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“Xiang Jie, sit down!” Teacher Qiu scolded me. Still fuming, I sat down beside them and took out a bottle of water to drink. Teacher Qiu sighed and said earnestly, “Xiang Jie, acting on impulse like this will only hand the advantage over to the opponent. Do you really want the referee to penalize you directly? If you want Yulin High School to earn respect and take it a step further, then show your skills on the court and defeat your opponents convincingly.” Teacher Qiu's words struck my heart like a whip; I was indeed just a reckless fool with courage but no strategy! “Coach, teammates, I'm sorry. I understand now; this is truly the meaning of blind bravery. I won't act rashly anymore. I will let them see the strength of Yulin High School!” I stood up, and Teacher Qiu came over, patted my shoulder, and smiled, “That's right!” “Jie, let's show them what we've got! So what if they have ‘Thunderbolt’? As long as we unite, nothing can stop our progress!” Zhongqi Senior also encouraged me. “Alright, let's discuss our tactics for the second half. In the second half, Zhongqi and A Fei will go in; you two need to control ‘Thunderbolt’s’ counterattacks…” Teacher Qiu quickly got back on track as we gathered to discuss strategies. My heart felt much lighter; Lu Zhendong, you have already lost!
The halftime break was over. “One, two, three, Yulin, go!” After we shouted together, we walked out of the Locker Room. The opposing team also exited their Locker Room. I noticed Lu Zhendong's face looked grim; clearly, their coach had given him a harsh reprimand. He glared at me with anger still in his eyes. I rolled my eyes at him and put on a nonchalant expression as I walked onto the court. Haha, he was so furious he was grinding his teeth. On the court, their lineup remained unchanged: Song Huajing, Qi Lei, Lu Lei, Li Wei, and Mu Yu. Except for Lu Zhendong being penalized and Qi Lei taking his place, were those four really going to play the entire game?
After we served the ball, Zhongqi Senior organized an attack. Once we reached the front court, he quickly passed it to me. I received the ball and passed it to A Fei at the edge of the penalty area. The opponent was tightly pressing us all over the court; A Fei had no choice but to pass it back to me. I received the ball and took a step towards the free-throw line before making a mid-range shot that went in! After their serve, Song Huajing made a long pass to Mu Yu who drove straight for the basket. Bing Ge defended in front while Mu Yu passed the ball to Li Wei beside him but was unexpectedly intercepted by Zhang Ruizhi! This tall guy is also doing what our Point Guard does! After intercepting it, Zhang Ruizhi passed it out to Zhongqi Senior who was moving around outside; Zhongqi Senior caught it at the arc and made a three-pointer! Zhang Ruizhi not only made a steal but also assisted—does he want to switch to Point Guard? In the first half of this quarter, both sides played fiercely with a tight scoreline. With four minutes and twenty seconds left in the third quarter, we led 50-48; however, it was Twenty-Four Middle School's possession. Song Huajing aggressively attacked inside but was double-teamed by Bing Ge and Zhongqi Senior resulting in a turnover. After picking up the ball quickly, I dashed forward while Qi Lei desperately chased after me. As I jumped up to shoot, Qi Lei still refused to give up and jumped up waving his hands in front of my eyes to obstruct my vision. However, since I jumped early and had already calculated the distance and angle to the basket when I shot, the ball went straight through the net. After Mu Yu served the ball again, Song Huajing quickly attacked again; he ran forward and passed it to Lu Lei before moving to assist on the right wing. Lu Lei shot a three-pointer from a forty-five-degree angle on the right side that went in! After our serve again, Zhongqi Senior controlled it well; just as he turned around to pass it to me, Song Huajing suddenly lunged forward and intercepted it! Song Huajing drove all the way into the basket for an easy score. I saw Zhongqi Senior clenching his fists tightly; he seemed very angry with himself for this oversight.
After our serve again, Zhongqi Senior drove towards the basket but got blocked; he was starting to get a bit anxious. However, when the ball bounced off him into my hands, I caught it and jumped for a shot that went in! Zhongqi Senior shook his head as he walked back downcourt. When I ran beside him, I patted his shoulder and whispered in his ear: “Captain, don’t rush it; take your time.” Then I ran back downcourt while Zhongqi Senior smiled after hearing my words. After their serve again, Song Huajing brought the ball past half-court before quickly passing it to Lu Lei at the free-throw line who then high-passed it inside where Mu Yu leaped high to catch it before dunking towards the basket—“Smack!” The ball was blocked by Zhang Ruizhi! Song Huajing desperately chased after the ball that flew towards their backcourt; he caught it and dribbled it back into our frontcourt where this time he chose to shoot himself—and scored! In these few consecutive plays neither side managed to gain an advantage; we both fought hard. With twenty seconds left in this third quarter and our possession of the ball, Zhongqi Senior organized one last attack for this quarter. He dribbled slowly into our frontcourt wasting time while dribbling when suddenly he made a beautiful behind-the-back pass to A Fei on the right wing. A Fei hesitated slightly after receiving it before shooting; Lu Lei jumped high trying to block it but A Fei released it from such a high point that Lu Lei couldn’t touch it at all! The buzzer sounded as my last-second three-pointer flew towards the basket—swish! I slammed my hand down hard in celebration as my buzzer-beater three-pointer went in! With that shot made just before time expired in this third quarter ending with us leading 65-59 against Twenty-Four Middle School as we entered into the fourth quarter.
“Whether we can make it into Ouyuan depends on this quarter!” Teacher Qiu said: “Team members, we are very close to Ouyuan now; it's almost within reach! So don’t let this beautiful dream shatter! This year marks fifteen years since we won our championship in 1996—this is our closest year yet to Ouyuan or even winning another championship! Let’s fight hard!” This time Teacher Qiu didn’t teach us any tactics or strategies.
But these words were more effective than ten tactical plans combined as with the referee’s whistle signaling start of fourth quarter we walked onto court carrying this belief and responsibility.
We served first; Zhongqi Senior held onto possession attacking while Song Huajing and Lu Lei were showing signs of fatigue due to intense competition without enough rest time during this match-up so they were somewhat drained physically. After Zhongqi Senior dribbled past them both trying for an opening while Lu Lei circled around defensively; seeing an opening Zhongqi Senior threaded a pass through directly under Binge Ge who caught it for an explosive dunk—looks like our twin towers are still dominating inside!
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