Chapter 132: I Really Can’t Play Real Basketball
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
A team member with red hair who was of average height but looked seemingly strong picked up the ball intending to pa.s.s it to Meng Fan. Thinking about it, he decided it was better to walk over and hand the ball to him instead, taking special care of it like handing off a treasure in case this Iron hero couldn’t hold onto it.
After handing it over, the red-headed youth felt the despair once again. The animation department was too weak!
It wasn’t that Meng Fan was weak, or that Ah Ning was basically a dead horse acting as a live one. It was mostly because there were very few ‘good horses’ on the entire team.
Like him, they all loved basketball, but they were very aware of their own abilities. Regularly, on campus, they would only include him if they were missing one person, let alone outdoors. Outside of school, he wouldn’t even be recruited as a pa.s.serby.
Originally he was ecstatic to be pulled into the team by Senior Ah Ning and even dyed his hair red specifically like Sakuragi. Excited, he came along, but immediately collapsed after seeing the skill level of the other team members.
No wonder Senior Ah Ning said he could be on main defense… No wonder, the entire team didn’t combine even if they had extra members for a subst.i.tute!
Finally someone new was joining them, and the school’s famous Iron hero at that. Based on the figure alone, he would be a valuable hardware within the school. And he was incredible at shooting baskets too. Another hardware!
But seeing him now… Heh. he should be hard enough still, but a bit short.
His circuit was too short, he couldn’t even receive the ball!
Hopefully, his shooting accuracy was good.
“Thanks.”
Meng Fan received the basketball and bounced it in his hand, weighing it, squeezing it. He could confirm this basketball was different from the ones provided by the arcade machines. Primarily, it was lighter, with more air…
Familiarize with the ball… Meng Fan thought of the small shots from the other day. Hurriedly, he stopped his action of ‘feeling up’ the ball, scared that someone would appear with another heart-wrenching proverb.
Thump.
Meng Fan bounced the ball on the ground and caught it this time when it bounced. He smacked it again, and quickly caught it when he realized the ball was being slightly disobedient. He then shot the ball completely using the technique for basketball machine scoring.
Everyone who played at these machines knew to toss from the chest right away once they picked up the ball to ensure the highest speed. However, for regular shooting, there was no rush. And to prevent being blocked, most players would shoot from above their heads.
Standing at the foul line, Meng Fan habitually threw the ball from his chest. Evidently, his movements were not standard, even seeming a little cringe at that.
Thump.
The basketball hit the inside of the hoop before bouncing back out.
Although it didn’t go in, the surrounding team members didn’t seem too disappointed. At least it was within the range of the basket. The accuracy was there.
The redhead youth jogged over to pick up the ball and handed it to Meng Fan. “You probably didn’t find the feeling yet. Try again.”
“Yes, okay.”
Meng Fan did not intentionally miss his first shot. He was really unfamiliar with this basketball and the basket.
He tried again. This time, it still hit the inside of the basket, but instead of bouncing out, it actually went in.
This ball had more air than the arcade ones, and it felt strange, but now he had gotten the hang of it.
“YEES!”
The red-haired youth pumped his fist in the air excitedly.
All the spectators cheered. Their warmth made Meng Fan slightly embarra.s.sed.
The redhead youth once again jogged over to pick up the ball while another team member handed his own ball to Meng Fan.
Meng Fan switched to a different location and scored again.
Whoosh.
This time, the ball did not touch anything except for the net.
What’s called a ‘clean-shot’ in English, it meant essentially a hollow basket.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Next, the team members took turns handing Meng Fan their ball. Meng Fan continued to switch positions and score. He shot about a dozen b.a.l.l.s, including four 3 point shots. Aside from one that he missed on purpose and one that he really missed because his focus wavered for a moment, all the others went in, with half of them being clean shots.
“Get in there!”
When he confirmed that Meng Fan could completely carry his arcade shooting skills onto the court, the excited senior Ah Ning called for the other teammates to try and defend Meng Fan.
The first contender was the red-haired youth.
The red-haired youth got into position. Thinking for a moment, he spoke, “Iron buddy, let’s agree first. I’ll stay in place and block you, and you should probably just shoot in place too. Let’s not make contact with each other.”
Meng Fan helplessly nodded. The Iron this brother was referring to was the kind used for the Monkey King’s staff… You will die holding it, you will die if it hits you, if it touches your skin, then it will rip, and break your tendons if it rubs you.
The red-haired youth was 175 cm, so Meng Fan loomed over him when they stood face to face. He got into position, spread his arms, and jumped to block the ball as Meng Fan motioned to shoot.
Meng Fan didn’t have that much technique and made the shot purely due to his height advantage. Thump. The ball hit the basket before going in.
When Senior Ah Ning saw this, he turned to the red-haired youth. “What are you doing standing so far? Get in there!”
“I’m scared.”
The red-haired youth said meekly. He still pushed himself forward, maintaining about 12 cm of s.p.a.ce between his feet and Meng Fan. He was still far from being in physical contact.
This time, Meng Fan felt a little pressure. He had never played basketball before, so he had no clue how people scored with someone defending them so closely.
Meng Fan was inexperienced in shooting from above his head, so his hand speed also slowed down dramatically.
No matter how you looked at it, the red-haired youth still has several years of basketball experience. His skills weren’t great, but he qualified as experienced. Locking on Meng Fan’s shooting action, he fiercely jumped over and hit the ball out of Meng Fan’s hand in another direction. This ‘cap’ was successful.
“Hehe. I’m not bad right?”
The red-haired youth immediately started to boast.
“You can do it Iron Senior!”
Just After Meng Fan had been blocked and retrieved his ball, a lifting scene appeared on the basketball courts. Four cute girls appeared, dressed in j.a.panese manga style cheerleader uniforms.
Meng Fan could tell at a glance that these costumes were directly from “Cardcaptor Sakura CLEAR-CARD”!
Did they just run off to change just now?
After changing into their costumes, the way they talked changed too. These girls had the details on point.
After Meng Fan was blocked, the words of encouragement began appearing. Meng Fan was indeed very motivated.
He took the ball but didn’t immediately shoot. He began to think about his next move.
His own shooting posture was not correct, and he didn’t have enough time to learn it to the point where he could comfortably cope with the defense.
Hence, he gave up all intentions of shooting properly.
Meng Fan turned to his side away from the red-headed youth and reached out his left hand to block him, blocking him from touching the ball in his right hand. Then, he pushed the ball into the air with his right hand, like throwing a shotput.
Whoosh.
It went in.
“That works too?”
The red-haired youth was stunned.
The four cheerleaders waved their hands as they began to cheer.
Six minutes later, senior Ah Ning suddenly cried out, “Stop shooting, stop shooting!”