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After we served again, I slowly walked over while holding the ball. Facing Chu Yuetao, I felt particularly excited. I wanted Xia Ying and the others to know that I, Xiang Jie, was no worse than Chu Yuetao! Once again, I used my "Lingbo Microstep" to spin and shake off Chu Yuetao. After getting past him, I jumped from mid-range and shot. Suddenly, I felt the ball being slapped by a hand from behind. To my surprise, Chu Yuetao had blocked my shot from behind! Jia Yu caught the rebound and passed it to Pei Xinliang, who ran into the paint and scored with a hook shot!
After we served again, I passed the ball to Ouyang at the center circle. Ouyang took a shot from beyond the three-point line on the right wing but missed! Li Kanglin grabbed the rebound but was interfered with by Hu Yue and still missed. Tu Lei and Jia Yu fought for the rebound, but Jia Yu managed to secure it first. He quickly passed it far to Chu Yuetao, who caught it at the top of the arc and scored again! 69-65! At the start of the third quarter, we were hit with a 10-0 run by City No. 2 Middle School! Our lead was instantly wiped out.
Teacher Qiu immediately called a timeout. As we walked off the court and sat down, Teacher Qiu handed us water while saying, "Tired? You all take a break. Zhongqi, Zhi Kai, Junze, Wei Wei, and Zhang Jun, you five go in!" Teacher Qiu began substituting players. Our starting five were all sitting on the bench. After Zhongqi Senior took the court, we started serving again. Zhongqi Senior brought the ball to the front court and made a quick stop for a three-point jumper from the corner—score! 76-65! Our captain came in strong with an impressive shot.
Unexpectedly, Chu Yuetao was undeterred. After receiving the ball, he rushed to the top of the arc and shot a three-pointer right in front of Zhongqi Senior—score! 76-68! City No. 2 Middle School continued to close the gap. After we served again, Zhongqi Senior drove straight into their paint with Hu Yue and Land Route defending him. Zhongqi Senior reached out between them to shoot the ball when—"Ah!"—his arm was heavily squeezed by both defenders, causing him to kneel on one leg. Watching from the sidelines made my heart tighten; please protect us! Our core inside player Bing Ge could no longer compete; we couldn't afford any more accidents with our outside soul.
Zhongqi Senior closed his eyes tightly on the court as our audience suddenly fell silent. The medical team rushed onto the court to help him off. Teacher Qiu substituted me back in. When I stepped onto the court, Zhongqi Senior looked pale and said to me, "Jie, play well for the rest of the game." I nodded at him before heading onto the court.
The foul was called on Land Route for blocking. I stepped up to take free throws for Zhongqi Senior. Taking a deep breath, I released the first shot—score! Wu Zhi Kai and Qiu Junze came over to high-five me. After receiving the referee's ball for my second free throw, I scored again—74-68! With nine minutes left in the third quarter, their coach called a timeout. I quickly went off to check on Zhongqi Senior's condition; Team Doctor said it was a muscle strain in his arm and he couldn't continue playing—he needed five to seven weeks of rest! What?! That basically meant Zhongqi Senior's season was over! My worst fear had come true; both Bing Ge and Zhongqi Senior—the soul of our team—had left the game, missing their final battle in high school.
Zhongqi Senior looked particularly dejected, his left fist tightly clenched with eyes full of unwillingness. Teacher Qiu sighed deeply as he walked over and patted his shoulder. Bing Ge shook his head helplessly as he sat next to Zhongqi Senior and whispered to him, "Zhongqi's season is also over; it's up to you guys now..." Teacher Qiu turned to look at us; we all nodded heavily in agreement. Yes, without our captain, our trio would have to truly lead the team now. I inadvertently glanced at the audience and saw Haoshuai looking thrilled at our situation; I really couldn't tell if this guy was reveling in our misfortune or what!
After we took the court again, City No. 2 Middle School started serving. Chu Yuetao quickly crossed half-court and shot from beyond the arc—score! 74-71! The gap was down to just three points. After we served again, I quickly ran up front and passed behind me to Wu Zhi Kai on the left wing. He took two steps forward before shooting—score! Their center Hu Yue quickly ran down baseline for an inbound pass; Chu Yuetao sprinted up front and threw a high pass to Jia Yu that nearly resulted in a turnover. Jia Yu jumped high but barely caught it; Wu Zhi Kai seized this moment as he landed and stole the ball before sprinting back downcourt. Jia Yu and Pei Xinliang quickly retreated under their basket while Wu Zhi Kai cut through before Zhang Jun followed up behind him. Zhang Jun jumped up amidst Jia Yu's and Pei Xinliang's defense for an explosive dunk that ignited our classmates' passion; everyone stood up applauding us.
We played exceptionally well during this third quarter; without Zhongqi Senior on court during this time did not make us falter but instead motivated us even more fiercely as City No. 2 Middle School relentlessly pursued us. By the end of this quarter, we led 89-85 going into the final period—a four-point lead that felt very fragile considering how City No. 2 Middle School had just hit us with that 10-point run at the start of this quarter; we had to remain cautious and steady as we aimed for victory in this first match-up.
As we walked off after three quarters, Teacher Qiu tossed us towels while saying: "Great job! We still lead after three quarters; it shows we have what it takes to win this game." For this final showdown in quarter four: Ouyang, A Fei, Tu Lei, and Kang Lin would be coming on court—"Jie, how’s your stamina? Can you hold out for one more quarter?" Teacher Qiu asked me.
I nodded then twisted open my water bottle to drink; honestly speaking my stamina was already depleted but after Zhongqi Senior's injury there was no one else left who could take charge at point guard besides me—Wu Zhi Kai and A Fei could only fill in occasionally since they primarily played shooting guard or small forward positions.
The fourth quarter showdown began unexpectedly tough for our first match of playoffs; with our main players injured or sick how far could we go this season? I had no idea but knew that facing City No. 2 Middle School—a rookie team—was already extremely challenging; even if we got past them we'd face either Experiment Three or Thirteen Middle School in semifinals where our chances would still be less than fifty percent.
In short: This season was supposed to be our strongest team yet everything had changed so suddenly—we seemed like wounded soldiers struggling through hardship now; next season Zhongqi Senior, Bing Ge, and Zhang Jun would all be gone too—and by then we'd be seniors ourselves—what future awaited Yulin High School? Would it rely on Li Kanglin or Tu Lei inside? And what about our backcourt engine?
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