Because this center was too slow, Meixian No. 5 Middle School, a team that prioritized speed, usually left him out of the lineup.
But by this point in the game, Meixian No. 5 Middle School was already down by 10 points, and neither the starting lineup nor the reserves had been able to get the job done. The coach had no choice but to put the center in and hope for the best. As soon as he stepped onto the court, he made an impact.
On defense, he protected the rim.
On offense, he could overpower Huali's center in the paint.
And even when Wang Yi switched to a zone defense, he could step out and shoot from mid-to-long range.
That put Huali in a difficult position.
If they didn't double-team him, he ran wild in the paint;
if they did, he could step out and shoot from mid-to-long range, leaving the paint wide open for the opposing team to drive into at will.
Gradually, the lead shrank to just 5 points.
The opposing coach had originally planned to give the center a few minutes and try something else if it didn't work. He hadn't expected the center, whom he'd rarely used before, to make such a strong impact.
So he left him on the court.
In the second half of the second quarter, Wang Yi came up with a plan to contain the center.
But his players were shorter.
None of them could match the opposing backup center's height.
All they could do was watch as the opposing center dominated the paint and kept hitting shots from mid-to-long range.
Even when Wang Yi sent in his first unit and tried to speed up the game so the center couldn't keep up, the opposing coach wasn't clueless. He kept reminding