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From then on, I focused entirely on preparing for the Cangxing Tournament. Xia Ying and I had no communication whatsoever until the semifinals of the tournament began. We became the most familiar strangers; it was quite uncomfortable to sit together without being able to talk. With no outlet for my feelings, I could only practice basketball with all my might. Hard work pays off, and our trio naturally became the core members of Yulin High School. The atmosphere gradually cooled down as the winter semifinals approached. According to the schedule, we would face our local rivals, the Twenty-Fourth Team, at home. Without the Thunderbolt duo, Twenty-Four Middle School's strength would surely diminish, but we couldn't rule out the possibility of their new recruits rising to power. In any case, this would be a test for us after losing our outside core Zhongqi Senior and inside backbone Bing Ge. Could the three of us shoulder this responsibility? The answer would soon be revealed.
Next, our twelve-man roster gathered in the sports department to prepare for warm-ups at the school gym. This semester's Team roster included five newcomers, with only one senior from the third year, Lu Yinghao from Class 7. He stood at 1.88 meters tall and had a slightly chubby build, looking quite strong—another giant in the paint. The remaining four new players were all second-year students; there were no first-year freshmen on this year's Team, which meant that every position was adequately filled. After arriving at the gym, we began our warm-up training. Before long, Twenty-Four Middle School arrived. Upon opening the door, I realized this was a brand new Twenty-Four Middle School Team; I didn't recognize any of their coaches or players. It seemed that since Song Huajing and Lu Lei graduated, Twenty-Four Middle School had undergone a major overhaul, and it appeared that their lineup was primarily composed of new generation players who were all very young. However, it was also possible that they sent out their second-string players for practice to conserve strength.
"Did Twenty-Four Middle School not send any main players? Sending this group of unfamiliar kids to play against us is just making a fool of us!" Ouyang couldn't help but exclaim. Teacher Qiu looked at their coach and said, "I feel like I've seen this coach somewhere..." Li Kanglin walked over after hearing this: "Oh? Coach, could he be your senior?" I quickly pulled him back: "What nonsense! How could that coach be your senior? Just look at his age! At most, our coach has faced him before." "Ah! I remember now!" Teacher Qiu suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed. Li Kanglin and I quickly leaned in to see whose guess was more accurate. Teacher Qiu slowly said, "My memory is really failing me; I saw him last time when I was buying fish at the market!" "Oh no!" Li Kanglin and I almost fainted upon hearing this. Teacher Qiu awkwardly chuckled: "Hehe, that's why he looked familiar; we even bargained together while buying fish." Li Kanglin and I exchanged a quick laugh before hurrying back to our seats.
With the referee's whistle, the game officially began as both teams walked onto the court. Our starting lineup was: me (Point Guard), Ouyang (Shooting Guard), A Fei (Forward), Tu Lei (Power Forward), and Li Kanglin (Center). None of the new players made it into the starting lineup. Ouyang and their guard were designated to jump ball at center court. Their young guard seemed very excited as he ran over to center court. The referee stood in the middle and tossed the ball high into the air; Ouyang jumped up simultaneously with their guard to contest for it. Ouyang managed to tip it back to me, and I started our first offensive play of the semester. After reaching the right wing, Ouyang immediately dashed to the free-throw line for support. After passing him the ball, I moved in for a screen assist. Ouyang stepped back for a jump shot and scored—a beautiful assist leading to a beautiful basket! I ran over to high-five Ouyang; our teamwork had reached a new level.
After they inbounded the ball, their guard slowly advanced with it while I followed closely behind. He threw a high pass over my head to their Power Forward, who received it and immediately backed down Tu Lei. However, due to Tu Lei's physical attributes not being as outstanding as their number four player’s, he was pushed back repeatedly by their Power Forward before they turned around and hit a hook shot into the basket—tying the game. I didn't expect these rookies from Twenty-Four Middle School to have such drive; it reminded me of when A Fei and I first joined Team—fearless and aggressive. If they had good coaches teaching them skills and tactics, these youngsters would undoubtedly be Twenty-Four Middle School's hope for the next two years. However, experience is still key; we had more competition experience over these years which made our play feel very cohesive and smooth. Although their players were full of energy, they clearly lacked composure when handling the ball—causing their coach to shout from the sidelines continuously. By halftime, we led Twenty-Four Middle School 48-37.
"This half was played well; let's maintain this attitude," Teacher Qiu praised us as we left the court. While drinking water, I noticed that their players were also looking over at us from their bench as we both entered the Locker Room together. Teacher Qiu began assigning tactics for the second half; we needed some adjustments to improve our transitions between offense and defense. The team listened carefully while I found myself zoning out unexpectedly—thinking about Xia Ying when I shouldn't have been. After a fifteen-minute halftime break, we exited the Locker Room again; their coach was still chattering away at his players from Twenty-Four Middle School as we prepared for the second half once more.
Teacher Qiu substituted Lu Yinghao in for Tu Lei to strengthen our inside game; it proved advantageous due to his strong physique as we dominated throughout the second half against those kids from Twenty-Four Middle School. Ultimately, we won decisively with a score of 108-88 in this opening match of the tournament.
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