Chapter Ninety-Six: Challenge

After three straight wins, the Borderland Youth Team had climbed to a very strong position in the Northern Division standings. Since the top four teams from each division would advance directly to the final tournament, their current ranking gave them an excellent chance of securing early qualification.

At the same time, the two Borderland University teams that had taken part in the final stage of the National Collegiate Basketball League had already returned to campus. Although Shahezi University’s squad had made a historic run to the round of sixteen, they were unfortunately matched in the round of sixteen against last year’s champions, Capital University.

The Capital University team, determined to defend their title, was far beyond what Shahezi University could withstand. They were effectively forced to surrender after only three quarters. Even so, reaching the round of sixteen was the best result in Shahezi University’s history. Compared with the Borderland University team, which had been eliminated after just one game, Shahezi University’s achievement was already quite impressive.

After returning to campus, Shahezi University head coach Xu Hui even made a special call to thank Wang Lei. He also planned to use the coming break to visit Wang Lei and learn from him in depth. Wang Lei immediately agreed to Xu Hui’s request. Having such a professional join him was his honor, and Wang Lei also hoped that his own basketball philosophy would earn broader recognition.

However, after playing their first home game, Wang Lei’s team would have to face the strongest opponent in this Northern Division qualifier: the Capital Youth Team.

A single capital region, with an area of just over sixteen thousand square kilometers, had a population of more than twenty million, not even counting the floating population. The entire Borderland Province, by contrast, was one hundred times larger, yet its population was roughly the same. Though the two regions differed in geography and bore very different responsibilities within the republic, the comparison made the gulf in their development impossible to ignore.

The capital’s professional teams were not especially outstanding. In recent years, with basketball flourishing in other provinces and regions, professional basketball in the capital had actually been sliding downhill. Yet with such a massive population base, along with policy and economic support, the capital’s grassroots basketball development ranked among the very best in the country. Add to that the advantage of its prestigious universities, and elite high school basketball talent from all over the nation poured into the capital’s campuses. As a result, youth basketball in the capital was far stronger than in most other provinces.

Although the National Games had never before included youth basketball, the capital’s youth teams had long enjoyed glorious achievements in past competitions. Wang Lei himself had risen from the capital’s youth men’s team.

After Wang Lei and his team had comfortably defeated the Mongolian Youth Team, he did not immediately assign his players any new tasks, nor did he make any special preparations for the upcoming match against the Capital Youth Team.

But in the training sessions that followed, his players became even more focused. They trained with greater seriousness and greater effort.

This was the internet age, and the team was made up of young people who had all received higher education. Aside from Turgun, who needed no concern over anything else, the others all had their own thoughts.

This time, facing the always formidable Capital Youth Team, many of the players were quietly storing up determination.

Their head coach usually treated them like friends, and now that he was about to face the old club that had once developed him, the young men felt they had to help their coach save face no matter what. Moreover, after those three victories, they had also developed a certain pride of their own. They knew the other side was strong, but that was no reason to become lax.

“Hey, I’ve heard all about it. You’re doing pretty well these days. So what is it, you’ve come asking me for inside information?”

As soon as Wang Lei got through on the phone, he launched into easy banter without wasting a second.

On the other end of the line was Li Kaixuan, Wang Lei’s former captain on the Capital Youth Team.

Li Kaixuan was two years older than Wang Lei and was now the starting power forward for the Capital Anteng Club. Although Anteng was only a second-division team, Li Kaixuan was a true local fixture, deeply familiar with people everywhere. Back when Wang Lei was on the team, Li Kaixuan had looked after him a great deal.

“Of course. If I don’t come to you, who else would I come to? Sixth Brother, you can’t just leave me hanging.”

“Hold it right there, you brat. You vanished without a word all those years ago and had me worrying for ages. Now that you’ve finally figured things out, you don’t even know to sit down and talk with your Sixth Brother? I’ve got no news for you.”

“All right, Sixth Brother, that was my fault before. I’ll definitely host a banquet to apologize later. I know you’ve stayed in touch with Coach Liu all these years, and I won’t ask too much. I’m just trying to get a sense of the players. And if you have any game footage, that would be even better.”

After all, Li Kaixuan was a local man, and once he entered the professional ranks he had remained in contact with the youth team coach from those years. When it came to talent emerging from the youth squad, he was in fact the most informed.

“What, you’re really trying to give Old Liu trouble now? He was rough on you back then, but do you need to hold a grudge for that long? Besides, if he hadn’t trained you so hard, would you ever have had your later glory?”

“Sixth Brother, I really don’t mean anything else. I just want to give it a try. After so many years, I ought to prove myself to Coach Liu somehow. I can’t play anymore myself, so I can only hope my players can win me a little face.”

What Li Kaixuan said was true. When Wang Lei first joined the team, he had indeed suffered under the stern criticism of then-head coach Liu Sicheng. Later, Wang Lei had held onto that stubborn streak and fought his way through, and one of his goals had been to show Liu Sicheng what he could become.

“Lei, I won’t hide it from you: honestly, you don’t stand much chance. Old Liu has done his share of hard work over the years, and now there are a few very promising youngsters in that team. I’m not just talking about our own side—plenty of top clubs have their eyes on them. I’ve also been keeping an eye on your team. You’re playing in a really interesting way, but the level is still quite a bit below Old Liu’s team. Let me put it this way: if Old Liu’s squad were put together and sent out now, even our team might not be able to beat them. I’ll get you the footage; that’s no trouble. But don’t set your hopes too high. Be realistic.”

Wang Lei did not know very much about the Capital Youth Team as it stood now, but he had no intention of giving up on a match like this so easily. First, it was for himself; second, it was for his players. The team had already built up momentum, and if he failed to push them onward, what would the players think? Challenges are hard by nature, but that is the essence of competitive sport. Without challenge, there is no spirit of ascent.