2017-01-13

【Aiden in English】

        I am not a good basketball player. I never said I was. If one thing was to be highlighted in my game, it would be the defense. Okay, yeah, that’s what all bad players say, but it really is all I contribute to the team. In other words, the team carries me while I provide the support and occasionally three-point shot.

        Game One was a blowout win for us, which is great. But even with everything going with our way, the team hadn’t experienced coming from behind yet.

        The most recent game was played at BucksMont Indoor Sports Center, and it was going to be the only game of the season there. Why I have no clue. However, the issue with this center was the excessive heating. I understand that it’s January, and it is really cold outside, but is it necessary to have the heat up so high that you can sweat without exercising?

        The team had not yet felt the pressure or the threat of losing, which is why I thought this game was a great experience. The start was terrible. Turnovers plagued the offensive end, in which outside swing passes would be tipped or batted by the defenders. On defense, it was a different story. I believed we played overall very well, it just took some time to settle into the other team’s play style. At the start of the game, our coach Rob lectured us about how the other team was not much of a “team”, but more of a group of players. We preached about a passing offense constantly, while their team seemed to have a single-player touch the ball every time. The star player was around 5’11”-ish, rebounded like a monster and had a crossover jump-shot move that looked so natural.

        He also put up 22 in their last win.

        Game Two started off like he was about to reach thirty though. In the first quarter, he nailed 2 three’s and had a ton of rebounds, although somewhere just off lucky bounces. Yet we still hung around, being only down by four or five every possession. It wasn’t as if we weren’t scoring; the offensive shots were made pretty often. But the turnovers allowed most of the other team’s points. That’s why, entering the second half, our team was still optimistic.

        And the optimism drove us to victory, as we had a defensive shut-down in the second half, limiting their offense and the star player. Our point guards had some highlight plays, and the game ended with free throws and a proud smile on our coach’s face. This game was the one that we as a team learned from since for the first half, it was an uphill battle. It really tells us the true meaning of winning and the competitiveness of sports.

【红霞译文】

        我不是什么好篮球运动员，以前从未说过自己了不起，假如非要列举比赛特长，那么矬子里拔将军，防守恐怕算我个人拿手好戏，哦当然，糟糕的球员都自以为是，但防守的确是我效忠球队最佳手段，换句话说，球队指望我的只有助攻，冷不丁投个三分球。

        第一场比赛我们大获全胜，成绩可贺可喜，但是因为境遇过于顺畅，本队球员无法预见将要面对一个怎样的未来。

        最近第二场球赛设在巴克士蒙哥马利室内体育中心，这是本赛季唯一在那里举行的比赛，我也不知道究竟为啥，不过问题在于该体育馆热得像个蒸笼，尽管眼下正值一月份数九寒天，户外冰冻三尺，但有必要把温度调到不必锻炼足以汗流浃背的程度吗？

        全队球员尚未感到任何压力或者面临输球的威胁，正因如此，我认为本次比赛将是考验我们的一场硬战。开局战况可谓惨不忍睹，失误打乱了自己进攻节奏，他们靠外围传球屡屡奏效，防守方面倒没有出现这种局面。就整体发挥而言，大家表现得相当出色，只不过队友们需要时间进入状态。开赛前教练罗伯特给我们讲解战势，与其说对方是一支“球队”集体作战，不如说是一帮人各自单干；比赛期间我们不停地组织进攻，而他们每次好像只靠一名球员进球，这位主力身高70英寸／1.8米，篮板抢得凶猛，交叉跳投动作娴熟自如。

        他还一口气为对方拿下了22分。

        第二场比赛刚刚拉开序幕，该主力一手遮天大有独吞卅分之势。在第一节里，他先顺利投进两个三分球，尔后又抢到一堆篮板球，其中不乏天赐良机，球歪打正着反弹到他手中。幸亏我们咬牙挺住，每回争到球时仅落后四、五分，其实不是我们不得分，相反本队没少进攻投篮，但对方拦截成功得以一路领先，这也是为什么进入下半场比赛，我们全队上下打得生龙活虎，依然保持乐观态度。

        乐观主义帮助我们走向胜利，与此同时，下半场又加强防守，有效阻止对方进攻，并严密看死他们的大主力，我们的控球后卫也组织打出几个漂亮回合，最后以罚球而结束比赛，这时教练的脸上露出了自豪的笑容。经过上半场考验，我们全体同仁切身体会到胜利来之不易，竞技运动离不开拼搏精神。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2011: 笑话小品(Skit)

Crosslink(相关博文)：

2017:  Twp Rec Basketball Game-I(2017年乡村娱乐篮球队第一场比赛)