Chapter 437 – Coincidence
Xu LiJun didn’t want to be left out after he saw the cooperation between me and You Chen. When he was in a good position, he would gesture me for the ball. Since he already pa.s.sed me the ball once in the first half, he was asking for me to return the favor.
I knew Xu LiJun was more likely to score than You Chen, so if I pa.s.sed to him, the difference between points with Niu ShiLi would widen. But I still generously gave him an opportunity to shoot a three pointer. Xu LiJun was able to score two out of three shots and a smile blossomed on his face.
To be fair, excluding Niu ShiLi, I didn’t really have a lot of conflicts with the other team members. Other than the fact they didn’t accept me being the PE committee member, they at most only thought I was a poser and liked to act cool.
I wasn’t posing! The lone metal blooded wolf was an image I created intentionally to prevent someone picking on me again like the Little Tyrant.
There was a wise saying: The fastest way to become friends is to find a common enemy.
Now that we were on the courts playing against cla.s.s 6 wearing the same color jerseys, while enduring the cheers of their cheerleading squad, it’s inevitable that we would feel anger against a common enemy.
A man’s ideals always involves ‘accomplishments’. Even if cla.s.s 2-3 didn’t have many people cheering for us, we still had a couple. Besides, since the gossips Loud Mouth and Little Smart were here, we wouldn’t have to be worried about spreading our accomplishments as long as we perform well.
We would also get a sense of accomplishment every time the cheerleading squad wails when our team scores a point.
Xu LiJun and You Chen both partic.i.p.ated last year and lost badly to Shen ShaoYi’s cla.s.s and were labelled as the bottom team. That’s why their desire to win is no less than mines.
Thus the two of them were easily enticed as I gave them the opportunity to create accomplishments, and they also gave opportunities back to me in return.
Although both their points will be included in the bet, I would be Niu ShiLi would still be unhappy. I’m guessing he was planning on comparing our individual scores.
I didn’t get greedy and try to get all the points because I started to get pa.s.ses (that would also be impossible), but I controlled the pace of the game and set winning as the goal.
Of course, I wasn’t entirely selfless either. For example, I rarely pa.s.sed the ball to Pi ZeGuang (because he had the habit of shooting right when he received a pa.s.s and he also had a high chance of scoring). And I didn’t pa.s.s the Niu ShiLi either (I suspect he wouldn’t take it even if I pa.s.sed the ball to him).
Niu ShiLi, who saw me gradually begin to dominate the tempo of the game, lost his patience. He began trying to aggresively get rebounds. His movements and jumps were so large and exaggerated I had to avoid it or I might be accidentally injured.
I gained a new understanding of basketball ever since I began to learn Yin Yang Sanshou with gramps.
I used to use my own physical strength to attack and defend.
But there would always be someone stronger than you. For example, I wouldn’t be able to do anything in front of captain Guo SongTao.
Niu ShiLi, who was gifted with a body of muscles, played similar to me from back then, fierce but not smart.
Every time you land, we could use Hua Jin to lessen the impact on the knees. We could also use Hua Jin to keep our balance when we collide with other players. That way, we lessen the strain on our bodies and conserve stamina.
It’s like I was on power saving mode. I only used 30% energy when I didn’t have the ball, but exploded with 130% energy to score whenever I got the chance.
As I was playing steadily with Jua Jin, Niu ShiLi rushed in and overpowered cla.s.s 6’s defenders with brute force. He used his own body to collide with them and sent them into disarray. His actions were on a fine line between a foul or not a foul. The referee, Li DaYong, only blew the whistle once for a foul and awarded the ball to cla.s.s 6, but never blew it again after that.
The captain of cla.s.s 6 couldn’t stand it anymore as Niu ShiLi wreaked havoc under their net. He ignored his own injury and went to compete with Niu ShiLi for the rebound. Unfortunately, he collided with Niu ShiLi in midair. The captain let out a wail as his knees got squashed when they landed.
Niu ShiLi actually stood up while patting his b.u.t.t and said to the captain of cla.s.s 6 skeptically:
“I’m completely fine, are you faking?”
You might be fine with a fall since you’re full of muscles, but he was already injured. I’m sure he’s currently in a world of pain after being squashed by you.
Niu ShiLi’s unsympathetic words stirred up trouble.
A lot of members from cla.s.s 6 came over and said he purposely knocked down their captain. Even their subst.i.tute players chimed in their approval.
Wait, stop coming up. It looks like it’s going to break out into a group fight. It doesn’t matter if we win or lose the match, but as the PE committee member I can’t let a group fight break out or the cla.s.s leader would get crazy mad.
Thus I took the initiative and apologized to the captain of cla.s.s 6. I supported him up with his approval and brought him to a folding chair near the sidelines.
Xiao Qin stuck a thumbs up at me after the cla.s.s 6 captain left the game due to an injury.
You’re making it seem as if it was all according to my plans. I didn’t do anything, it was all a coincidence.
The rest of the team couldn’t say much after they saw the two captains reconcile. The game continued after Niu ShiLi got called out for his second foul and cla.s.s 6 sent up a subst.i.tute player.
I really admired cla.s.s 6’s balanced out skills. Even their subst.i.tute member had the same skill level as their starting players. How did you guys train so everyone would have even skills. Did you use rock paper scissors to decide who would become a subst.i.tute?
Cla.s.s 6’s cheerleading squad desperately cheered for the team as the game entered the final five minutes, and even I was touched by their pa.s.sion.
Due to their encouragement along with their captain getting injured, cla.s.s 6 burned with the desired to win and they played a stronger offense and defense.
I carefully controlled the pace to avoid them catching up in points while trying not to come into physical contact with them.
In the end, they aren’t a bunch of hoodlums, but a bunch of basketball players desperate for victory. Berserk mode isn’t suitable to be used on them.
Niu ShiLi believed that if they pushed with a stronger attack, then we should push back with an even stronger attack.
I used to think that power was everything, but the out of control Xiao Qin at the construction site taught me a lesson.
In a fight (or a compet.i.tion), it’s better to bring the opponents to your own tempo. Only make the move at the perfect time to decide the winner in an instant.
Niu ShiLi, who couldn’t grasp that concept was desperate in competing with cla.s.s 6. After Xu LiJun missed a three pointer, they all desperately scrambled for the rebound.
The opponents still remembered the fact Niu ShiLi sent their captain off with an injury, so they didn’t hold back when colliding against him. This time two defenders collided against him and made him lose balance in midair. He sprained his right foot after he landed.
This time, it was Niu ShiLi who couldn’t get up. Since we were awarded free throws, I helped him take them as the captain.
Two free throws, two points, I’ll gladly accept them.
Niu ShiLi looked at me with a complex expression as he sat on the ground.
The referee soon blew the whistle and cla.s.s 2-3 won the game 64 : 60.
I scored 21 points and Niu ShiLi scored 18 points. In terms of the bet it was 21 : 43, so I was 22 points behind.
But it wasn’t important. I was also able to get acknowledged by Xu LiJun and You Chen, so I might get pa.s.sed the ball more later on, but that’s not important either.
The most important two points:
One, cla.s.s 2-4, the underdogs, were able to beat cla.s.s 2-1, but it was at the expense of two of their best getting injured.
Two, Niu ShiLi sprained his right foot and the school doctor had said he needed at least a week of rest before partic.i.p.ating in intense sports.
That means Niu ShiLi couldn’t compete in our game against cla.s.s 4. And since he wasn’t playing, then according to the bet, points from my other teammates wouldn’t be included. I still had a chance to turn the score around as long as I demolish cla.s.s 4.