When the first half ended, Shan He's team led Wang Le's team 37–32, a five-point advantage.
Of the 37 points Shan He's team scored in the first half, Shan He had put up 20.
The coaches watching were full of praise for him.
Coach Ma said, "With Shan He's ability, making the National Team is a sure thing. And yet some people still have plenty to say."
Coach Shi sighed.
"There's nothing we can do. That's reality. Fortunately, Shan He's talent and ability can shut all of them up. Now we just have to see how Wang Le does."
"Although Wang Le was the best player in the first half besides Shan He, among all ten players, he still hasn't stood out enough."
Coach Ma nodded.
"If Wang Le is only a little better than everyone else, that won't be enough to shut those people up. He has to dominate the others the way Shan He does if he wants to silence the critics."
After a 15-minute break, the second half began.
But after resting for 15 minutes, the game took a sudden turn. Wang Le seemed to have recharged his batteries and become a different player.
First, he blocked what looked like a sure dunk by Shan He. Then, during a fast break, he caught a teammate's pass and finished an alley-oop, dunking over a defender.
On defense, he followed that up by swatting away an opponent's layup with a one-handed catch block.
Then he grabbed the ball and fired it downcourt, assisting a teammate's layup.
In just two possessions, they had cut the deficit to one point.
That was good news for the coaches.
Wang Le then had his teammates set up a 3-2 Zone Defense.
This would limit the damage Shan He could do when driving to