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墨書 Inktalez
Today is the day we play against Thirteen Middle School. I woke up early and went to A Fei's house, where A Fei was still asleep. Aunt Yu was in the kitchen making breakfast, and Uncle Yu was reading the newspaper in the living room. When he saw me come in, Uncle Yu said, "Oh! Why are you up so early, Jie? Come sit down; let’s chat."
"Hehe, Uncle Yu is concerned about national affairs again?" I laughed as I sat next to him, and soon we started chatting. After a while, A Fei walked out of his room with sleepy eyes. When he saw me, he forced a smile and said, "What excitement did you have this morning? Why are you here so early?"
I made a face at him. "Lazy pig! Uncle Yu and I have been discussing national affairs for over half an hour. Why are you just getting up?" I teased him. A Fei rolled his eyes at me and went to brush his teeth and wash his face. "Jie, have you eaten? Let’s eat together," Aunt Yu warmly invited me.
"Aunt Yu, I've already eaten; you all go ahead..." After a while, A Fei finished eating, grabbed his backpack, and we left. On the way, I discussed with A Fei whether we could take the top spot in our group. A Fei didn’t want to guess; I could tell he wasn’t confident. I wasn’t either, but our lineup had some chemistry; it might lead to surprises!
After arriving at school, A Fei and I headed straight for the gym. Everyone was already there. Teacher Qiu asked, "Is everyone here? Let’s go!" We walked out of the gym when suddenly Haoshuai ran over. Huh? What is he doing here?!
"Teacher Qiu, I asked my homeroom teacher for leave; can I join you guys for the away game?" Haoshuai looked at Teacher Qiu with pleading eyes. Teacher Qiu approached him and said, "Kid, we’re going to compete; only team members can go along. You should go back and study hard."
"Teacher Qiu, I love basketball! I'm good at it; please take me with you!" Haoshuai still wouldn’t give up. "Alright kid, stop messing around; hurry back to class. Come join the basketball team next semester if you want!" The last three words from Teacher Qiu were almost scolding him, showing the teacher's authority.
"Haoshuai, you should go back for now; there will be opportunities next semester," A Fei stepped forward to comfort him. I also went up and said, "Yeah, yeah, there will be chances next semester." Haoshuai didn’t say anything more; he lowered his head and ran off.
"Jie, A Fei, is he in your class?" Teacher Qiu asked us. I nodded and replied, "Yes, his name is Haoshuai; he seems to really love basketball." Teacher Qiu gazed at Haoshuai's retreating figure and mused, "I wonder if he's a good prospect..." It was clear that Teacher Qiu was looking for new players to succeed Zhongqi Senior and Bing Ge after their generation moved on since basketball isn’t just played by me, A Fei, and Ouyang.
After arriving at Thirteen Middle School, I found that their school was about the same size as ours. Once inside, their school appeared quite tidy and orderly; it looked pleasant enough. Upon reaching the gymnasium, I noticed their court was large with brand-new facilities. We entered the locker room to drop off our things. Teacher Qiu reassured us not to be nervous; by now the so-called home-court advantage wasn’t as significant anymore. We just needed to play our best.
We gathered together and shouted in unison: "Yulin High School will win!" Then we walked out of the locker room.
Once on the court for warm-ups, the players from Thirteen Middle School had been waiting for us at their home ground for quite some time. This away game was the final match of our group stage and also a battle for first place; both sides were taking this game very seriously. After Teacher Qiu greeted Coach Luo Qixing with a handshake—after all, he was his old mentor—there was a sense of respect.
When the three referees came onto the court, one referee stayed behind while blowing the whistle to start the game. Both teams gradually took to the court. A Fei, Ouyang, and I weren’t arranged in the starting lineup; instead, Zhongqi Senior, Wu Zhi Kai, Zhang Jun, Wei Weiwei, and Li Kanglin were sent out as starters. Due to Bing Ge's absence, Li Kanglin—a rookie—became our tallest player in the interior lineup and thus became a key player for our team.
The game began with Zhang Jun and Zhou Wenming jumping for possession. The ball was tipped to Kobe’s hands. Kobe brought the ball upcourt and threw it high toward the basket where Li Kanglin snatched it before Zhou Wenming or their center could react. He quickly passed it out to Zhongqi Senior on the perimeter who slowly brought it back into our frontcourt. Once everyone had returned to position for offense while holding eye contact with Kobe, Zhongqi Senior suddenly accelerated past him.
Kobe reacted quickly but had to step back defensively as Zhongqi Senior abruptly halted then jumped back for a shot—swish! I watched closely from the sidelines as Zhongqi Senior executed that play; that basket was clearly made possible by his rich experience.
After Thirteen Middle School inbounded the ball again with Kobe controlling it upcourt while Zhongqi Senior applied tight defense on him. Kobe passed behind his back to Zhou Wenming who charged toward the basket for an impressive dunk over Li Kanglin! After landing Zhou Wenming clenched his fist against his chest while Li Kanglin shook his head running back to inbound.
Zhongqi Senior received the ball quickly sprinting upcourt again where Kobe came up to defend him. Zhongqi Senior passed it off to Wei Weiwei on the right wing who took a step forward before jumping from about two meters away from the basket for a hook shot—another score! Our shooting percentage was looking good at this point in the game.
In the first quarter our offensive momentum was strong with high scoring chances but we still trailed by one point at 67 when it ended—thankfully not by much more than that! As we walked off the court I high-fived each teammate while Teacher Qiu clapped his hands saying: "That quarter was good but we need to strengthen our defense! Jie get ready to warm up; you'll replace Zhongqi in the second quarter along with Ouyang and A Fei—you two will also be going in! Handing over control of Team's momentum during this crucial match is risky but don’t let me down." It looks like our trio would be going in together during the second quarter!
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