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墨書 Inktalez
I entered the Locker Room and saw my teammates gathered together discussing something. I joined them, and Teacher Qiu said to me, "Jie, you're here too." It seemed everyone was in a relaxed mood, showing no signs of the tension and pressure that usually accompany a life-and-death match. This atmosphere was quite nice, keeping the whole team in a stable state. "Coach, I want to play in the game," I told Teacher Qiu. He came over and placed his hand on my shoulder, saying, "Jie, take care of your injury. We still need you when we get to the Olympic Sports Center."
I stared blankly at the floor. "Coach, what if we can't make it to the Olympic Sports Center? We need to win this match by nearly twenty points to advance..." A hint of despair flashed in Teacher Qiu's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. "Jie, even if our season ends here, we can come back stronger next season!" His words were powerful. "But I don't want to leave any regrets this season..." I said slowly. To my surprise, I saw tears welling up in Teacher Qiu's eyes as he choked out, "Jie, we will fight with all our might." I had no words left and walked over to my locker to take out my number one jersey and began changing. Teacher Qiu rushed over and snatched my shirt away. "Jie, what are you trying to do?"
"Coach, I want to play in the game and fulfill my responsibilities as a point guard." I pushed Teacher Qiu's hand aside and continued. A Fei, Bing Ge, and Ouyang all approached me. "Jie, don't go on; your current condition might drag us down," Bing Ge said. I persisted with my actions: "Fine, I won't play, but I want to sit on the bench as a substitute player and watch the game." As I put on my jersey, they finally let go of me. I had to experience this game as a member of the Yulin High School Team!
The game began, and we formed a circle like before, then raised our right hands together shouting, "Yulin, let's go!" We walked out of the Locker Room and onto the court where I saw my parents and Xia Ying and Shuai Dong all staring at me wide-eyed in disbelief. I waved at them to signal that I was just watching the game and wouldn't be playing, but Mom and Dad still looked at me with extreme skepticism. No matter; I would just focus on watching the game.
The match officially started with our starting lineup being Liu Xiao, Ouyang, A Fei, Li Kanglin, and Bing Ge. Li Kanglin jumped for the ball against the opponent's center; he managed to tip it to Liu Xiao. This was Liu Xiao's first start since joining the team this year, so he was particularly excited. After dribbling upcourt, he passed behind his back to Ouyang who scored with a layup right off the bat. Liu Xiao delivered a beautiful assist right from the start! Ouyang gave Liu Xiao a thumbs-up in encouragement. After Experiment Three's inbound pass, Shangguan Leinuo stepped back beyond the three-point line and took a shot; unexpectedly Liu Xiao blocked it! A Fei grabbed the rebound and drove straight for a dunk over his defender—40! Liu Xiao's performance was commendable; he fulfilled his role as point guard.
As Shangguan Leinuo ran back on defense, he wore an odd smile as if mocking his previous two mistakes or perhaps warning us not to celebrate too early since our match had just begun. Watching this opening reminded me of when we played away against Experiment Three; if I'm not mistaken, Shangguan Leinuo was about to unleash his true power!
Sure enough, after Experiment Three's next inbound pass, Shangguan Leinuo went on a scoring spree against Liu Xiao as if it were effortless. Liu Xiao seemed lost trying to defend him. By midway through the first quarter, Experiment Three had already scored two consecutive 60-point runs that widened their lead significantly. Watching this unfold from the sidelines made me grip my pants tightly; although later Wu Zhi Kai came in as a substitute along with help from Ouyang and A Fei which prevented them from extending their lead further, our disadvantage was still glaringly evident. By the end of the first quarter, we trailed Experiment Three 00.
As they came off the court, I noticed A Fei looked particularly grim while Teacher Qiu meticulously laid out strategies for us; everyone listened intently while I sat nearby contemplating some things. After a while, the second quarter began and players started heading back onto the court. When Wu Zhi Kai stepped up, I grabbed him by the arm; he turned around looking confused at me. I patted his shoulder: "Brother Wu, let me take this one; I'm more familiar with Shangguan Leinuo." Then I stepped onto the court while Teacher Qiu stood there stunned. "Jie! You little rascal! Get down here!" Mom and Dad stood up yelling at me; Xia Ying and Situ Yanan were also nervously signaling me from afar. Smiling back at them with a nod of reassurance, I continued walking onto the court—sorry Mom and Dad, Xia Ying and Yanan; no matter what happens now, I'm going all out!
When I stepped onto the court, thunderous applause erupted from the crowd—a warm welcome and encouragement for me. I touched the bandage on my head before receiving an inbound pass. Holding onto the ball slowly penetrated into Experiment Three's three-point line before stepping back for a jump shot—swish! Upon landing my mind went blank for a moment; I didn't even know how I'd gotten back on defense but figured I'd get used to it soon enough.
Shangguan Leinuo glanced at me with respect when he saw me enter; he must have been taken aback by my presence too. After Experiment Three's inbound pass again Shangguan Leinuo charged toward me inside three-point range—I seized this opportunity to reach for his abdomen since his momentum would likely carry him there—and sure enough! The ball was successfully intercepted by me! I made a long pass to Ouyang who caught it at a 45-degree angle before shooting a three-pointer—50! With that basket at the start of the second quarter we closed the gap to five points! It seemed like I'd created some chemistry with the team; with my presence our offensive chain felt complete!
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