Chapter 287
This year’s Idol Sports Competition basketball game was held on a basketball court set up on one side of a large stadium.
The court, temporarily installed and to be dismantled later, showcased the production team’s commitment to finish filming exclusively in this location, even if it seemed somewhat out of place. Fortunately, it wasn’t just a hastily assembled hoop; professional help was enlisted to lay down flooring and assemble the court piece by piece, so it didn’t look shabby.
Our opponent in the preliminaries was the White Team.
During practice a while ago, Seo Moon-gyeol told me that we lost the practice match by a small margin.
Due to broadcasting conditions, the preliminary basketball matches of the Idol Sports Competition were significantly modified from official rules, with the first half and second half each lasting 10 minutes.
In the finals, 5 more minutes are added to each half.
Losing in the preliminaries meant playing only 20 minutes, and if substituted, even less time on the court, which made all the intense training we did seem somewhat futile…
The broadcasting company’s audacity was quite something.
For reference, the match between the Black Team and the Red Team that took place earlier ended in an overwhelming victory for the Black Team, known for their strong organization and physicality.
Though the Red Team being the weakest was a factor.
Already a strong team, the Black Team seemed to have done nothing but play basketball with a member named Jing Xiao, representing Lifeteen alongside Bai Yin, flying around the court tirelessly throughout the match.
‘What’s his stamina stat…’
Ever since I confirmed my pathetic stamina, I couldn’t help but wonder about the stamina stats of idols running around.
Anyway, listening to the interview with the Black Team’s basketball coach after the game, it seemed he was immensely proud of Jing Xiao, as if he was his own son.
Come to think of it, Jing Xiao also flew around during the chicken fight event.
Was he a chicken in his past life?
No, with his long limbs, he might have been a crane.
As I was about to get lost in these thoughts, the players from both teams faced each other and greeted.
“Please take care of us!”
“Please take care of us!”
In the subsequent situation, Ban Yo-han was in the starting lineup, and Seo Moon-gyeol was sitting on the bench with other players, not participating for now.
It wasn’t that Seo Moon-gyeol, who was generally good at most sports, was benched due to lack of skill.
It was probably because it wouldn’t be fair to have two players from the same group in a game played by only five people.
It was absurd that they took two players and then treated them this way.
‘Still, it’s a relief.’
From Seo Moon-gyeol’s expression, it seemed he wasn’t happy about sitting on the bench after making time to train hard during his active period.
But knowing that his knee condition might not be great, I thought it was better for him to be safe and sitting outside the court.
– The second preliminary basketball match of the 2018 Chuseok Idol Sports Competition. Blue Team versus White Team, White Team versus Blue Team! Starting now!
As soon as the caster’s words ended, the timer started.
* * *
“Wow!”
“Go Blue Team!”
“White Team, win!”
Eight minutes had passed since the match between the Blue Team and the White Team began, and the 10-minute first half was almost over.
‘This is…’
Initially, the White Team coach, who thought it would be easy to win and was observing the match leisurely, was now greatly flustered.
‘This is very different from the practice match.’
The Blue Team was leading by 15 points.
Tack. A Blue Team player intercepted a pass from a White Team player to his teammate as if he had been waiting for it.
– The Blue Team succeeds in another clean steal! Quick transition!
– Clean steals like this don’t happen often in real basketball games. The White Team players need to be more cautious when passing the ball.
‘Our team’s skill isn’t so low that we would allow multiple steals to players of similar level.’
The White Team coach thought.
They had done well even against the Black Team in a practice match.
But…
It was hard to believe they were on the verge of elimination in the preliminaries against the Blue Team, considered the second weakest after the Red Team.
– The Blue Team’s Jae-bin narrowly misses a 2-point shot.
The Blue Team seemed to fail in shots and pass works as much as the White Team, suggesting the Blue Team players’ skills hadn’t drastically improved in such a short time.
So the difference from the last time was.
“They’re moving as if they can predict our movements…”
“Pardon?”
A White Team player sitting on the bench asked, hearing the coach’s muttering.
Without a specific answer, the coach looked at the player who had just scored and high-fived his teammate with both hands, then watched the player running far, Ban Yo-han.
No matter how rigorous the basketball training for the Idol Sports Championship might be, it was still within the standards of idols whose main job was something else.
In idol basketball, where skill levels and game comprehension were incomparable to actual professionals, positions were roughly divided into offensive and defensive players.
‘I never thought I’d see an idol perform the role of the point guard so perfectly.’
Although he wasn’t employing complex strategies, Ban Yo-han was clearly outstanding as a point guard. He directed the game following the coach’s instructions and his own quick judgments, showing exceptional ability to control the flow of the game.
Whenever the momentum seemed to shift towards the white team, Ban Yo-han would immediately cut it off, leaving no chance for a comeback.
– “Ah~ The white team gets blocked by Yo-han as soon as they enter the blue team’s court! They need to come back immediately!”
– “Yes, they must defend right away!”
Just like that.
Again, the basketball, leaving the blue team player’s hand, smoothly got sucked into the white team’s basket.
– “Arch player! The layup shot is successful, widening the score gap even further. It’s another amazing assist from Yo-han!”
– “Last year, we never saw Coach Seo Byung-chul of the blue team smile even once, but this year he looks very happy.”
– “On the contrary, Coach Yoo Jae-hyuk of the white team looks a bit stern.”
– “The white team must narrow the score gap in the first half to boost their morale for the second half, but it doesn’t seem likely right now.”
Ban Yo-han’s assists were too numerous to count on one hand.
Moreover, Ban Yo-han wasn’t lacking in scoring ability himself.
Whenever the camera captured his successful shots with his smooth form, which came from countless hours of practice, Ban Yo-han flashed a bright smile.
– “Haha, he looks as happy as if he had scored a 20-point shot rather than a 2-pointer.”
[“Yo-han’s smile is worth a million dollars ๑◠‿◠๑”]
[“Ban Yo-han scores, scores in my heart”]
[“Ban Yo-han’s ‘ban’ stands for ‘falling for him'”]
When the camera showed the Orca members, who had gathered together to cheer for the blue team while displaying playful phrases on their phone scoreboard app, laughter erupted from the cheering section.
Despite normally acting aloof and disdainful, once in front of other idols, Orca members turned into ‘our member is the best’ mode, proudly supporting their own.
On the other hand, the sight somehow irritated the white team players.
‘No, Yo-han must just be smiling, so why am I getting annoyed?’
The white team player’s thoughts were wrong.
Ban Yo-han was indeed smiling with the intention of annoying the opposing team.
The smile that Orca members often deemed obnoxious among themselves indeed had an effect of provoking the opponent.
– “The blue team leads by 19 points as the first half ends!”
Thanks to Ban Yo-han’s outstanding performance, the first half ended with the blue team in the lead.
– “Wow, this is an unexpected result.”
– “Will the white team manage a comeback in the second half?”
– “We’ll continue after a 5-minute break.”
“Yo-han, you did well. Stay out for the second half. You need to save your strength for the finals.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Having made a significant contribution during the preliminaries, Ban Yo-han accepted the substitution without complaint.
Since his position required a lot of movement and he had been running non-stop for 10 minutes, he honestly wanted a break.
“And I have a few things to share.”
During the break, Ban Yo-han diligently provided information about the white team to the coach and players.
He mentioned specific attack patterns and noticeable habits of the opposing players.
“Lastly… When pressured, Ye-jun tends to look left first and throws the pass in that direction.”
“Oh, so that’s why earlier……”
The blue team players, who had been following Ban Yo-han’s instructions during the first half as per the coach’s directions, finally understood his thinking and nodded.
“Did you figure all this out just today?”
“No. I’ve been thinking about it since the practice game.”
The secret to the blue team’s rapid improvement lay in the strategies Ban Yo-han devised based on the previous practice match.
Since there were no particularly outstanding players and a low understanding of the game among the amateurs, exploiting the discovered weaknesses systematically showed immediate results.
The camera captured everything, even during the break.
* * *
With Ban Yo-han out, the blue team maintained the score gap they had established in the first half and easily advanced to the finals by beating the white team.
The white team, instead of passing which had been blocked several times in the first half, attempted a new strategy of dribbling to carry the ball themselves.
However, most of these efforts were thwarted by Seo Moon-gyeol, who was put in at the 3-minute mark of the second half.
On Raon and Gwak Sang-hyun watched Seo Moon-gyeol play anxiously, but fortunately, no players got injured during the game.
The blue team players, including Ban Yo-han, the unexpected hero of the victory, were celebrated by their teammates.
“What’s this? Why are you so good?”
“I told you I was good.”
Without a moment to catch his breath, the winning team’s player interviews began right away.
– “We’ll now meet Orca’s Yo-han from the blue team, who I think we can confidently call the MVP of this game.”
“Hello. I’m Orca’s Yo-han.”
– “Although you didn’t play in the second half, you played so well in the first half. As a fellow man, I almost fell for you.”
“Haha, thank you.”
– “Could you tell us the secret to your performance today in five words?”
“In five words.”
– “Yes. Five words.”
It was a typical, mundane question expecting answers like ‘thanks to teammates’ or ‘fans’ support.’
Without showing any signs of surprise at the sudden request, Ban Yo-han smiled and then opened his mouth.
“Education…”
Ban Yo-han paused, folding one finger.
‘Education?’
People who couldn’t think of a fitting word tilted their heads.
As Ban Yo-han continued folding his fingers with a natural expression, he said.
“The power of education.”
‘!’
<Illustration of Yo-han in a blonde suit>