Although the match itself was just a half-court 3v3 streetball tournament with a reward of only 1500 USD, Qin Yue was still extremely excited the night before, nearly unable to sleep.
For this match, Chris Paul brothers would be Qin Yue's teammates, joining him on the court.
As for their opponents, Qin Yue felt both unfamiliar and familiar with them.
The unfamiliarity stemmed from the fact that Qin Yue did not know any of those three fellows.
The familiarity came from the fact that all three were "Qin Yue's" schoolmates.
Chris Ellis, standing 205 cm tall and weighing 115 kg, is currently the leading center of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
As a sophomore who secured his position as the starting center in his freshman year, Ellis is renowned for his aggressive defense on the court.
Terrence Monk, standing 197 cm tall and weighing 90 kg, is currently the leading small forward for the Demon Deacons.
As a senior, Monk is well-experienced on the court and has diverse offensive skills, averaging 10.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game for the school team last season.
Then there is Ronnie Evans, who resembles Hollywood star Terrence Gibson. This guy stands 190 cm tall and was the best sixth man for the Demon Deacons last season, with a three-point shooting percentage of 47.8%.
After browsing through "Qin Yue's" memories, Qin Yue realized that his impression of Ellis among those three was exceptionally deep.
This was because, on the first day of college, "Qin Yue" as a freshman got a severe beating from Ellis during training.
Anyway, in "Qin Yue's" painful memories, Ellis was either dunking on him or doing as he pleased right in front of him.
As for Monk and Evans, "Qin Yue" didn't have many memories.
After all, the later "Qin Yue" had completely given up, so he didn't pay much attention to other college teammates.
At the court, upon noticing Qin Yue, the three guys also showed a face full of disbelief.
"How did he get so much thinner?" Evans asked curiously.
"He's still playing basketball?" Monk asked with confusion.
"Our opponent is actually him?" Ellis exclaimed with wide eyes.
Actually, before the streetball game started, the "senior trio" was most concerned about Chris Paul, who was about to become their teammate in the new season.
But no one expected that upon Qin Yue's appearance, he immediately attracted attention from all around with a physique that could be compared to O'Neal's.
"Don't be nervous; I've watched the 'Beast's' game footage, and in my opinion, his offensive skills are still rather raw.
Use your wingspan and height advantage well, and if he tries to overpower you under the basket, I'll help you with defense immediately." Paul told Qin Yue before the match started.
Though before the game, Paul had confidently assured C.J that he wasn't worried about Qin Yue being overwhelmed by Ellis, it was clear that he was far more concerned about Qin Yue during the actual match.
But, Paul might not believe it if told...
At this moment, Qin Yue not only wasn't afraid of Ellis, nicknamed the "Beast," but he was also a bit excited.
Because after understanding Ellis's playing style through memories, Qin Yue realized the body's original owner was battered so badly by the Beast mainly because he feared confrontation too much.
Since there were no fouls leading to sending-off in this 3v3 streetball match and from memories Qin Yue knew Ellis wasn't good at free throws, if Ellis chooses to charge at him after the match starts, Qin Yue thinks the Beast will only backfire.
At River Valley Field, after a coin toss decided the first attack, it was Paul's team who got to attack first.
During the throw-in, Qin Yue noticed the signal from Paul and positioned himself early, ready to set a screen for Paul at the right-side 45-degree mark.
The "senior trio" never expected the former Wake Forest disgrace to have mastered such sophisticated skills like screening, so when Qin Yue set the screen for Paul, no one on the court delayed Evans responsible for guarding Paul.
Break the block, dribble, take a deep breath, adjust the rhythm, shoot.
On the court, while unguarded, Paul cleanly hit a three-pointer for the team, 3-0.
Seeing this, Evans said in dissatisfaction to the Beast behind him: "Dude, are you seriously going to stand there and let me guard two players alone?"
Upon hearing this, Ellis, having just been deprived of the moral high ground by Evans, quickly raised his hand and said, "My bad... honestly, I just didn't expect that guy to screen for a teammate."
Next up was the senior team's turn to attack.
To regain the ground, after the throw-in, the Beast immediately went into the three-second area and actively reached out to ask for the ball from a teammate.
Seeing this, Monk, holding the ball at the wing, quickly lobbed it to the Beast's hand.
However, contrary to Ellis's expectations of backing Qin Yue...
The former Wake Forest disgrace seemed a bit tough today.
Despite considering Qin Yue's current weight before the backplay, Ellis had expected his backplay wouldn't succeed easily, but at this moment, what truly surprised Ellis was Qin Yue's defensive attitude and his reaction during the defense.
The nickname Beast doesn't mean Ellis really plays brainlessly; in fact, before preparing to back Qin Yue, Ellis thought he'd fully exploit his speed and agility to bully this chubby guy.
But in the moment Ellis turned after backing with the ball, thinking he had bypassed Qin Yue, he found himself wedged right into Qin Yue's arms.
Did he anticipate my attack?
No, if he really had such skills, why was he previously defeated by me so badly?
Wanting to protect his face as the leading center for the Demon Deacons, Ellis, feeling somewhat impulsive, chose to shoot forcibly despite Qin Yue still holding his position.
Then, perceiving a sudden darkness, Ellis witnessed a terrifying scene.
A towering mountain he could never reach emerging in front of him with the force of a collapsing peak!
Smack—!
Boom—!
At River Valley Field, the moment Qin Yue's feet touched the ground, both the players on the court and the audience off the court felt as if the ground shook.
Afterward, looking at the basketball slapped out of the court directly by Qin Yue's hand...
The crowd immediately erupted into deafening cheers.
Seeing this, C.J excitedly stepped forward and pushed Qin Yue.
"Bro, do you know what you just did? You took down the Demon Deacons' leading center!"
Actually, until the block was completed, Qin Yue felt the whole thing was a bit unreal.
Until C.J stepped forward and pushed him, feeling the weight from the knees, Qin Yue came back to himself and muttered: "So I can jump that high?"
During his weight loss period, Qin Yue never tested how high he could reach to avoid putting excessive strain on his knees.
But just now, due to instinctive reaction forced to jump and block, Qin Yue finally experienced the joy of being tall in this life!
"Is this what talent means?"
Looking down at the fat on his belly, at this moment, Qin Yue couldn't even imagine how exhilarating it would be once he fully loses weight!
...
PS: New book, please support by collecting, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets!