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In the afternoon when we returned, we ran into Song Huajing and Lu Lei again. They had already been playing at Happy Valley. Song Huajing mentioned that they would also go to watch the finals for the championship. I heard that the North China Region finals would have a dedicated camera crew recording and would be broadcast live on television. Moreover, leaders from the Beijing Sports Bureau would be present at the event, so we had to seize this opportunity to make a name for ourselves and let everyone know about us, the Dream Chasers. If we performed well, scouts might come looking for us to join their teams.
Today is July 6th, the day of the North China Region finals for the championship. The three of us got up early to prepare everything and then opened the door. "Oh my gosh!" The scene before us startled us: Shuai Dong and Pang Hao were wearing cheerleading whistles around their necks, dressed in white short-sleeved shirts with their hand-painted “Dream Chasers will win!” written in a crooked manner. Their faces were painted like body art; the left side had the flag of the People's Republic of China, while the right side displayed our Dream Chasers Team logo. They even wore headbands that said “Victory.” They were fully armed and looked amazing.
“What’s going on, Dong Ge? Isn’t this a bit too much?” I swallowed nervously and asked. “Hey! Don’t you get it? Doesn’t our outfit give off a sense of intimidation? It shows we are die-hard fans of Dream Chasers,” Shuai Dong said while clenching his fist and pretending to look serious as he stared into the distance. “Alright, let’s hurry to Kuda Square; I bet the Snow Wolf Team is already there!” A Fei laughed. “Team members, attention!” Jiang Lingfeng shouted, and we quickly stood at attention, stomping our feet in a formal military salute: “Yes!” “Let’s go!”
We boarded the bus, and I found a seat by the window while A Fei sat next to me. I saw A Fei take out that silver Eagle again and suddenly muttered to himself, “Eagle, please help me fly today…” He then held it tightly in his palm as if he wanted to crush it. When we reached a bus stop, Song Huajing and Lu Lei boarded. Upon seeing us, Lu Lei came over: “We were just heading to Kuda Square; didn’t expect to run into you here… Oh! Is that Shuai Dong and Pang Hao? What’s with this outfit?” Lu Lei exclaimed as he noticed them. “Hey hey, Lu Lei, isn’t this just common for fans during events like the European Cup or World Cup?” We laughed as we made our way forward; it was nice to keep a relaxed mood before the game.
When we arrived at Kuda Square, the audience seats were already packed. I glanced around and surprisingly spotted Light Speed and Wuzun among other teams. They smiled and nodded at us as a greeting when they saw us enter. The Snow Wolf Team was warming up on the court as we took our seats on the players' bench. “There are several thousand people here today; I’m actually feeling a bit nervous since I’ve never played in such a large venue before…” A Fei said awkwardly with a smile. I quickly nodded in agreement: “Me too! This atmosphere is so grand; I didn’t expect Street Basketball to have such scale and fan base. How can my young heart handle this kind of pressure?” My joking remarks made both of them laugh. Suddenly, we heard the Emcee shout: “Everyone quiet down! Next, let’s welcome leaders from Beijing to enter…” Following that, the leaders walked onto the court to greet everyone. It was surprising that Street Basketball could attract leaders from the Sports Bureau; it seemed this event was quite significant.
The words printed on the floor had changed to “North China Region Championship,” and the Emcee continued: “After a week of rigorous selection, only two champion teams remain to compete for our ultimate title: North China Region Champion! Let’s warmly welcome our two lucky contenders: Cangzhou City Champion Dream Chaser Team and Datong City Champion Snow Wolf Team…” Our two teams stood up one after another and ran around the court before introducing two referees. After that, the main referee tossed a coin for possession; it was our ball. With a sharp whistle from the referee, the game officially began as we started with an inbound pass. Jiang Lingfeng received the ball and drove straight towards the basket. “Dream Chasers, let’s go!” Shuai Dong led the cheer. Since Street Basketball is played half-court style, aside from spectators on both sides, everyone else sat in temporary seating set up on the other half of the court. Our half was completely filled with enthusiastic fans!
Jiang Lingfeng drove towards the basket and took off for a layup over their Center. Just as their Center attempted to block him, Jiang Lingfeng used his signature move to score with a floater! We scored first! After quickly inbounding, their Point Guard passed directly to their Center who jumped high for an alley-oop dunk attempt but A Fei jumped early in front of Snow Wolf Team's Center to intercept it. After landing, he passed it behind him to me waiting on the right wing. As I caught it, their forward rushed in for a block; I quickly stepped back for a jump shot and made it! We started with a perfect 4-0 lead as applause erupted from all around us. I casually turned my head towards the audience and saw our team along with Light Speed Team smiling and applauding too; everything before me boosted our confidence in winning this game. However… since this was just the beginning of the match, we couldn’t afford to be complacent.
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