card basketball

Chapter 24 Locke Gatekeeper

The lights in the gymnasium were not on, it was dark!
Everyone thought that there was no one there, so Qiao Fei pushed open the door forcefully without hesitation.Sure enough, compared with the bright lights inside and the darkness outside, it was a completely different world.

The gymnasium is not as dilapidated as imagined. Above the auditorium, there is a horizontal banner. The banner is the oldest, and it seems to have been hung for a long time.The banner reads in memory of the greatest player in the world, the GOAT.

Qiao Fei knew that the goat was a symbol of American streetball in the 60s. He died in 1998. He had never played in the NBA in his life, but he was hailed as the greatest player in the world.

Qiao Fei finally noticed that there was another person sitting under the banner in the auditorium.The man, wearing an old-fashioned suit, just stood up and walked towards the field.

Of course Qiao Fei knew this person, it was Old John, the old guy who played him like a monkey, was the person Qiao Fei hated the most since he grew up.

"The one I'm wearing today was prepared for the goat many years ago. I thought he would wear this beautiful dress and stand on the NBA court. I didn't expect that this gift would never be given out in his life."

"Old John, now is not the time for you to miss your old friends, and I am not interested in the story of you and the goat. Tell me where the gatekeeper is, or that the gatekeeper is a joke at all."

Old John didn't interrupt his memory because of Qiao Fei's fierce words.

"I was born in the same neighborhood as the goat, but we didn't know each other. Until we met outside John Smith College, everything changed. The goat beat me in the bullfight, my almost invincible little trick, in the eyes of the goat , as insignificant as a clown's sideshow. That day, I thought Goat was bound to make it to the NBA, the greatest player in the world. I was wrong, the gangsters of New York ruined him, and he didn't make it to the NBA. I don't like gangsters in New York, so I took over the neighborhood with my skills, and I call my organization the 155 Club."

This time, without Qiao Fei not interrupting, he always thought that Old John was just a member of the 155 club, but he never thought that Old John was the founder. If so, what is the purpose of what Old John did?
"In 1998, after the goat passed away, I picked up the basketball again here, and picked up the little tricks that I had forgotten. I dressed myself like a robber and returned to the world of goats. Since then, Rock Park has more unknown things. A legend, known to those in the know as the Gatekeeper.”

"Are you the gatekeeper?"

Qiao Fei couldn't hide the surprise in his heart. Old John was nearly 70 years old. It was a miracle that he could play basketball at such an advanced age, let alone defeat those young and promising people.

"Who do you think the gatekeeper is, the same as those ordinary people think, that the gatekeeper is actually a member of the NBA? I can tell you clearly that the NBA is not just a feast of games, the NBA is a crueler reality than reality. world. Those who struggle in that world do not possess the spirit of Rock Park.”

Qiao Fei began to realize what Old John was going to say.He watched Old John take off his suit and shirt.Wearing a white tracksuit from the 70s, no logo, just blank.

Old John walked to the sidelines, took out a basketball from the practice basket, patted it and walked beyond the three-point line, made a neat jump shot, the ball flew to the basket with graceful movements, and the ball scored!
"Why did you push me like that!"

"If you beat me, I will tell you the answer. If you lose, just take the plane the day after tomorrow and go back to China obediently..."

Old John pushed down the basketball stand after he finished speaking, and the basketballs in it rushed towards the court in a disorderly manner under the action of inertial force. Some went far away, some were very close, and one even rolled to Qiao Fei's feet.

Qiao Fei looked at Old John and saw the old man's rather interesting smile.To be honest, Qiao Fei was not interested in competing against an old man who was nearly 70 years old. His reverie about the gatekeeper was made emotional by the final truth.

Qiao Fei looked at the scattered basketballs, not knowing what Old John was up to.Qiao Fei bent down and picked up the basketball rolling under his feet. The weight and feel of the basketball were no different from ordinary basketballs. The only difference was that a word 8 was written with a black marker on the basketball's trademark.

"What does it mean?"

"Fancy billiards, there are operators in every corner of China. I believe you are no stranger to the rules. 15 balls grab 8 system. Before you came, I marked the basketball with a marker pen. Here it is Take the one I shot just now. There are 30 balls in total. The unmarked ones are regarded as attacking balls, which can be used to shoot long-range shots that must be scored by both sides. You should understand that basketball is not about who can jump higher or who can run Fast. The one who can control the ever-changing changes on the court is the real king."

Qiao Fei was very interested in this novel competition.Old John had said more than once that he knew how to play tricks. Could this be a trick? If so, it would be too simple.

The 15-ball 8-ball system is the most common billiards in China. Sizes 1-7 are commonly known as trumpets, and sizes 9-15 are commonly known as tuba.At the beginning of the game, the competitors on both sides choose one of the balls as their own ball, and they can only score the winning black number 7 after scoring [-] balls.

Applying the rules of billiards to basketball sounds like a very simple and novel way of playing.But the real competition is much more difficult.First, the size of the characters is about the same size as the trademark. If you want to find out the seven trumpets from the 30 basketballs, you can't tell them apart without looking carefully.

Second, there is an attack ball that is almost the same as the scoring ball.This method seriously suppresses players who are good at long-range shots, just like Qiao Fei interfered with Garton's goal in Cavendy's exhibition game, effectively reducing the setting of interference shots.

"The rules don't seem to be difficult, when do we start!"

"It's started!"

While talking, Old John inadvertently picked up the ball and threw it. The ball hit the edge of the basket and flew high.Qiao Fei had already started running with big strides, looked at the landing spot, and grabbed the rebound.

When the ball was still in the air, Qiao Fei had already judged that the ball would not be scored.He wanted to grab a rebound, but he mainly wanted to know what kind of ball Old John was throwing. Very good.

Qiao Fei hurriedly glanced at the ball he had snatched, and the trademark of the ball was empty.Old John's first pitch turned out to be an attack ball, no wonder it didn't seem to go in.

Just as Qiao Fei was in the middle of grabbing a rebound, Old John's second shot had already been thrown.After Qiao Fei landed, it must be too late to stop the ball.However, Qiao Fei's reaction was quick. He artificially landed and threw the attack ball in his hand to prevent Old John from scoring.

Ball and ball collided in the air, and Old John's shot bounced off, but it didn't end there, though.Old John, who was still in the area of ​​​​the three-point line just now, ran up after shooting the ball, at a speed that was completely inconsistent with the old man.

Old John jumped high, caught the ball in the air with one hand, and the basketball was split and dunked into the net.Qiao Fei landed on the ground, feeling the sharpness of the moment the basketball hit the net.This will definitely not be worse than the dunks of active NBA players.

"On the basketball court, even an ignorant child cannot be underestimated, let alone an experienced old man!"

Of course Qiao Fei understood the meaning of this sentence, since he knew the rules, he should have known that this would not be an easy game.

(End of this chapter)