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墨書 Inktalez
After entering the park, I suddenly thought of Shuai Dong and Pang Hao. I needed to call Shuai Dong; otherwise, they would definitely tease me about prioritizing romance over friendship. "Hey, Dong Ge, we have a match today. Do you want to come join the fun?" Once the call connected, I shouted to Shuai Dong, "Of course we do!" Shuai Dong excitedly replied, "Is it at Lijing Park? I'll call Pang Hao and rush over." With that, Shuai Dong hung up. When we arrived at the main competition venue, the Emcee first recited a poetic opening statement and then announced the opening of the Street Basketball Championship. "The main competition will be divided into two halves, with eight teams in each half competing against each other. Each team captain is responsible for drawing lots; the number plates indicate the corresponding half and number. The number is 18, for example: 'upper half' means upper half number. The competition format is single-elimination based on the drawn numbers to choose your opponents. The matchups are (1vs8) vs (4vs5), (vs7) vs (vs6)..." The Emcee continued speaking. It turned out to be similar to the playoff format of the NBA, except there was no home-court advantage.
We watched as the teams ahead drew lots. Zhao Ziyang represented Yuhun Team to draw lots. "Hey handsome, what did you draw? Which half and which number?" Xia Ying asked first as we approached, which made me quite annoyed. "You can see for yourselves," Zhao Ziyang smiled and showed us his number plate, which read: Upper 5. "It's upper half number five!" I exclaimed. "Yeah," Zhao Ziyang nodded. Just then it was our turn to draw lots. Jiang Lingfeng went up to draw for us. "Ling Feng Senior, hope you draw a big prize!" I joked. Jiang Lingfeng smiled and walked up to the stage. After quickly pulling out a card from the box, he came back down. "What number is it?" We hurriedly gathered around him as he flipped the card to reveal: Upper 1. "We're also in the upper half!" A Fei suddenly said. Jiang Lingfeng nodded; being upper half number one meant that if we got through the first round, we would likely face Zhao Ziyang's Feather Soul in the second round.
"Now announcing the first round matchups for the upper half: Dream Chasers vs Forest Team, Fiery Fox vs Ball Demon, Flame Cavalry vs Feather Soul, Cool Wings vs Rangers..." Our opponent is Forest Team, and our match will kick off this morning. "I didn't expect our match to be the opening game," Jiang Lingfeng said half-jokingly. "A Fei, Jie!" Shuai Dong and Pang Hao ran over. "You guys arrived just in time," I smiled at them. We quickly prepared and headed to designated court number one with our jerseys on. After changing in a makeshift Locker Room, I saw that two players from Forest Team had already arrived. "Strange, why are there only two of them..." A Fei wondered aloud when a man about six feet tall walked in from behind with a bronze complexion and well-built muscles; he clearly looked like a gym regular. "Brother Jian," shouted the two players on the court at him; it turned out he was the captain of Forest Team.
The referee signaled Xia Ying and Sha Xiaomei to step aside before starting to flip a coin; it was heads—our ball possession! After A Fei threw inbounds, Jiang Lingfeng began dribbling up for an attack while being guarded by a slightly chubby player with a buzz cut. Jiang Lingfeng attempted a fadeaway jumper but missed; Brother Jian grabbed the rebound and passed it quickly to another player outside the three-point line—a risky fast-break play since passing from such distance could easily lead to turnovers. Sure enough, A Fei intercepted the ball midway and passed it to Jiang Lingfeng at zero degrees angle; Jiang Lingfeng jumped and hit a three-pointer! After that, Brother Jian received an inbound pass and quickly shot a three-pointer from beyond the arc—he made it! I didn't expect this tall guy could shoot threes; it seemed Brother Jian was not simple.
As noon approached and it got hotter, the game continued. Brother Jian firmly controlled rebounds thanks to his height advantage; however, his two teammates had poor shooting accuracy which frequently gave us counterattack opportunities. With three minutes left in the game, we led Forest Team 14-0 and still had possession of the ball. After we inbounded it, A Fei held onto it before passing it to me; I received it and quickly returned it to Jiang Lingfeng outside who then passed it back to me again as I took three steps toward the basket. Brother Jian's towering figure blocked my path; unable to find an opportunity to shoot, I protected the ball as I landed on both feet while throwing it up—I thought: Oh no! Traveling! The ball spun around the rim several times before finally going in! Surprisingly, the referee signaled that it counted as a valid basket while none of Forest Team's players protested; they simply moved outside ready for an inbound pass—was the referee favoring us? That shouldn't be right; why didn't he call my traveling violation? Later I learned that Street Basketball has more freedom with fewer strict rules.
Now it was our turn to inbound again; I controlled the ball this time as I organized our attack. Jiang Lingfeng made an off-ball run toward under the basket signaling me for a pass; I pretended to drive for a layup while Brother Jian came over for help defense—I passed under my legs to Jiang Lingfeng who jumped up for a successful shot! With only seconds left in the game, we led by six points at 8-2—essentially securing our spot in the top eight already! Although Brother Jian was strong with his height advantage, everyone understood that basketball is about teamwork rather than individual performance—thus he couldn't carry them alone... so they lost.
"Dream Chasers are champions! Dream Chasers are awesome!" Our two cheerleaders started shouting again while Shuai Dong and Pang Hao remained calm as Forest Team prepared for their last attack. After receiving an inbound pass from Brother Jian who drifted outside beyond three-point range while A Fei defended him—he faked a pass that fooled A Fei before suddenly shooting a cold arrow that hit! 8-5 with five seconds remaining—we had possession again! We inbounded; A Fei held onto it until all time expired as soon as the referee blew his whistle signaling full-time—the first round victory was ours! The three players from Forest Team hadn’t said a word throughout nor exchanged any communication among themselves as they silently exited Lijing Park with somewhat desolate backs...
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