Chapter 127 - Five-On-Five Game (1/2)
As Roger predicted, the five-on-five games were after lunch.
All of the players returned to the dorm cafeteria and had some food for lunch.
After that, they went back to the gym to play in the five-on-five game.
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Shun looked at his court number, and he was assigned court number six. There were a total of ten courts that would allow all hundred players in this camp.
Shun returned to the group and asked.
Shun: ”Do you guys have number six?”
All of them shook their head, and Douglas put up a question.
Douglas: ”Who all are on the same court?”
They all revealed their court numbers, and it revealed that Rafael and Bruno were on the same court, and Roger and Ming were on the same court.
Douglas and Shun were the only ones who ended up in different courts.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Shun wished the best of luck to everybody and moved to his allotted court.
A FIBA personal came near them and then looked at them and asked.
FIBA Personnel: ”What position do all you prefer to play? Please start from the right.”
Shun was somewhere in the middle of the group spoke in his turn.
Shun: ”Point Guard.”
The FIBA Personnel wrote something on the clipboard he was carrying and then proceeded to hand solid-colored practice jersey tank-tops to the players.
FIBA Personnel: ”Please put on those, and matching colors will be teammates.”
Shun got a blue-colored practice jersey, and the other team got a red-colored one.
FIBA Personnel: ”I will be the referee for this game. Both teams have five minutes before the game starts, so please begin your meetings.
The game would be four-quarters, eight minutes each.”
Shun and his team blue gathered on one side of the court and began their team meeting.
Team Blue got only one guy who was above 190 centimeters, and he was the one who spoke first.
Center: ”I am 192 centimeters tall, and I usually play power forward, but looking at our heights, I think I should cover the center position.”
One other player raised his hand and said.
Power Forward: ”I am 186 centimeters tall. I would fit well as a forward. I play defensively.”
The third guy spoke his intentions.
Shooting Guard: ”184 centimeters tall, I am a small forward, but I will take the shooting guard position.”
The fourth guy shrugged his shoulder and said.
Small Forward: ”183 centimeters tall, I am not good at playmaking. So, I will take the other forward position.”
Shun: ”I am 183 centimeters tall, and I play point guard, so no problems here.”
Shun took the lead from there and asked everybody their strengths and weakness.
Shun found that his team didn't have any strong shooters.
The small forward and shooting guard were only good from the mid-range and rarely shot from the three-point range.
The center and power forward didn't shoot at all.
The center of their team was an offensive-type, whereas the power forward focused on defense.
Shun thought for a moment and told.
Shun: ”I will pass the ball to you, but if you guys see me at the three-point arc, pass the ball to me. I will make the three-pointers.”
All the members nodded and were fine with the arrangement.
Shun: ”We don't have any pass-routines to work with, so we will work like this.”
He pointed at the power forward and said.
Shun: ”You said you play defensively, so actively screen for both the shooting guard and small forward.”
He looked at the shooting guard and small forward and gave them instructions.
Shun: ”If you guys don't have a screen working for you, pass the ball to either me or try to get it to the center.”
He turned to the center and said.
Shun: ”While the power forward is busy screening, you would be the only one at the rim. The post play is your duty.”
He looked at everyone and insisted.
Shun: ”If you aren't confident that you would be able to make a shot, pass the ball back to me, or move it further closer to the basket.”
Center: ”What about the defense?”
The power forward crossed his arms and gave an option.
Power Forward: ”Wouldn't zone defense be the best?”
The shooting guard shook his head and said.
Shooting Guard: ”Let's just use man-to-man defense. All of us responsible for our own mark. This way, there will be no confusion.”
Everybody, including Shun, agreed with the shooting guard. They were not real teammates and were only going to play together for this game, so a man-to-man defense where the responsibility solely with a single person was suitable.
The center clapped his hands and announced.
Center: ”Then it is decided, we will be playing man-to-man defense. Now, let's play to win.”
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Shun got into position and thought of something. He stopped the small forward who was getting into position and said.
Shun: ”Hey, if I get the ball after the tip-off, run towards the basket without delay.”
The small forward thought for a moment and nodded.
Small Forward: ”Alright.”
-*-*-*-
The referee came in with a ball, and both teams got into their positions.
The referee glanced at both teams and then proceeded to throw the ball up for the tip-off.
The centers of both teams were around the same height, so it was a matter of timing and vertical jump.
Both centers jumped for the ball, and team blue's center got the ball and tipped it to Shun.
Team Blue's small forward immediately ran towards the basket as Shun had asked him to.
Shun scanned the court and quickly moved to a position where there was a straight path for the ball to reach the small forward, and then in a laserbeam pass, threw the ball to the small forward.
The ball traveled like a bullet to the small forward and reached him at the optimal timing.
All the players in the court were shocked by the quick pass at the beginning of the game.
Team Red's shooting guard ran to chase the small forward, but Shun's pass was such a surprise to everybody other than the receiver himself, that he was already near the basket.
Team Blue's small forward scored the first point of the game with a simple layup, and Shun bagged his first assist of the game.
-*-*-*-*-*-
As Team Red crossed the Team Blue's side of the court, Shun moved ahead, a couple of steps outside of the three-point to defend the point guard of Team Red.
Shun and Team Red's point guard looked stopped in front of each other for a one-on-one.
Team Red's point guard looked at the players in front of him to look for a pass target.
T.Red PG: 'I should go with our power forward, our center would screen theirs, and the power forward would score with the height advantage.'
Team Read's point guard decided his play and looked at Shun, ready to pass him. He used a left-to-right crossover to pass Shun, but the moment he tried to switch the ball between his hands, Shun stole the ball and ran to the basket.
T.Red PG: ”What! Dammit, stop!”
Shun was faster than the Team Red's point guard and left him behind. He arrived at the basket and jumped up and put the ball in with a two-handed dunk.
Shun's teammates were surprised to see him dunk. Team Blue's center chuckled in surprise as he spoke.
T.Blue Center: ”He can dunk, huh. I thought I was the only one on the team.”
-*-*-*-
Shun dribbled the ball towards the basket, and Team Red's shooting guard came forward to guard Shun. After seeing Shun's dunk, they had switched their point guard with shooting guard.
Shun didn't stop and immediately began his move.
He stepped to the right two steps and then pulled back when Team Red's shooting guard shifted his weight to the right to follow Shun.
T.Red SG: ”Crap! A pullback.”
After pulling back, Shun changed direction and passed the shooting guard from the left.
Shun dribbled and closed in towards the basket, and when he reached in the paint, the Team Red's center closed in on Shun.