Today's transportation is quite convenient, about half an hour to the destination, Li Xin, Zhuo Yifan, Michael just got off the taxi, was attracted by a beach in the distance, there are weightlifting, water bicycles, surfing, gymnastics, and of course, the sea.

At a glance, you can see four basketball courts sitting right on the beach, surrounded by tall coconut trees, and under each hoop there are people shooting. A blue main site is left alone on one side, surrounded by graffiti, spectator seating, shops selling T-shirts and merchandise, fast food restaurants, tattoo parlors, and bicycle rental shops.

In the midst of all this, the course seems so harmonious, it is simply incredible in the crowded tourist attraction.

"Hey! Guys! Come here to play basketball? A fat black man stepped forward and accosted a threesome.

"That's right! We just got here to check it out! Also black, Michael replied to the fat black man, looking more cordial.

"Man! Hello, my name is Morris, and I run a basketball merchandise shop here. It's nice to meet you, look at your height, you should play basketball well! The fat black man shook Michael's hand and started chatting easily.

"It's okay! I heard you have a basketball league here every weekend? Michael asked rhetorically.

"Yes, that's right, it's a basketball paradise on weekends, and it's lively." Morris said.

Michael: "Oh, really? Tell us about it. ”

Morris: "The basketball league here is both simple and complex: the simple thing is that no matter what you do here, no one is surprised, even if there were four-pointers, five-pointers, even six-pointers, seven-point shots in Venice Beach, people would accept it; The complex is how to bring out the charm of one sport to the extreme, stand out from all of them, and combine it with the innate charm of the beach. ”

Morriston paused, opened one of the bottles of drink he was holding, took a sip, and said, "Man, would you like two drinks with your friends!" ”

"Okay!" Michael agreed.

Maurice returned to his shop and took out three bottles of Gatorade and handed them to the three teenagers. Michael dug into his pocket, took out $10 and handed it to Morris, then took it and found Michael for $4, and continued: "The most famous thing here is the VBL League, which was first organized here in 1981 by a guy named Hicks and continued until 2002. After a hiatus of a few years, another guy named Nick took over in 2006 and began rebuilding the league under the VBL brand.

Enjoy the entertainment that basketball brings - this requires a group of organizers and participants who are quite entertaining. Luckily, everything about the VBL League is so much fun. Entertainment may be the first choice in Venice Beach, but on Sundays, it's also real basketball.

Every summer from June to August, every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., from junior basketball camps to five formal professional adult games, you'll find the kind of performance you're looking for at every stage of the league, every corner of the court, and every participant. Morris took another sip of his drink, and another group of players on the basketball court next to him began to play, and the music began to play.

Morris began to swing his fat body to the music, and continued: "Speaking of music, in other places, you can only hear rap, dance music, or things that get the players adrenaline pumping. But at VBL, you don't know when you'll hear a classic love song like "WhenIfallinlove"! ”

At this time, on the basketball court, after the two teams finished playing, Morris pointed to the court and said, "You guys go to see the game first, and you'll love it in no time." ”

I saw that the 10 players in the red and black uniforms were already standing on the field, and the two tallest players were already standing in the center circle and ready to start the scramble.

"It's the last game of the day, the final of the day." Morris said.

"That should be a good level of comparison!" Michael asked.

"Hehe, you'll find out for yourself." Morris replied, flicking his hand to let the three of them go a little further forward to watch, and returned to his shop.

VBL is a miniature basketball league that is very entertaining, but it doesn't mean that the level of the game is inferior, on the contrary, the players play exceptionally hard to show their abilities in front of tourists from all over the world.

The game of basketball here is fun and universal, and everyone has the opportunity to participate, express themselves, and have fun. There's a great basketball game, it's got a lot of great athletes, it's got all kinds of entertainment stars, and it's got tons of beautiful women. Looking around at the beach in the middle of summer, there is an endless stream of beautiful women in bikinis. Some watched the basketball game on the sidelines, some lay on the beach to enjoy the sun, and some buried themselves in the sand and sunbathed.

"Hehe, what a paradise on earth!" Li Xin said excitedly after looking around.

"What, are you excited? Would you like to have a game? Zhuo saw Li Xin's restless mind and said encroachmently.

Li Xin replied: "Of course I want to!" But it's a game here, and it's a five-on-five game, and it's only three of us, so there's no chance of a fight. ”

"Hehe, wait, it's all on me!" Zhuo Yifan patted his chest, looking confident.

Li Xin thought to himself, what the hell do you have an idea, and there was an exclamation from the court behind him.

It turned out that a black player on the red team broke through the inside line and missed the layup, and a tall black player came out from the other side, grabbed the pop-up basketball, and directly re-dunked it back into the basket.

"Awesome! Well played! Michael also applauded in the crowd.

The two teams go back and forth, and the game is also exciting, although it is not as high as the NBA, but the entertainment of playing is also fully displayed, and the players continue to show their skills on the court, with three-pointers on the outside and jumpers on the inside. Layups after breaking through, various forms of slam dunks, and wonderful shots emerge one after another. In such a league, there are all kinds of levels, but the two teams that finally reached the final also have two brushes, and they are either professionally trained in school. Or a street ball player who has been playing on outdoor parks, beaches and other street courts since childhood. Occasionally, some high-level professional players come to play.

There are no free throws in the game, there are no three seconds, and if there are too many fouls, go down and sit for a while. If anyone is violently deducted by the other party on the top of the head, you have to go down and sit for a while. People come here just to be happy. Of course, some outrageous tricks are not allowed. The game tends to be intense and the players don't make those moves.

It's all inspired by the spirit of entertainment, with a DJ beating happily and rhythmically to the rhythm of the music. Zhuo was also infected by the music on the sidelines, and walked into the DJ's side, dancing to the beat.

Seeing the yellow-skinned guy next to him, the black DJ smiled and said, "Interesting, right?" ”

"yes, it's fun, it's fun, what kind of music are you?" Zhuo asked.

"The song called Fighter is playing now, which used to be the theme song of the playoffs in the NBA2002-03 season, and in Los Angeles, we have various styles of movies and music, and we will not be limited to those so-called big road goods." The DJ said triumphantly as he continued to dance to the rhythm.

The game was played quickly, much faster than the average basketball game, with not as many timeouts, not as much deadball time. Even the half-time break was very fast, and the players felt that their physical strength was almost recovered, so they could tell the referee to ask to play.

In the end, the red team won the blue team, lifting the trophy of the day, and the supporters outside the stadium opened two bottles of champagne and splashed the players on the body to celebrate. It's the same scene in an NBA game where teams spray each other with champagne after winning a championship.

This weekend is a basketball event that brings happiness to everyone, which is inseparable from the purpose advocated by the CEO of VBL:

"I want people to come together on a field where everybody is willing to give and be the role they want to be on that court – that's what basketball can only show. Some people like to pass, some like to play singles, I don't get in the way of them, some like to be coaches, some people just like to watch...... Let them go and let them play freely. ”

The day's VBL activities came to an end with the sunset, and instead of the audience who hurriedly dispersed and looked for the next fun, the league staff began to clean up the court, and the DJ next to Zhuo also finished his work and reached out to Zhuo before he was ready to start packing up his equipment, smiling and saying, "Hey! Nice to meet you! My name is Nick. ”

"Hello and nice to meet you too! My name is Zhuo! Takuya introduced himself

Nick: "Look at how tall you are, you also play basketball!" ”

Zhuo Yifan: "Yes! I've only been in Los Angeles for a few months! I love the basketball atmosphere here! ”

Nick turned to look at the staff cleaning the field and said, "VBL doesn't have much money, but every one of our staff members is passionate about VBL and that's what keeps the league going on to this day." If you have a chance, you are welcome to come and participate in the competition! Look at you as an Asian, our CEO has always wanted to be able to extend basketball beyond the beach, to different social networks, so that people can come and see it. If you think it's good, you can promote it for us! Of course, you are more welcome to participate. ”

"Okay! Good! But the competition, is there still a chance? Two of my friends are going to be gone the day after tomorrow! Zhuo Yifan said and pointed to Li Xin and Michael.

Nick looked at Zhuo, Li Xin, Michael, and his eyes rolled quickly, "OK, I understand what you mean!" ”

"You understand?" Zhuo asked rhetorically.

"How about letting the champion team play you just now?" Nick said.

Zhuo looked at Li Xin and Michael as if asking for their opinions. Li Xin and Michael also looked at each other, and then nodded to Zhuo Yifan together.

Zhuo Yifan said to Nick with understanding: "OK, no problem! ”

As he spoke, he walked to the side of the live announcer and whispered a few words to the announcer. The announcer immediately shouted loudly on the radio: "Don't leave the champion VCStar team yet, there is a group of players who want to fight you." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, several members of the red team who had not gone far turned around, and one of the large black men pointed to his chest, and his mouth looked as if to say, "Call us?" ”

The announcer nodded, and the big black man turned his head to look at his partners on either side, winked, and walked back to the venue together.

"Who's going to play with us?" The big black man took the announcer's microphone and said loudly.

"We!" Zhuo Yifan stepped in a few steps to the big black man and said loudly. (To be continued.) )