From morning until five in the afternoon, Lin Tian had been training inside the gymnasium.
Even eating was done there. The als arranged by Lin Lili were quite good.
Over the course of the day, Lin Tian's skills had improved a lot. He wouldn't dare compare himself to NBA stars, but at the very least, his techniques were now better than Wang Jian's.
Of course, to avoid coming across too exaggerated, Lin Tian only showed that he was slightly inferior to Wang Jian.
But even so, everyone present was astounded.
The speed of his improvent was just too outrageous!
Wang Jian kept insisting that Lin Tian should consider pursuing professional basketball.
Lin Tian just casually brushed it off.
How could that be possible?
His main reason for coming this ti was just to complete a mission.
At five o'clock, when the training session ended, Lin Tian bid farewell to his teammates and left.
Having spent the day together, Lin Tian had also beco more familiar with them.
Lin Tian was not the type to act superior, and since he truly had the skills, his teammates accepted him.
Therefore, the initial discomfort they had at the beginning quickly disappeared. Even Zhu Long and Lin Tian were now joking and laughing with each other.
"Lin Tian, don't forget about tomorrow's match," Lin Lili specially reminded him as he was leaving.
"I know, don't worry," Lin Tian nodded, then left the gymnasium together with Bu ngting.
**
The next day, at four in the afternoon, Lin Tian, who was watching TV in the living room, heard a knock on the door.
Lin Tian got up to open the door and found Bu ngting standing there.
Seeing that Lin Tian was still in his large shorts, Bu ngting looked at him sowhat astonished: "Why haven't you changed yet?"
"Isn't it a bit early? The match isn't until five," Lin Tian felt it was too soon.
"It's not early, it's always good to arrive ahead of ti. Didn't Manager Lin say so yesterday? We have to be at the court by four-thirty," Bu ngting reminded him.
"Alright then." After thinking it over, Lin Tian decided to change into his clothes and get ready to leave. Yesterday, when he left, Lin Lili had given him a set of Green Team's uniforms.
Just as Lin Tian had finished changing his clothes, his sister Lin Fang had just co back from outside.
Seeing Lin Tian dressed in a basketball uniform, Lin Fang curiously looked at him: "Big bro, where are you going?"
"To a match!" Lin Tian replied offhandedly while adjusting his clothes.
"Which match?" Lin Fang continued to ask curiously.
"It's at the city stadium, seems like so sort of corporate league match," Bu ngting answered from nearby.
"Ah? A corporate league match held at the city stadium? I heard from a classmate that it's really fun to watch. Big bro, if you're playing, I want to go watch too," Lin Fang said excitedly after a mont of surprise.
"Why would you go? Go play on your own!" Lin Tian, who was tying his shoelaces, replied without even looking back.
"No, wait for ! I'll just change my clothes, it won't take long," Lin Fang said as she scampered towards her room with a patter of footsteps.
Helplessly, Lin Tian had no choice but to wait for her.
After ten minutes, Lin Tian shouted at Lin Fang's door with an impatient face, "Hey, are you done yet?"
"Done, done, I'll be quick!" the voice of Lin Fang ca from her room.
Another five minutes passed.
"Are you ready or not?"
"Yes, yes!"
...
After another five minutes, Lin Tian could no longer wait and angrily said, "I'm giving you ten more seconds. If you don't co out, I'm leaving without you."
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" At that mont, the door to Lin Fang's room opened, and she walked out dressed in a white dress.
As she walked out, Lin Fang also complained to Lin Tian, "Big bro, you really have no patience. How will you wait for girls in the future? Right, ngting?"
With that, Lin Fang gave Bu ngting a slight smile.
"Tsk!" Lin Tian snorted coldly, looking at her with dissatisfaction, "Look how long you took to change clothes, a full twenty minutes. And ngting would never be like you!"
"You don't understand!" Lin Fang pouted.
"Enough, stop dawdling, let's hurry," Lin Tian urged.
Under Lin Tian's urging, they went downstairs and then hailed a cab to the city sports bureau square.
At first, the ride was smooth, but after ten minutes, the taxi couldn't move.
They were stuck in a traffic jam!
Looking at the dense rows of cars ahead, Lin Tian was speechless. The traffic was crawling, moving only a hundred ters per minute.
After another ten minutes, there was still no relief from the traffic jam ahead.
Checking the ti, it was nearly five o'clock, so Lin Tian suggested, "Driver, can we take a different route?"
"Let's see when we get upfront. Right now, it's not even possible to do a U-turn," the driver said with a hint of helplessness.
"Beep beep..." At that mont, the phone inside Bu ngting's bag rang. Lin Tian, who was in his basketball uniform, had nowhere to keep it.
Lin Tian took the phone and saw that it was Lin Lili calling.
After answering, Lin Lili's sowhat reproachful voice imdiately ca through, "Lin Tian, how co you haven't arrived yet? The ga is about to start."
"We're stuck in traffic, there's not much I can do!" Lin Tian sounded helpless.
"Hurry up, try to find a way," after saying a few words, Lin Lili hung up the phone.
Ten minutes later, the driver finally found an opportunity to turn into a side street and attempt a different route.
It started out smooth, but after a while, the traffic was at a standstill again!
There was another traffic jam ahead.
The driver got out to inquire and returned to report there had been an accident. There was no moving forward.
After waiting for ten minutes, Lin Lili's phone call ca once more, "Hello, you still haven't arrived? The ga is about to start."
"There's been an accident up ahead…" Lin Tian sounded utterly helpless.
Another ten minutes passed, during which Lin Lili made a few more calls, urging him to hurry as the ga had started.
After waiting a bit longer and seeing ti slipping away with no sign of the traffic clearing, Lin Tian gritted his teeth, opened the car door, said a quick word to Bu ngting and the others, and then started running briskly towards the city sports stadium.
Waiting like this would be slower than just running there.
**
On the other side, the match had already begun.
Without Lin Tian, the Green Team was being thrashed by the Red Team right out of the gate.
In just the first five minutes of play, the Green Team had lost 15 points while managing to score only 3.
"Oh! There seems to be a significant gap in strength between the two teams! Just five minutes into the ga and the Red Team is already leading by 12 points.
Okay, a pass from the Red Team's number three!
Where is that going?
Number five!
Beautiful!
An alley-oop!
Beautiful pass, beautiful shot, assembly line-like coordination!
So beautiful!
Okay, another two points scored, and now the Red Team's points have reached 17."
At this ti, the announcer on the sidelines was passionately recounting the on-court action,
Glancing at the scoreboard, the announcer said, "The gap in strength between the two teams remains as vast as ever. If the Green Team doesn't have another trick up their sleeve, this match may just beco another showcase for the Red Team."
"Alright, let's see if the Green Team has any strategies."
"Toot!" Just then, the referee blew the whistle.
Looking up, the announcer explained, "Oh, the Green Team has called a tiout. It looks like they can't hold on. What will they think of to resist the fierce onslaught of the Red Team?"
On the sidelines, Lin Lili gathered the players together and instructed, "Lin Tian is stuck in traffic, he's running here now. Hold on for a bit. While Lin Tian isn't here, try to stall as much as possible when we have the ball on offense, and on defense, be more active to prevent the score gap from widening too much."
Upon hearing Lin Lili's words, everyone nodded. Without Lin Tian, this was the best strategy they had.
Then the ga resud.
With Lin Lili's instructions, the Green Team didn't rush as before and tried to delay ti as much as possible.
Noticing the change in tactics, the announcer on the sidelines also picked up on it and shouted into his microphone, "Let's observe the Green Team's change, oh, the Green Team has been playing more steadily since the tiout, this is a good sign. Hmm? The Green Team seems to be stalling? What are they waiting for? This won't be of much use, will it?"
As ti ticked by second by second, the Green Team held steady, so while the score gap continued to widen, it wasn't as drastic as in the beginning.
By the end of the first quarter, the score stood at 30:15, with Lin Tian still absent.
After a short break, the ga continued.
When the second quarter began, the Green Team managed to hold their ground, but in the eighth minute, a series of outbursts by the Red Team instantly crushed the Green Team's morale, and the score gap widened once again.
"Oh! Beautiful! The Red Team has just scored 10:0. Can the Green Team hold on? The score is now 55:30. Oh, it looks like the Green Team is giving up."
Following the Red Team's surge, the Green Team's morale was shattered. A few consecutive mistakes allowed the Red Team to further increase the lead.
On the sidelines, Lin Lili anxiously watched the clock, frequently glancing at her watch, "Why hasn't Lin Tian arrived yet? What's taking so long!"
Lin Lili was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
"Huff, huff!" At that mont, a series of panting breaths were heard, as Lin Tian, gasping for air, patted Lin Lili's shoulder, "I, I'm here!"
Startled for a mont, Lin Lili turned around, her face lighting up with surprise at the sight of the breathless Lin Tian.
Covered in sweat from the strenuous exercise, Lin Tian's head was steaming.
Seeing Lin Tian in that state, Lin Lili asked with concern, "Can you play?"
"No problem." Catching his breath, Lin Tian nodded.
"Good!" With that, Lin Lili quickly signaled to the referee for a tiout.
"Toot!" With the sound of the whistle, the ga was paused. There was one minute left in the second quarter.
Noticing the situation, the announcer began his comntary, "Oh! The Green Team has called another tiout. Let's see what counterasures they have. Okay, the ga resus, wait, sothing's different, the Green Team's spirits have risen dramatically.
What happened?
Oh, they've made a substitution, number 8 is on the court?
Let see, who is number 8?
Oh, Green Team's number 8 is a lad nad Lin Tian. I haven't seen him before. Could he be a foreign aid recruited by the Green Team?
He must be an expert, otherwise, why would the Green Team's mood have lifted so much after number 8 ca on?
Let's then see how number 8 performs."
Hearing the announcer say this, the spectators all turned their eyes towards the Green Team's number 8, towards Lin Tian.
Was this the expert the Green Team was waiting for?
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