Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 111 European Trip (4)

In the fourth quarter, France suddenly changed its lineup. They replaced two inside players, Peter Cornelius and Killian Tilley.

At the same time, Ntilikina was replaced by a white guard, Andrew Nyru.

Killian Tilley, the power forward who just won the U16 European MVP, slapped Fu Hao twice as soon as he came on the court.

He moved sideways to get into position, received the ball, turned around, and easily scored two points.

He went down the free throw line once, caught the ball with one hand, raised it to the sky, and dunked on Fu Hao.

From the outside, Kabaro used a three-pointer and a mid-range shot to reverse the score.

The white defender Niru who came on as a substitute is a highly resilient and sticky defender. Facing Chen Fang's sharp breakthrough, he did a good job of following up and interfering, forcing Chen Fang to only choose to pass the ball instead of shooting when breaking through.

Fan Bin off the court was very clear that Chen Fang's small guard skills needed to be raised to the agenda.

Facing France's sudden showing of fangs and full force in the fourth quarter, the Chinese National Youth Team seemed unprepared. Zhao Rui committed two consecutive fouls in defense. Zhao Yanhao was completely crushed in the confrontation. One of his two shots was blocked and the other was interfered with.

Fan Bin replaced them both and let Sun Minghui and Meng Zikai strengthen the defense.

But it is just a drop in the bucket. Currently, the national youth team is stronger in offense than defense.

Chen Fang's defense is very poor, and it is common for him to be squeezed into the inside by the opponent's guards during confrontation.

And Sun Minghui's defense was a little better.

In the interior, Hu Jinqiu and Fu Hao are not good at protecting the rim, and their height is not enough.

The opponent's power forward Killian Tilley was just playing under the basket, hooking one with the left and throwing one with the right.

Chen Fang continued to exert his strength and scored two goals, scoring five points.

But the situation did not improve.

Five minutes into the fourth quarter, the National Youth Team was trailing by 74 points at 85 to 11.

In fact, at this point, Fan Bin should have raised the white flag, but unexpectedly, he continued to deploy his troops, letting all the players with physical strength play, except Chen Fang.

Chen Fang also held on to this courage and wanted to force a victory.

In order to save energy, Sun Minghui, who has the ball, runs to the open space.

Under the cover of Hu Chunqiu, he received the ball on the wing and shot again, bringing his score to 21 points and 11 assists.

Achieve an excellent data level of 20+10.

But when he turned around, the opponent scored a two-pointer.

Next, Chen Fang scored two points with a singles shot and continued the trend.

79:87.

In the next round, Niru made an open three-pointer, narrowing the gap to 11 points again.

Fan Bin confirmed it, and said to Team Leader Wu with a wry smile, "It seems that France only let two starters play against us in the first three quarters."

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the three players who came on in the fourth quarter were a level higher than the other players.

A solid starting lineup.

Especially the center, who is visibly strong. Zhou Qi can compete with him, but may not be able to suppress him.

He and Germany's Wagner are different types. One is purely physical, while the other has skills under the basket and can back up and make half-court shots.

In contrast, Hu Chunqiu is a range type, he is a flexible type.

It cannot be said to be bad, but his improvement to France is more obvious.

Chen Fang broke through twice, but both times he blocked it alone.

Defeat is inevitable.

In the last minute, Chen Fang was still unwilling to give up, and the score kept changing as he scored points crazily.

But it was never able to get past the 8-point mark.

After shaking, Chen Fang took a step back and made a long two-point shot.

88:96.

This also allowed him to reach the 30+ scoring milestone for the first time at the national team level.

Fan Bin was moved; he witnessed Chen Fang's stubbornness.

Chen Fang's fighting ability can also be seen clearly.

He gasped for breath, his hands on his knees, sweat streaming down his cheeks and dripping in lines onto the floor.

Chen Fang kept adjusting his breathing. He had begun to feel a slight numbness not only in his hands and feet, but also in his waist and hips.

The teammates were all dumbfounded. Zhao Rui looked at Chen Fang without blinking. At this moment, he saw the determination to fight to the death in Chen Fang.

At this moment, France adopted the strategy of defending three-pointers and allowing two-pointers. The whole team expanded in the high position. Chen Fang held the ball and pretended to go to the top of the arc, but suddenly he changed direction, shook off Niro and went to the inside.

Instead of taking big strides forward, Killian raised his hands high to block the shot.

But Chen Fang jumped lightly past him. His steps were like those of a white crane. His slender figure looked extremely elegant at this moment. It was a lateral jump between the front and back feet, which not only dodged Killian but also allowed him to face the basket.

The left hand licks the basket in a continuous motion and puts the ball into the basket.

90:96.

After scoring the goal, Chen Fang did not retreat, but called on his teammates: "Press the whole court."

The Chinese national youth team quickly defended on the spot, and France was unable to respond and failed to pass the ball.

A timeout was called immediately and the ball was served again. France, with its preparedness, successfully passed the half court.

Time comes to the last 30 seconds.

France began to press the time and only took action at the last moment of attack.

Missed.

The final time came to 14 seconds.

Chen Fang received the ball from the baseline and moved forward quickly. Niru was chasing him, but was shaken off again by Chen Fang's back-driving.

After crossing the center line, Chen Fang took a big step and shot the ball from four meters away from the top of the three-point arc.

The entire French team was shocked. Everyone on the bench stood up and Ntilikina opened his mouth wide.

When they saw the ball go in, they shouted in French: "He's shooting like crazy, damn it."

93:96.

It took less than 3 seconds from countdown to shot.

Fan Bin stood up quickly and called for a timeout.

At this time, as the head coach, he must do something.

After the scene, he saw Chen Fang leaning on a chair with his head facing the floor, breathing heavily.

His teammates were wiping his sweat and someone was handing him water.

Fan Bin didn't care about anything else and said to the others: "Press the whole court. If France sends the ball, continue to press. Pay attention to the time. If it's past half time, increase the intensity of the press. It's okay to commit a foul."

France sent the ball from the sideline, and after continuous off-ball screens and movement, Nirou finally received the ball.

It was a backcourt ball, and at this time, he, with his extremely high basketball IQ, did a move that was beyond everyone's imagination.

Instead, he stepped back, trying to use up the 8 seconds in the backcourt, anticipating that China might commit a foul.

Chen Fang was furious and he chased after him desperately, but Niru played a game of chase with him.

"Foul, foul!" the national youth team's bench was shouting.

Chen Fang rushed forward with all his strength. The moment Niru turned around, he slid and changed direction, then spread his legs and pounced on him.

At this moment, Niru threw the ball to the front court when Chen Fang was about to touch him.

Killian Tilley caught the ball and passed it to Cabaro before Hu Jinqiu could hug him.

The latter ran directly on the court, and when he heard the whistle, he threw the basketball high into the air.

There was cheering from the French bench.

There was suspense at the very end of this competition.

That number 21 is really awesome.

The whole French team had this feeling, especially Ntilikina who played for most of the game.

Finally beat this guy.

Sun Minghui put his hands on his hips dejectedly. He saw Chen Fang lying on the floor, motionless, so he ran over to comfort him.

"It's been done well."

"Hello, hello." Seeing that Chen Fang didn't respond, Sun Minghui was a little panicked, but saw Chen Fang turn over.

"It's okay, I just had a cramp." Just now, after Chen Fang fell to the ground, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the thigh.

Just as he recovered, Sun Minghui came over. "Come over here, quick!" Sun Minghui called Hu Jinqiu.

Fan Bin also realized that something was wrong and waved his hand quickly: "Go up, quick!"

On the bench, the whole team woke up as if from a dream and ran up in a hurry.

"Team doctor." Team leader Wu's first reaction was to call for a doctor.

After Chen Fang was carried down, the French team doctor and assistant coach came over and asked if he needed help.

The team doctor touched a spot and asked Chen Fang, and finally said to Fan Bin and Team Leader Wu: "It's not a cramp, it might be a strain."

Fan Bin slapped his forehead hard, now it’s good.

The scene of Chen Fang chasing just now suddenly came to his mind.

He chased her so fiercely that she pounced on him with her legs split.

After spraying the medicine mist, Fan Bin asked Zhao Rui and Zeng Fanri to support Chen Fang.

On the bus back, the atmosphere was more solemn than the previous one.

They lost again and Chen Fang was injured.

Chen Fang sat in the last two rows with his backrests flat. Two team doctors and two rehabilitation therapists surrounded him.

"We need to take X-rays and do an MRI." The team doctor reported the situation.

"Contact the Paris Embassy and arrange for emergency treatment at the hospital." Team leader Wu immediately said to his assistant.

When they arrived at the hotel, there was an ambulance waiting at the door. Chen got off the bus and got into the ambulance.

The whole team was depressed and had no spirit.

Zeng Fanri didn't want to stay in the room alone, so he went to Zhao Rui to wait for news.

When it was evening, the news finally came.

The results of the MRI came out, and it was found that there was a small amount of exudation in the soft tissue, no muscle fiber rupture, and no hip dislocation. It was a mild groin strain.

But even if it was minor, he would not be able to participate in the next game.

After much consideration, Fan Bin communicated with team leader Wu and asked a staff member to accompany Chen Fang to buy a direct flight ticket from Paris to BJ that night. Then he contacted Jishuitan Hospital to do rehabilitation there.

The staff asked Zeng Fanri to take him to the room, pack up Chen Fang's belongings, and then he would accompany Chen Fang back home.

After finishing all this, Zeng Fanri returned to Zhao Rui's room.

The two of them were speechless.

Zeng Fanri suddenly slapped himself and cursed, "Blame my mouth."

Seeing Zhao Rui's confusion, he regretted, "I just said last night that the coach's giving up the game made everyone unhappy, and I wanted to jointly talk to the coach. Chen Fang got angry and told me not to have this idea, and also mentioned the blood letter sect."

"You are fucking brainless!" Zhao Rui got angry on the spot and kicked him.

Zeng Fanri, who was hit, cried, "How could I know that Chen Fang took my words to heart and was determined to win today."

The truth was revealed. Zhao Rui thought of something and immediately told Zeng Fanri not to tell anyone.

Chen Fang, who had just boarded the plane, looked at his fixed left leg in silence.

I got what I wanted and sat in first class, but it was at the cost of my groin.

Anyway, my inner thighs hurt whenever I move.

The staff member informed the flight attendant and went back to the economy class.

The chief flight attendant of China Eastern Airlines must have been informed by her superiors and praised Chen Fang for his service, telling him that he could call them if he had any problems.

As the plane took off, Chen Fang gradually fell asleep. First class is really good.

This was Chen Fang’s thought before he fell asleep.

When he woke up, he was not far from BJ. Not long after, Chen Fang was the first to get off the plane from the VIP channel with the help of the staff and flight attendants.

Two people from the Sports Bureau also came with a wheelchair.

He got on the MPV business car and went directly to the sports department of Jishuitan Hospital. There, the expert he had made an appointment with had already arrived. What surprised Chen Fang even more was that Zhang Shaohong was also there.

"How do you feel?" He felt relieved when he saw Chen Fang. He felt tired. Since he heard the news that Chen Fang was injured yesterday, he asked Chen Baowei to drive him directly to Kyoto.

After arriving, I stayed in a hotel near Jishuitan. I came to the hospital early in the morning to arrange a consultation with an expert.

"It's nothing serious, Boss, Brother Baowei, why are you guys here?"

"When the leader heard the news, he came from Jinan via the highway overnight," Chen Baowei said first.

"Boss, there's no need to be like this. I just have a minor injury." Chen Fang suddenly felt embarrassed.

"Don't be pretentious here, go for the consultation first." Zhang Shaohong asked the nurse to push him in.

Two hours later, in the consultation room, Zhang Shaohong finally felt relieved.

"It's just a minor strain. You need to rest for a week and then start rehabilitation training. You will be fully recovered within 5 weeks." said the doctor.

"Can we take a long-distance bus?" Zhang Shaohong asked.

"no problem."

"Okay. Thank you, doctor." Zhang Shaohong said to Chen Baowei, "Go arrange a car, we will go directly back to Jinan."

"I understand, leader."

It was like a dream. He was in Paris yesterday and in Jinan today. Chen Fang was lying on the hospital bed, chatting with his teammates boredly. Sun said they had already set off and were preparing to go to Italy.

Then he said that everyone was concerned about his injury. Chen Fang comforted him by saying that he had returned to Shandong and was recuperating. He also asked everyone to tell them not to worry.

As they were chatting, the door suddenly opened and Lu Yun's reluctant face appeared.

"Hey, how do you know where I am?" Chen Fang was surprised.

"Nonsense, so I came here to be your caregiver." Lu Yun cursed unhappily.

"Tsk tsk, thank you for your hard work." Chen Fang was very happy.

"It's good that you know. It's been almost 39 days since you left..."

"Wait, you remember all 39 days!"

"Uh, that's not the point." Lu Yun was annoyed. He sat on the bed and saw some fruit, so he asked, "Do you want me to peel some for you?"

"I didn't want to at first, but if it's you, I would reluctantly accept it." Chen Fang chuckled.

"Get lost!" Lu Yun cursed, took out an apple, picked up the fruit knife next to it, and peeled it while saying, "But I can't serve you for long, I'll be on vacation soon."

"Holiday?" Chen Fang calculated and it seemed that there were indeed only a few days left until the winter vacation.

It is already January 2015, and I have a small regret that I did not spend New Year's Day with my parents.

"What changes have taken place while I was away from Shandong?" Chen Fang began chatting.

"Changes? There are none in the team. Oh, there is one in No. 2 Middle School."

"What?"

"That Zhu Chang had an accident, and then he transferred to another school."

Chen Fang was stunned, unable to recall that face.

"Anyway, it was a pretty big incident. He was beaten up, and then he was forced to jump off a building. Luckily the building wasn't high, so he just broke his leg. It was a big fuss at the time, and I don't know how it was handled. Not long after that, I heard he transferred to another school."

"Oh." Chen Fang could only sigh.

"There's nothing good to say. There are many unfair things in the world. Being stronger yourself is better than anything else. Here, the apple is ready, have an eat." Lu Yun handed it over with a smile.

Looking at the white apples, Chen Fang suddenly lost his appetite.

"Hurry up, you are the boss now, and you want me to hold you in check?" Lu Yun was impatient.

"Thank you." Chen Fang could only take it.

"I feel a little guilty. I've been busy with training and should have taken care of it at that time." Chen Fang sighed again.

Seeing Chen Fang blaming himself, Lu Yunman regretted bringing up this matter. He changed the subject and said, "By the way, did Wu Zi know that you were back?"

"I didn't dare tell him. After all, I was injured and lying in the hospital. There was no need to make people worry."

"That's right. I won't say any more. Okay, I'll bring you the meal." Lu Yun patted his butt and stood up.

"Lu Yun!" Chen Fang shouted.

"Ok?"

"Thank you!" Chen Fang expressed his gratitude sincerely.

"Okay, lie down." Lu Yun staggered out.

"We can go to school together again. It's so lonely without you!" Lu Yun laughed.

(End of this chapter)