Chapter 36

PS: Thanks again to the book friend "Zhong Youhui" for your support, I just saw it.

Also: Because the setting is that there is no cultivation system in the real world, Guoshu is already the strongest power. However, how to integrate "Long Hao" into the protagonist's team, I am still thinking about it...

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"Hey! If you don't show some real skills, you'll be dunked on."

"Do you understand mutual explosion? He has an advantage in the paint because he's taller, but I have a good touch and can shoot. Who will win in the end is still unknown." Long Hao looked at Liu Siyi with a teasing expression, completely unconcerned.

You're taking it pretty well. Losing to the starting center of a professional team because of the height difference isn't really a loss, especially when the stats are similar. People will just say you play smart and perform consistently...

It seems the stimulation isn't enough yet.

Teasing aside, the game is still ongoing. Since Liu Siyi didn't launch a fast break, the professional team's guard only retreated to midcourt and didn't come up to steal the ball in time.

The tall center, who had been dunked on, was naturally不服气 (unwilling to accept defeat). If he had been more attentive, how could he have been dunked on? Therefore, he immediately ran to Liu Siyi's side, trying to steal the ball.

You think you can dribble with that small frame? One bump from me and you'll fly. The tall center was determined to regain his dignity.

Liu Siyi, of course, saw the tall center's grim expression and directly protected the ball with his back. However, he didn't expect the other side to use dirty tactics. What seemed like a normal body contact was actually very forceful.

Instinctively, Liu Siyi pushed back with even more force.

This time, not only were all the spectators stunned, but even the referee, coaches, and cheerleaders were all dumbfounded.

Everyone saw the tall center come to steal the ball, and the small player protect the ball with his back. There were no extra movements. But when they made contact, the tall center lost control and took three big steps back, then fell on his butt.

What's going on? Could my strength be that great? Liu Siyi didn't know. He only knew that his strength was about the same as Long Hao's, but Long Hao could only hold his ground and didn't do anything special.

But he quickly realized that Long Hao didn't want to show off too much.

"Ref, how can you not call that fake fall! At least give a technical foul!" Liu Siyi, holding the ball in one hand and pointing at the fallen tall center, shouted at the referee standing nearby with apparent "anger."

The referee didn't say anything, just gave Liu Siyi a stern look, waved his hand, and signaled for the game to continue.

"Boo~~~~~~~~~~" Seeing the referee's decision, the entire arena erupted in boos.

I'm not faking it, I was really knocked down. The tall center's bitterness was known to no one, and he didn't dare to protest. In this situation, if he dared to complain to the referee, the referee would definitely call a technical foul on him. Isn't it obvious that he's taking the referee for a fool?

On the court, as long as the referee doesn't call it, the game continues. This is a principle everyone understands.

Dribbling past halfcourt, the opposing guard who had been dribbling before came up close. He wasn't the type to rush for the ball or use his body to squeeze, but rather stayed a half-step away, constantly harassing. This type of defense is the most troublesome because the opponent is always trying to distract you, making it hard to focus.

Although the opponent was fast, Liu Siyi didn't care. Dribbling felt smoother than ever, and he could do whatever he wanted.

Continuous between-the-legs dribbles, then a change of direction and a breakthrough. The opponent couldn't react and could only step back. But Liu Siyi didn't rush to the basket; instead, he pulled back, took a step back to the three-point line, and shot a three.

"Swish!" The sound of the ball swishing through the net was crisp.

It really works.

Liu Siyi's eyes lit up. For a guard who often plays, when there's no defense, as long as the shot isn't too off, hitting the basket isn't a problem.

As soon as the ball left his hand, his mental energy attached to the ball, making micro-adjustments as it flew. Once the ball went in, he withdrew his mental energy.

It was the other team's turn to attack. This time, the guard dribbled to the other side of the center.

Defending completely failed, being faked out, and watching the opponent shoot a three, this ball had to be answered.

Although the tall center fell hard, Liu Siyi's shout made everyone in the arena think he was faking it, never imagining that Liu Siyi's strength had changed so much.

A series of flashy dribbles, seeing that Liu Siyi wasn't faked out and could even get in position early, the professional guard directly leaned on Liu Siyi.

Hmm? Can't push him? The professional guard didn't really expect to move him, just wanted him to step back so he could use his back-to-the-basket skills.

Since that's the case, then... A thought suddenly came to the professional guard, and he acted on it immediately.

Liu Siyi, defending, suddenly felt the opponent tense up his muscles and gather strength in his legs.

Is he... going to use brute force?

Liu Siyi had a quick idea and, at the moment the opponent exerted force, quickly moved to the side.

The full force of the professional guard's push went into empty air, the discomfort was indescribable, and the loss of control was inevitable. Immediately, the professional guard fell to the ground.

Liu Siyi didn't care and immediately picked up the ball and charged forward.

Clearly, no one expected this result, and they all watched Liu Siyi run to the basket.

Aiming for the right spot, he threw the ball at the backboard, then jumped, caught the rebound with both hands, and slammed it into the basket.

Liu Siyi, who was over 1.8 meters tall, could previously only touch the rim after a running start, but now, when dunking, he could touch the backboard with his head.

"Boom!" The basket shook, and this time, people realized that Liu Siyi's strength was indeed very great.

The terrifying jump and powerful strength made Liu Siyi feel that dunking was incredibly satisfying.

"Beep..." The game was paused. Even though it wasn't a professional match, with the big center being dunked on, the starting guard falling during an attack, and the other team scoring dunks and threes, the team's morale was low, and a timeout was definitely needed. Moreover, the university team's actions were clean, while the other side had faked falls and mistakes, so who could blame them?

"Pass more! Move! What are you all standing there for?!" The professional team's head coach, his face turning green with anger, shouted at the players with their heads down, slamming the tactics board: "Don't use those shameful tactics. Play against the university team with real strength. What's the point of winning with those messy tactics? I'm ashamed, and you should be ashamed too."

This shout had an effect. As soon as the professional team's players moved, their tactics came alive. The tall center and guard, who had suffered a huge humiliation, had calm and serious expressions, and their actions were all normal basketball moves, without any dirty tactics or retaliation.

In contrast, the university team had only Liu Siyi and Long Hao with strong abilities, but they couldn't show off too much.

In the subsequent game, Long Hao indeed increased his strength, but it was just strong enough to keep the professional team's tall center outside the key. Almost all rebounds in the key were his. In offense, he mainly shot mid-to-long range, reducing his close-range attacks. Initially, the professional team let him shoot but not drive, but after a few shots, they couldn't take it anymore, and the center had to come out to defend. But once he came out, Long Hao's drives began.

In short, you're taller than me, but can't I shoot from a distance? If you don't let me shoot, I'm faster and more agile, so your defense is useless.

The big center had no choice but to defend, and the professional team brought in a forward over 2 meters tall but very agile to defend Long Hao.

But the strength was lacking, and Long Hao continuously used his body to overpower the forward on the side away from the big center, either shooting off the glass or hook shots, with no resistance.

What to do? Simple, if there's no other way, only a double team can work, with a strength player in front and the original player in front, with the big center ready to help.

This way, Long Hao was completely shut down. Because he didn't want to show off too much, his performance was inevitably limited, and this is where Liu Siyi's game sense came into play.

Actually, Liu Siyi's performance was also standard, as he wanted to see Long Hao's full strength and kept passing to him, occasionally shooting threes or mid-range shots. When Long Hao was shut down, others naturally found openings, and behind-the-back passes, no-look passes, drive passes, and between-the-legs passes... as soon as someone was open, the ball would be in their hands, and all they had to do was shoot.

While defending the professional team's guard, Liu Siyi used active movement to limit him, and his help defense and rebounding were also good.

Liu Siyi and Long Hao were the absolute strong points, but the other three players were far inferior to the professional team, only able to harass with drives and shots.

The game was very close. Initially, they caught the professional team off guard and opened up a lead of over ten points, but as the professional team adjusted, the score fluctuated around ten points.

When the lead was big, Liu Siyi intentionally missed shots or passed to others; when the lead was small, he immediately shot threes to expand it.

The professional team called numerous timeouts and set up various tactics, whether double-teaming Long Hao or Liu Siyi, all to no avail, and they had to swallow the bitter pill of defeat.

98:88

With the referee's whistle, the game ended.

Liu Siyi played 44 minutes, scoring 41 points, 15 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals, and 0 turnovers. Long Hao played the full game, scoring 34 points, 17 rebounds, 5 blocks, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers. Together, they scored 75 points, while the others combined for only 23. In contrast, the professional team's second team had only one small forward scoring nearly 20, with three substitutes scoring in double digits, and the rest scoring less than ten. The tall center scored 7 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 turnovers, while the professional guard scored 9 points and 9 assists...

The reason the tall center had over ten rebounds was that the other three players' shooting was very unstable, giving him many opportunities to grab rebounds.

After the game, the school invited everyone to dinner. In the school cafeteria, a large room with five tables, two for the players, two for the cheerleaders and staff, and one for the leaders.

A lot of empty talk, Liu Siyi didn't get involved, just ate what looked good, occasionally toasted and was polite, but didn't take it seriously.

Unexpectedly, he was noticed by the opposing coach, who invited him to join the professional team, which he politely declined.

After the meal, everyone went their separate ways.

This isn't a basketball competition novel, so Liu Siyi quickly went home to test his current strength.

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