2017-02-25

【Aiden in English】

        I have yet to witness a last-second game. Those games come down to the wire, where the game is in the balance of, not skill, but determination, desire to win, and a tiny bit of luck.

        This game was the second game in a row that I hadn’t hit a three. You can say when the weather gets warm, I grow cold. But I think I just am missing some of the previous confidence I had.

        I must say, this game was not really about me. In fact, I can safely say half the team had no points in the game. From the start, the opposing orange team was in the driver’s seat, and they were slamming down the gas pedal. At one point, they were up by at least ten in the first half. Funny thing is, most points came off of a cherry-picking player on our press. Usually, our press gave us an advantage due to the lack of skilled dribblers on the other team. When this game began, however, a person would always streak deep and sometimes by wide open. Other times, our traps would never be really set along the sidelines, and so the press essentially gave our opponents fast breaks on every possession. Of course, one of their star players also had to have probably his best game of the season. A bit of foreshadowing, his night would not end well.

        Admittedly, getting absolutely destroyed in a game is something I don’t experience much. However, the feeling was there in the first half. Yet we thought we could come back in the second half since the shot openings were mostly there.

        So that’s what we did. The comeback started in the third quarter when the press somewhat worked with their point guards resting. Our team pounded in the paint, which led to easy buckets. Steals off of the press got wide-open layups or jump shots, even if some were not falling. That was the main problem in the third quarter. Many of our shots were wide open, except that they did not go into the basket.

        Then things went south for the other team. I kind of feel bad, but it really isn’t anyone’s fault. The opposing team’s star point guard, who basically had sixteen of the 21 points in the first half, threw up over the half-court line. Funny enough, he smiled as he regurgitated his lunch on the court. Following a ten minute break of washing the court, he picked up his third foul. In our league, five fouls and you’re out. Our coach realized this, and as cruel as it sounds, told us to target him on lay-ups and fouls.

        The coach liked what we did in the third quarter, and so he basically banned all other shots than lay-ups and jumpers within the paint. Our point guard took over from there, making his way to the free-throw line over and over again. I’m not sure if our point guard was targeting the player or not, but with just over a minute left in the game, the orange star picked up his fifth foul and left the game.

        The score at this point was pretty much tied, and it really was anyone’s game. The only reason the game wasn’t secured by us was that we missed free throws in the fourth quarter. Out of the many times, a foul was called, we as a team probably shot around a solid fifty percent at the line. That sucks since we were playing a high powered and accurate three-point team. As time ticked down within the final minute, we gained possession of the ball on our side, and the coach called our final timeout. The gameplan was to take the lead with a two-pointer in the paint, and if we missed, we would run back and go for a steal or trap. At the time, we were down by a single point, so every second mattered for the rest of the game.

        The following possession was a load of baloney from the start to the shot, and obviously, we missed. The other team slowed the ball down. To be honest, I’m not really sure what happened afterward. Somehow, we pulled down a rebound or something, because the entire team came charging down the court. Not going to lie, these final minutes were carried by our point guard and a tall forward on our team. With the ball in their hands, I felt a lot better about the final possession. The ball found its way to the forward who spun and knocked down a jumper. The ball seemed to suspend in the air before falling into the net, and the audience quieted for a second. And then there was chaos. The oranges called a time-out, and so we talked about defending their offense. Holding onto a 1 point lead, we felt quite excited to witness what was about to happen.

        The ball was inbounded and taken up the court with no particular worry about time. The other team seemed content with taking the last shot of the game, which was fine with me. To be truthful, I’m not sure if my heart could handle much more of this type of nerve-racking action back and forth game. The ball swung around, and our coach desperately told us to press up the shooters. The last thing we wanted to be was a wide-open three from the top or corner because they made far too many in today’s game already.

        Time ran down to the final ten seconds. Holding our breath, the ball moved to the right side of the court, and then into the corner. The shooter picked up his dribble, which pretty much sealed the deal. Quickly, our defenders set a trap in the corner, and as time expired, he chucked up a shot and a prayer for a foul, but he got none.

        Today, we walked away with a one-point victory. It doesn’t feel good to only win by one, but sometimes, the desire to win is the deciding factor in a close game. This marks the second to last game of the regular season, and as humble as it was, we remain as the league’s elite teams.

【红霞译文】

        我从未亲眼见过赛前一秒钟定夺乾坤的球赛，终场进入倒计时阶段，胜负输赢往往取决于整体素质，球技固然重要，但斗志、信念以及一点点运气才是取得胜利的关键所在。

        这是我连续第二场比赛未投中一个三分球，你大可臧否天气变暖而我投球变得不准，但我觉得自己只是失去了一些以往积累起来的信心。

        我首先声明，这场球赛不是我自己的比赛，况且足有半数队友在整场较量中一分没得。比赛伊始，对手橘色球队气势逼人，强力压着我们打，上半场曾一度领先高达十分有余，有趣的是他们很多得分均在我们防守紧逼之下靠长传给后场专门守候球员投篮命中的。通常情况下我们紧逼防守都是很奏效的，因为对方球员的控球能力不行。然而比赛刚刚拉开序幕，一位球员直捣后场，势必造成防守空当；有时我们包夹陷阱不能真正把对手逼至边线，结果防守紧逼反倒促使对方一争得球权和快速反击的机会。当然，对方一名球员今天可能发挥出自己在本赛季最高水平，就此埋下伏笔，后面有他好果子吃。

        诚然，对于输得惨不忍睹的比赛我本人也缺乏体验，然而上半场滋味不怎么好受，但是队友们觉得可以在下半场逆转，毕竟投篮机会还是一直有的。

        我们立刻付诸行动。第三节当对方控球后卫下场休息，我队紧逼战术取得了一定的成功，先是频繁带球闯入禁区轻松投篮，接着又靠紧逼防守断球入网或跳投得分，哪怕误打误撞也在所不惜，不过命中率低是我们第三节的问题所在。第三节对方防守频出漏洞，很多球我们都是在无人挡无人拦的情况下三步上篮或者跳射投中的，即便如此，有的球死活扔不进篮筐。

        至此对方每况愈下，我心里有点遗憾，但这确实由不得任何人。对方后卫明星上半场一气拿下21分中的16分，累得在半场线上哇哇呕吐，滑稽的是他边吐边笑，干脆把下肚的午餐倒个精光，十分钟清场后，他第三次犯规。按照本届联赛规定，五次犯规者将被罚下球场。教练熟谙利害，要求我们盯死他，设法让他带球犯规，手段够毒辣的。

        教练赞赏大家在第三节中的表现，言外之意，除了禁区投篮和跳投入网而外，其它打法一概禁止。我队控球后卫自此控制了形势，一次次的被判从罚球线投球。我不知道我队后卫是否故意找对方的明星球员犯规，距离终场仅有一分钟的时候，橘队球星因五次犯规而被罚出比赛。

        此时双方比分咬得很紧，谁都有望成为最后赢家，而我队可能输掉这场比赛的唯一原因就在于第四节罚球屡屡失手，众多回合中裁判仅仅叫罚一次，我队命中率徘徊在百分之五十上下，简直糟糕透顶，毕竟对方是一支进攻性强况且又擅长投三分球的队伍。随着时针指向终场前一分钟，我队抢到发球权，这时教练叫了最后一次暂停，部署我们集结禁区专攻两分球，一旦未果全力往回冲，加紧断球包夹防守，当时我们仍落后一分，因此每一秒钟都事关重大。

        接下来从场外发球一直到投篮打得乱七八糟，很明显这次进攻没有得分。讲真格的，后面发生了什么我都记不得了，不知我们是怎么抢到篮板球的，只记得我们整个球队在得球后冲向了对方的半场。不瞒你说，紧要关头还得仰仗我队控卫和大前锋勇挑重任，球在他们手上，我对把持决胜性控球权放心多了。球被传给前锋，他迂回带球，躲过前来抢球的对手，球好像在空中盘旋片刻方才入网，观众席鸦雀无声，没过多久立刻沸腾起来，橘队见状叫停，我们及时讨论对策严守对方进攻。此时我队暂时领先一分，人人对即将分晓的结果满怀期待。

        球在场上传来传去，丝毫不介意计时表上显示的读秒数字，对方好像对自己最后一次投篮蛮有把握，我不置可否。坦率地说，我再也承受不住这种揪心揪肺的比赛。球继续转悠，教练拼命喊叫看住投篮，我们要避免造成空当，免得对方从葫芦顶或三分球底线远射成功，今天他们没少从这两个位置钻空子。

        比赛还剩最后十秒了，大家紧张得大气不喘，眼见球被传至右半场然后进入底线，对方投篮手停止运球，千钧一发的时刻到了，说时迟那时快，我队防守球员包抄阻拦，比赛哨音响起，而他已做好投篮动作正待我队上前犯规，没想到球竟然窝在自己手中，裁判也没有吹犯规。

        今天我们以一分优势获胜。一分之差算不上什么，但有时在势均力敌的抗衡中求胜欲望是赢球的决定性因素。这是常规赛倒数第二场比赛，无需吹牛，我们算得上本赛季一支精英球队。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2016: Academic Challenge(学术知识竞赛)

2015: B-D Dinner @ Lai Lai Garden(来来花园生日晚餐)

2012: 生日聚会─溜冰(B-D Skating)

Crosslinks(相关博文):

2017 Twp Rec Basketball Game-8(2017年乡村娱乐篮球队第八场比赛)

2017 Twp Rec Basketball Game-5(2017年乡村娱乐篮球队第五场比赛)

2017 Twp Rec Basketball Game-3(2017年乡村娱乐篮球第三场比赛)

2017 Twp Rec Basketball Game-2(2017年乡村娱乐篮球队第二场比赛)

2017 Twp Rec Basketball Game-1(2017年乡村娱乐篮球队第一场比赛)