Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
After the game started, Bing Ge and the opposing Center jumped for the ball. Bing Ge managed to tip it into our hands. Zhongqi Senior took control of the ball to organize our first attack, but Jiang Lingfeng was tightly guarding him. After several unsuccessful attempts to break through, Zhongqi Senior passed the ball to me. I took two steps forward and shot, scoring. The opposing team inbounded the ball, and Jiang Lingfeng calmly controlled it. Zhongqi Senior positioned himself forward, and I saw Jiang Lingfeng smile at Zhongqi Senior before suddenly accelerating. Zhongqi Senior quickly defended, but Jiang Lingfeng unexpectedly made a move while simultaneously attempting a shot. It was too late; Zhongqi Senior had already moved out, and his arm blocked Jiang Lingfeng's shooting hand just in time. The whistle blew, and Jiang Lingfeng drew a foul on Zhongqi Senior. I noticed Zhongqi Senior slightly furrow his brow as he watched Jiang Lingfeng walk to the free-throw line.
Jiang Lingfeng dribbled twice to adjust and took his shot, making the first free throw. He exhaled and shot the second one, also scoring. We inbounded the ball, and Zhongqi Senior brought it to midcourt before passing it to me, giving me a knowing look. I understood immediately and faked a shot before returning the ball to Zhongqi Senior at the corner. Facing Jiang Lingfeng's defense, Zhongqi Senior calmly took his shot and made a three-pointer! The two were really going at it; I didn't expect the usually easygoing Zhongqi Senior to show such competitive spirit. Shortly after, Jiang Lingfeng was stripped by Zhongqi Senior, who made a long pass assist to me for an easy layup. Then Jiang Lingfeng assisted their Center for a hook shot under the basket... The two teams exchanged blows fiercely, and by the end of the first quarter, we were tied, showcasing both teams' rapid offensive firepower.
"How are you playing? What about defense?!" Teacher Qiu was a bit agitated. "In the second quarter, switch Zhongqi with Ji Fang as partners; Zhang Jun, you replace Junze; Li Junhai will take Yan Bing..." Teacher Qiu earnestly explained the second strategy while I casually glanced at the opposite side where their coach was also getting anxious, shouting at his players with a tactical board in hand.
The second quarter began, and both teams played much more steadily this time. If the first quarter was an offensive showdown, then the second quarter clearly turned into a defensive battle. The opposing team inbounded; Jiang Lingfeng passed to the Shooting Guard, but Ji Fang intercepted just as the Shooting Guard tried to pass to Zhongqi Senior again only for Jiang Lingfeng to steal it back. Jiang Lingfeng's three-point attempt hit the rim; Zhang Ruizhi grabbed the rebound but lost it again when trying to pass outside as Jiang Lingfeng stole it once more. He then confidently took another three-pointer that swished through... It seems that Jiang Lingfeng's reputation as one of the "Five Great Point Guards" in high school is well-deserved; his individual skills are truly exceptional.
In the latter half of the second quarter, Zhongqi Senior began to step up, first assisting Ji Fang for a long-range shot and then hitting two three-pointers within a minute as if trying hard to prove that Cheng Zhongqi was not inferior to Jiang Lingfeng. With less than three minutes left in the second quarter, Teacher Qiu called for a timeout and put Bing Ge back on court. By this time, more students had started coming into the gym for self-study class; Xia Ying, Shuai Dong, and Pang Hao rushed in with each holding two inflatable cheering sticks. These three really came as my cheerleaders! Once inside, they began banging their sticks while shouting: "Xiang Jie! Go for it!" I waved back at them and suddenly felt like I was at Grandpa Deng's National Day parade...
Back on court, Ji Fang showcased his killer instinct with two consecutive mid-range shots made. The opposing team inbounded; Jiang Lingfeng quickly drove past Zhongqi Senior towards the basket but was met with a beautiful block from Bing Ge on his layup attempt that sent the crowd into a frenzy. With eight seconds left in the game and our possession for one last attack, Zhongqi Senior held onto the ball until the last second but missed his shot as halftime ended with us leading 55-51.
In the locker room, Teacher Qiu said: "We're heading into the third quarter now; our lead isn't substantial so we need to fight hard this quarter without slacking off. Ji Fang, take a break; Xiang Jie will go in; Zhongqi, you need to keep playing—there's no rest for you this time..." So that's why! I finally understood why Zhongqi Senior wasn't starting last game—Teacher Qiu had already gauged their strength and style of play roughly since City No. 1 High School is typically a slow-starting team. Therefore, letting Zhongqi Senior rest during the first quarter was strategic so he could exert enough effort in the second quarter and third quarter.
The third quarter began with Bing Ge and Zhang Ruizhi working hard inside but unfortunately Jiang Lingfeng stepped up again by assisting their number three player for an open shot that went in before drawing another foul from Zhongqi Senior who now had four fouls against him. With four fouls on him now, Zhongqi Senior couldn't afford to play too aggressively against Jiang Lingfeng anymore. Teacher Qiu reluctantly substituted him out for Ouyang; our outside line turned into our freshman twin stars again but due to lack of experience Ouyang also picked up three fouls during this period against Jiang Lingfeng.
Sigh! This Jiang Lingfeng's high basketball IQ and rich competition experience really put us at a disadvantage! The third quarter ended with us losing by six points.
The fourth quarter showdown began! Teacher Qiu put Zhongqi Senior back on court again: "Zhongqi, you're our only hope of limiting Jiang Lingfeng; be careful not to foul—he's quite cunning." Teacher Qiu said sternly to Zhongqi Senior who simply nodded lightly without saying anything.
Once back on court, Zhongqi Senior changed his approach focusing on playmaking and assists while putting scoring secondary. The opposing team also brought in a tall inside player who looked about three or four centimeters taller than Bing Ge. I couldn't understand why they waited until now to bring in their big guy? Once he entered he was particularly aggressive; especially when I assisted Zhang Ruizhi for what looked like an imminent dunk only for this big hand to swat it away right before it went in.
However, despite being excellent defensively this big guy was terrible offensively—he wasted several opportunities missing two perfect passes from Jiang Lingfeng. Teacher Qiu called for a timeout and substituted me out bringing back our secret weapon Ji Fang who suddenly ignited alongside Zhongqi Senior leading our team on a 7-0 run.
With forty seconds left in the game we finally tied up again! The opposing team's possession followed; Jiang Lingfeng held onto it before suddenly accelerating towards the basket where he collided with Zhongqi Senior who stood firm blocking him but got called for defensive foul! That meant Zhongqi Senior fouled out!
The entire crowd fell silent as Zhongqi Senior shook his head helplessly walking off court while Ouyang came back on; Jiang Lingfeng lay on the ground being helped up by teammates—it seemed he took quite a hit! With thirty-one seconds remaining without reaching foul limit Jiang Lingfeng didn't get free throws either; Hejiang inbounded from out of bounds as Jiang Lingfeng jumped up taking a three-pointer just as twenty-four seconds of attack time were running out!
Everyone watched as it swished through! Jiang Lingfeng pumped his fist in celebration leaving us with seven seconds of attack time while pushing us into desperation: we could only gamble on a three-pointer or risk losing everything!
Teacher Qiu called for another timeout: "Ji Fang, you replace Xiang Jie; Ouyang you’ll pass it off to Ji Fang at last moment—Ji Fang make sure you aim carefully..." Teacher Qiu entrusted our fate into Ji Fang’s hands who bore immense pressure now looking even graver than before.
Back on court Ouyang controlled until there were just two seconds left before passing it off to Ji Fang who received it outside of three-point range! But he got blocked by Jiang Lingfeng sending it out of bounds!!
The final whistle blew ending our game in such an unexpected manner—Jiang Lingfeng sealed victory with one last three-pointer followed by an astonishing block leaving us stunned with final score locked at 90-90!
Zhongqi Senior helplessly closed his eyes sighing while Ji Fang stood frozen inside court looking dazed—the entire student body fell silent even Shuai Dong and others stopped banging their cheering sticks...
Jiang Lingfeng—we lost again at your hands... Our whole team remained silent in Locker Room for quite some time as if even air had solidified around us.
"Alright everyone," Teacher Qiu broke through silence forcing a smile despite our gloominess "Don’t be too upset—we only lost in those last twenty seconds! Our strength is comparable with theirs—this was just a warm-up match after all; we have plenty more games ahead."
Teacher Qiu’s words didn’t lift spirits much though as we all kept our heads down staring blankly—none of us were satisfied especially not Zhongqi Senior who leaned against his locker door eyes tightly shut.
Bing Ge walked over patting his shoulder gently.
After returning home from school I sat at my desk tightly clenching my fists: "Hey Big Heartbreaker—are you alright?" Xia Ying asked cautiously glancing my way.
"I'm fine—what could possibly happen?" I chuckled weakly though my smile felt forced.
Later that evening I went to visit A Fei at hospital only to find him missing from bed—the blankets neatly folded instead.
"Nurse!" I called out stopping one heading towards patient rooms "Where's that tall boy who was here?"
"Oh that boy? He checked out around noon."
Oh no! How could I forget today was A Fei’s discharge day? I rushed home hopped onto my bike speeding back after dropping off my bag shouting “Mom! A Fei’s out—I’m going over!”
I dashed straight towards A Fei’s house ringing doorbell until Aunt Yu opened up saying “Jie’s here! Come on in!”
“Aunt Yu—is A Fei in his room?”
“Yeah he is.”
I walked into A Fei’s room seeing that bandages around his eyes had been removed but he still had some rubber-like patches covering them.
“Jie how did today’s game go? Who won?” A Fei asked eagerly upon hearing my footsteps—I could tell he’d been waiting all day for news.
I sat beside him calmly saying “A Fei—we lost again after Zhongqi fouled out we were ultimately defeated by Jiang Lingfeng.”
A Fei sighed slowly responding “Honestly I'm not surprised we lost—I’ve heard about Hejiang Middle School’s Jiang Lingfeng—a sophomore who started as point guard during freshman year when I played against Team—his skills are indeed formidable.”
“If only Zhongqi hadn’t fouled out…” I lamented “But honestly I don’t think this is necessarily bad news.”
A Fei seemed much brighter lately—I wondered if Sha Xiaomei had something do with this change? Of course she did!
That night wearing headphones listening music knowing tomorrow would be final match of challenge series—I needed good sleep since Twenty-Four Middle School may not be strong but they have great explosive power so last practice must be taken seriously!
Comment 0 Comment Count