The guys on the third team had clearly taken quite a hit.
They felt they had worked really hard, yet the second team had beaten them by more than fifteen points with ease. It was a little hard to accept.
And that was exactly the effect Wang Yi wanted.
After easily beating the reserve team yesterday, these guys had gotten a little cocky.
Now it was necessary to have the second team teach them a lesson and help them face reality.
These young players, who hadn't played many games, were emotionally volatile. Sometimes one win sent their egos soaring, while one loss could make them all hang their heads.
After beating the reserve team, they all thought they were pretty good. Some even felt they were already starting to surpass the second team.
After being crushed by the second team, they thought they were all terrible.
They believed there was still a vast gulf between their abilities and the second team's.
Neither of those mindsets was helpful.
Of course, simply lecturing these students clearly wouldn't work.
Even if it got through to a few of them, it couldn't work for everyone. So Wang Yi needed another game to help them face reality without losing faith in themselves.
That was why there was a third game: the third team against the first team.
This was also part of the plan Wang Yi had laid out.
Before he took over the third team, they had been coached by Coach Lin, one of the school's coaches.
Coach Lin had recently gone on a business trip, so Wang Yi had taken over the third team.
Wang Yi had made a point of asking Coach Lin about the team's situation. He knew most of the players were new and had never played in an off-campus