Head coach Dako was feeling a little angry.
He could accept Wang Yi putting those two in the starting lineup, but having them start all season long? Wasn't that taking things too far?
Wasn't that a little too reckless?
Coach Dako had over thirty years of coaching experience.
In those thirty-plus years, he'd seen star players throw their weight around and seen plenty of troublemakers.
He'd also seen star players insist that a particular player be put in the starting lineup.
But even the most unreasonable players had their limits.
Even when they demanded that a certain player start, the player they chose had at least been reasonably skilled.
Now Wang Yi was going so far as to name a water boy as a starter—and not just for one game, but for the entire season.
What else could you call that but reckless?
Still, although Coach Dako was angry, he couldn't just fly off the handle.
For one thing, he was naturally even-tempered. For another, he'd studied psychology and was good at communicating with people.
He knew that in this situation, he couldn't embarrass Wang Yi. That would only backfire.
He'd have to wait until they were alone and talk things over with Wang Yi in private. If they couldn't work it out, he could always take it up with the owner.
In short, publicly embarrassing the team's star player was one of a coach's biggest taboos.
Wang Yi found a pen and a sheet of paper and wrote down the five starters.
Zhang Jiacheng, Wang Yi, Hachimura Rui, Dauding, and Pang Bo.
Time slowly passed.
Around 10:30, five more players arrived.
Three of them had been starters on the team, playing alongside Zhang Jiacheng and Pang Bo.
But Wang Yi immediately wrote their names on the list of substitutes.