
It seems that Weng Pei's intensive training has been quite effective, Lu Yu thought to himself.
With 23 seconds remaining in the game, Qingbei team was still down by 2 points.
Lu Yu tried again to find an opportunity to score from the outside.
Lu Yu used a quick, elliptical movement to shake off the Yu Nan team's point guard, forcing Du Xianglan, the center, to come over and support him.
Lu Yu dribbled the ball rhythmically, seemingly in no hurry to pass it.
Just as Du Xianglan was about to take her position, Lu Yu suddenly stepped back and bounced the ball to the ground.
It was a very dangerous pass, but it also created attacking space for the Qingbei team.
The goal of Lu Yu is to draw the attention of at least two defenders.
Yang Liu, positioned on the wing, received the pass. Just as she accelerated to attempt a cut inside, she saw Ji Yun rushing towards her, clearly intending to steal the ball. Yang Liu decisively passed the ball to Chu Feiyu on the perimeter.
Chu Feiyu jumped and retrieved the basketball, then jumped again to shoot from the spot.
The shooting guard of the Yunan team was skilled and seized the opportunity when Chu Feiyu was about to shoot, raising his arms high.
etc--
The shooting guard of the Yunan team immediately sensed something was wrong after jumping.
The next second, Chu Feiyu actually pulled the ball back and passed it out again while shooting a fadeaway shot, and the speed at which the basketball was passed out was not low.
The point guard of the Yunan team was fooled by Chu Feiyu's long-range fake shot and was extremely annoyed.
The basketball flew towards Shu Juan.
With no one defending her, Shu Juan's pass was incredibly accurate in both speed and direction.
In a corner of the stands for the Qingbei team, Weng Pei smiled softly, the curve of her lips and the satisfied look in her eyes hidden behind her mask and hat.
Just when everyone thought Shu Juan could receive the ball and spike it to score—
A figure flashed by.
It's Ji Yun!
Ji Yun was clearly forced to pursue Yang Liu, so how could this be—
A scene that surprised everyone unfolded before their eyes. Ji Yun's change of direction and acceleration were too fast; no one could react in time. In fact, the instant Chu Feiyu's pass flew out, Ji Yun twisted his ankle and immediately changed direction.
Ji Yun snatched the basketball back, and the sudden interception caught the Qingbei team off guard.
Ji Yun strode forward, leaving everyone behind. When he reached the Qingbei team's basket, he dribbled the ball twice with considerable ease before jumping to dunk.
"Swoosh—" The whistle blew to end the match.
Qingbei team lost their first match.
Ji Yun's last two dribbles were like two slaps to the face of the Qingbei team players.
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