Some people might ask: Huang Rixin had already made two three-pointers. Were the opposing players all idiots? Why were they still playing zone defense?
The truth was that most players could only do what their coach had told them to do.
The game changed in an instant, and the players were running around so much, with adrenaline pumping, that they often couldn't think clearly.
The coach had just told them to play zone, so they did. They wouldn't go out to the three-point line to guard someone on their own.
Huang Rixin was wide open, but he didn't shoot right away, because taking a three off the dribble wasn't his strong suit.
Seeing Zhao Zilong already coming over, he passed the ball straight to him. Zhao Zilong cut without the ball and charged into the paint.
But Zhao Zilong wasn't actually trying to get to the basket. He was just trying to draw in the defense before passing it again to Huang Rixin in the right corner.
The play had been planned, and the pass came with no defender in sight, so it was perfectly placed.
Huang Rixin caught the ball right in his shooting rhythm, rose up, and let it fly. The ball spun backward as it arced toward the hoop.
Even though it came from the right corner, a spot many players weren't comfortable shooting from, it still went straight through the net.
The lead immediately shrank to eight points.
That shot did more than just cut the lead to eight. It had strategic significance, too.
Just look at Coach Lan from Yude Middle School. He was gripping the folding fan in his hand so tightly that his knuckles were white.
And look at the players from Yude Middle School. Every one of them had grown serious.
Anyone