What? The trainer is warming up.

Chapter 8 Who says we don't have substitutes?

The match began, and the players from both sides took to the field.

This match not only featured uniform jersey colors, but also included referees and people specifically responsible for recording data.

The referee came to the center circle and signaled the start of the jump ball. He then tossed the ball into the air, and the centers of the red and white teams jumped almost simultaneously. However, the red team's center, Wells, was not on the same level as the white team's "Skinny Monk" in terms of height or jumping ability. "Skinny Monk" number 52 touched the basketball first and bounced it to the backcourt. "Fat Monk" number 7 controlled the basketball and quickly launched an attack.

Several white team players quickly moved to the frontcourt. When number 7 saw that the red team had not yet set up their defensive positions, he immediately made a change of direction and broke through.

The player facing off against number 7 was number 9 from the White Team, Hank. He was over 1.9 meters tall and had a height advantage over number 7. He also reacted quickly, immediately retreating and moving laterally, trying to take the lead and block the position.

However, the next moment, their bodies made contact, and a strong force struck. Hank involuntarily took a step back and was easily knocked aside by Number 7. He could only watch as Number 7 passed by him. Frustrated, he shouted to his teammates, "Cover up!"

The white team's center stepped forward to help defend, but at that moment, number 7 suddenly stopped, then held the basketball in one hand and tossed it toward the basket.

"Should we throw it?"

White team center Wells instinctively jumped up, waving his arms, trying his best to block the ball.

The next moment, gasps of surprise erupted.

In an instant, Wells realized something was wrong and cried out, "Oh no!" He turned his head and saw a figure leap up from the ground behind him, grab the basketball in mid-air, half of his arm already over the rim. As he fell, he slammed the ball down towards the rim.

"Bang!"

A loud explosion shocked the entire audience.

In an instant, the fans watching from the sidelines became excited. Some screamed, some roared, and some jumped up excitedly, waving their arms and shouting "Great shot!"

"That was a beautiful shot," Qin Yu couldn't help but praise.

This was a beautiful alley-oop play. Number 7 used his strength to get past Hank, drawing the white team's center to help defend, and then faked a floater, actually passing the ball. He and number 52 clearly had great chemistry; the pass was perfectly timed, and number 52's dunk was also quite impressive.

The game started with a spectacular alley-oop dunk, which excited the audience. However, Ellie was an exception. She pouted and muttered, "It's just a dunk. What's so great about it? If I were that tall, I could dunk too."

Hearing her say this, some people next to her nodded in agreement.

Qin Yu touched his nose, remaining noncommittal.

Number 52 is quite tall, close to two meters, but that dunk just now demonstrated not only his height and wingspan, but also his excellent jumping ability and explosiveness.

Qin Yu was a trainer for the Trail Blazers, and he was in contact with NBA players, which is why he was only given the word "excellent".

In fact, on a basketball court like this, a jump of 52 is absolutely "amazing".

It's not unusual for someone that tall to be able to dunk, but he barely bent his knees to generate power; he just jumped up and easily slammed the ball down with an alley-oop. Clearly, both his jumping ability and explosiveness are outstanding.

"With that height, plus excellent jumping ability and explosiveness, even if he's as skinny as a bamboo pole, he can easily dominate the rim on the basketball court."

Qin Yu muttered to himself as he looked towards the arena.

With the score at 2-0, the white team gave the red team a rude awakening right from the start, and several red team players looked rather grim.

Hank received the ball in the backcourt, his face dark as he launched a counterattack. After arriving in the frontcourt, he first called for a screen. Wells understood, but the white team's number 7 reacted quickly, squeezing past and returning to Hank's side. With a contemptuous smile, he beckoned to Hank with his finger.

"Whoa..."

A commotion arose from the crowd.

Some people started to make a fuss and shout loudly.

"Hank, take him down one-on-one."

"So arrogant! Hank, don't back down, let's take him down!"

Ellie was also cheering loudly for Hank, and even gestured for Qin Yu to cheer for Hank as well, which made Qin Yu both amused and exasperated. This girl was really outgoing.

Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere, or perhaps wanting to respond to the opponent's show of force, Hank actually chose to go one-on-one with number 7. He first lowered his left shoulder, pretending to break through to the left, then changed direction and accelerated, trying to get past number 7 with speed.

Clearly, given Number 7's size, speed is mostly his disadvantage. He didn't get past Hank because of speed, but because of his size and physical strength.

Hank's choice was quite clever.

With one step, Hank indeed passed number 7 by half a body length.

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he heard a "snap" sound and felt his palm go empty. He couldn't help but think, "Oh no!"

Wow...

Another uproar erupted, and the clamor turned into gasps of surprise.

Ellie stomped her feet in anger: "Damn it, they actually stole the ball!"

"Hank was careless. He probably didn't expect the fat guy to react so quickly and also overlooked the opponent's wingspan." Qin Yu shook his head secretly. He saw the problem at a glance. Although number 7 was fat and slow, he had agility that did not match his size. Moreover, he was very smart. He knew that he could not stop Hank's change of direction and breakthrough, so he chose to steal the ball from behind.

Of course, it is also thanks to No. 7's excellent wingspan. With a height of less than 1.9 meters, Qin Yu estimated that his wingspan was about 2.05 meters.

A person's arm span is usually 5-10cm longer than their height.

NBA players are all incredibly talented, with outstanding wingspans, but most of them are only 10-15cm longer than their height. Those with wingspans exceeding 15cm are considered exceptionally gifted.

With a height of approximately 188cm, No. 7's wingspan is quite an extraordinary gift!

"No wonder everyone says that number 7 and number 52 are amazing. Number 7 doesn't have an advantage in height or build, but he has excellent fundamentals, plays smartly, and has an amazing wingspan. Number 52 looks thin, but his height, jumping ability, and explosiveness far exceed those of the average amateur player."

With his accumulated experience from two lifetimes, Qin Yu's insight was naturally sharper than others. Even though only one round of the match had been played, he had already seen a great deal.

In terms of "talent", numbers 7 and 52 are far ahead of the others.

Unless the White Team's skills are exceptionally outstanding, which Qin Yu hasn't noticed yet, even Hank, number 9, who is supposedly the strongest on the White Team, doesn't seem particularly skilled.

As expected, the white team gained the upper hand in the following rounds...

After several rounds, the score had become 13-2, with the white team scoring 13 points, including 4 points from number 7 and 6 points from number 52. The red team, on the other hand, only managed to score two points by having Hank drive to the basket and draw fouls, making two free throws.

At least it's not a zero.

"Bang!"

With a loud bang, it was another powerful dunk from number 52.

This time, he and number 7 completed a pick-and-roll, and then he quickly cut to the basket, received a bounce pass from number 7, jumped up, and slammed home a one-handed dunk.

When that dunk went in, the score became 15-2.

"Requesting a pause."

The Red Team called a timeout.

Several players came to the sidelines, looking very dejected.

A group of spectators were also discussing it.

"I knew there was a gap, but I didn't expect it to be this big. Only a few minutes into the first half, the score difference was already as much as 13 points."

"As expected, the Red Team had no chance to fight back. They thought Hank could make a difference, but they were crushed by number 7."

"This competition isn't very interesting anymore."

Although the game had only been going on for a few minutes (these games are divided into two halves, similar to the NCAA format, with each half lasting 20 minutes), many fans were already shaking their heads, saying that the outcome of the game was already decided.

Ellie sidled up to Hank and the others and said a few words to him. She was clearly familiar with Hank and the others. Hank also called over a few of his teammates and rearranged the tactics.

After the players returned to the court, Ellie went back to Qin Yu's side, clenched her little fists, and said to Qin Yu, "Don't worry, Hank and the others will change their tactics later, and the score will catch up."

Qin Yu could only laugh awkwardly, thinking to himself, "Why are you telling me this? I'm not a fan of the Red Team, so I'm not worried about anything."

Oh, not entirely.

If the Red Team plays too well, I might have to change my plans and ask the White Team if I can add one of their players, number 7 and number 52.

......

When the timeout ended and both teams returned to the court, the Red Team indeed changed their tactics. Hank no longer tried to compete with the White Team on his own, but began to organize and connect the team, trying to revitalize the whole team and create opportunities for multiple players to contribute.

However, his playmaking and passing abilities are relatively average, and coupled with the hastily assembled team lacking chemistry, the results were not good.

The only change was that their defense was much tougher than before. They started pressing full court and double-teaming number 7 when they crossed half court, and helping defend number 52 in the low post... However, the effect was not ideal. Number 7 and number 52 had great chemistry. When the red team double-teamed one of them, the other would explode.

After more than ten minutes, all we could see was the Red Team players running hard and defending desperately, but the point difference did not narrow; instead, it widened further.

At halftime, the score was 41-16, with the Red Team trailing by 25 points!

"Those numbers 7 and 52 are really strong!"

"Hank should have waited until all the top players were available before taking on the challenge. This hastily assembled team is simply no match for them."

"This is terrible. Not only are we going to lose, we're going to lose badly. Colonel Summers Park will be a laughingstock..."

Trailing by 28 points at halftime, the two sides were clearly not on the same level, and some people began to complain about Hank's "show of strength" and thought he should not have accepted the challenge.

But if you don't dare to accept the challenge, you will also be ridiculed.

Qin Yu glanced at Hank and the others, then said to Ellie, "Ellie, why don't I go up and give it a try?"

However, Ellie was too upset to listen to anything he said and just waved her hand dismissively, "Forget it, what's the point of you going up there? The game is already lost."

No, I said "I know a little bit," do you really think I only know a little bit?

Qin Yu was both amused and exasperated.

At this moment, Ellie, like Hank and the others, was disheartened and had no interest in finding a substitute. They didn't care what happened and just wanted to finish the game.

It wasn't until three minutes into the second half that Ellie remembered Qin Yu again, because someone on the red team had cramped up from too much exertion on defense.

When they saw someone on the red team cramping up, the members of the white team all wore mocking smiles.

The Asian man in the middle laughed wildly, saying in a disdainful tone, "Look at him, he's exhausted, hahaha..."

The others laughed, and number 7 stepped forward and said to Hank, "Don't you guys have any substitutes? Why don't you just admit defeat? Remember, from now on this is our court, and I'm the one who calls the shots here."

In an instant, Hank and his teammates were enraged. The cramping white team player struggled and shouted, "Don't help me, I can still play. Fuck, let's fight them to the death today!"

Not only them, but even the spectators outside the venue looked grim and were cursing angrily.

This is outrageous! Not only do they want you to win the game, but they also want you to be treated like a stray dog. It's so unfair!

"Who says we don't have substitutes?"

Ellie gritted her teeth in anger, shouted at the field, grabbed Qin Yu and dragged him onto the field, "This is our substitute, Qin."