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The opponent continued to serve, and then Shangguan Leinuo brought the ball past half court and went for a one-on-one against me. Suddenly, he made a quick change of direction with a crossover step. I quickly turned to follow him but suddenly lost consciousness, a wave of dizziness causing me to slump onto the floor, then lie down. "Jie!" A Fei and the others rushed over. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, realizing my parents were also surrounding me, looking at me with anxious eyes. After they helped me sit up, Teacher Qiu replaced me with Wu Zhi Kai. My parents helped me sit down while scolding me, "You stubborn child, why don't you listen? Now you know!"
I let them fuss over me and rubbed my eyes as I watched the game on the court. A Fei and Ouyang were running desperately, Bing Ge and Li Kanglin were fiercely fighting for every rebound, and Wu Zhi Kai was doing his best in front of Shangguan Leinuo... Watching my teammates fight so hard made my heart ache; I tightly grasped my parents' hands. They remained quiet beside me, seemingly afraid to disturb me, sitting silently as we watched together. At halftime, we were trailing Experiment Three by seven points at 45-50. Thankfully, the efforts of the players had not been in vain; the score difference was kept within single digits.
During the halftime break, I entered the locker room with the team. "Great job! We weren't overwhelmed by the opponent this time; we played with our momentum. In the third quarter, we still have a chance to close the gap. We hold onto our last glimmer of hope," Teacher Qiu said as soon as we walked in, clapping his hands. A Fei and Ouyang sat on chairs whispering to each other about something. I walked over and sat next to them to join their conversation; they were discussing strategies for the second half. A Fei wanted to coordinate mid-range plays with Ouyang, who would look for opportunities outside the three-point line. I quietly listened without speaking because I knew that the upcoming game would no longer involve me.
The second half began as we exited the locker room. I took a seat on the bench while Wu Zhi Kai, Qiu Junze, Zhang Jun, Tu Lei, and Bing Ge stood on the court. Ouyang and A Fei sat on either side of me. After the opponent served, Shangguan Leinuo brought the ball past half court and made a behind-the-back pass to Ying Ben, who went for a layup but was blocked by Bing Ge. After Zhang Jun grabbed the ball, he rushed downcourt for a fast break. When Shangguan Leinuo tried to catch up for defense, Wu Zhi Kai stood in front of him to block his path. Zhang Jun executed a quick axe dunk that went in—45-50.
After the opponent served again, Shangguan Leinuo ran to the right side and controlled the ball before suddenly shooting a three-pointer from beyond the arc. Wu Zhi Kai couldn't defend him due to height disadvantage; the ball swished through the net—45-53. After we served, Wu Zhi Kai used his speed advantage to reach the free-throw line position and jumped for a shot but was blocked from behind by Shangguan Leinuo. After grabbing the ball, Shangguan Leinuo sprinted back downcourt and executed an impressive 360-degree dunk that amazed everyone in attendance; I felt exhilarated watching from the sidelines—the reputation of Five Great Point Guards was indeed well-deserved.
As the third quarter neared its end, Shangguan Leinuo hit a buzzer-beater three-pointer from mid-range near center court; the score settled at 67-71 as we entered the final quarter trailing by eight points. After leaving the court, Teacher Qiu tirelessly explained player positioning strategies to us again. I no longer dared to ask Teacher Qiu for playing time because my current state would only drag down my teammates; I could only sit quietly and worry.
The fourth quarter began—a life-or-death battle. Although our chances of advancing were slim, we would not give up until the last moment! In this quarter, A Fei, Ouyang, Zhang Jun, and Bing Ge all played exceptionally well while newcomers Li Kanglin and Tu Lei did their best to help close the score gap. Wu Zhi Kai and Liu Xiao took turns attacking to wear down Shangguan Leinuo's stamina. With just two minutes left in the game, Ouyang hit a top-of-the-arc three-pointer that brought us within two points at 88-90; their coach called a timeout for adjustments as cheers erupted throughout the arena. I stood up excitedly waving my towel—though our chances of advancing were gone, maintaining our home court dignity still proved that Yulin High School was a respected team!
After stepping off the court, Teacher Qiu high-fived each player as I walked over to hug them all. "This time we might stop at semifinals again; however, team members, let's just focus on playing our game well—we'll stand tall even if we fall," Teacher Qiu said somewhat heroically but also pragmatically. Our players stared expressionlessly at the scoreboard; our journey in this City High League had only two minutes left—our players needed to turn these final moments into a starting point for next season's City High League!
As our players returned to court, their opponents had already begun celebrating their advancement with high-fives and hugs. The opposing coach substituted out Shangguan Leinuo; he appeared particularly excited—after all, despite being one of Five Great Point Guards in the city, he had never stepped into Olympic Sports Center before this season nor reached even semifinals last year—perhaps due to his teammates' shortcomings or because his school hadn't hired excellent coaches to lead them forward. This year he joined Experiment Three; it was like thousands of horses finally meeting their match after long waiting—perhaps this year he could fulfill his dream—but it remained uncertain whether Jiang Lingfeng and Zhao Ziyang would agree.
With Shangguan Leinuo off-court, Experiment Three's fighting power sharply declined; Wu Zhi Kai seized this opportunity to organize a fast break where A Fei caught a pass and executed a soaring dunk successfully. After their serve resumed play with Xiao Li controlling possession passing it back after faking a shot which Ouyang saw through blocking it instead; then Ouyang made a long pass to A Fei who jumped from an angle hitting another three-pointer... In those final two minutes we managed an incredible 10-0 run against them! Ultimately we triumphed at home with a score of 98-97 against Experiment Three but were still eliminated with an aggregate score of 190-197.
When we entered the locker room afterward no one wore expressions of disappointment—instead feeling relieved. Teacher Qiu walked in smiling saying: "Team members! Although we lost this season let’s come back stronger next season! Yulin High School will never fall!" I noticed tears glistening in one eye of Teacher Qiu while A Fei sat quietly pulling out his Eagle necklace staring blankly ahead as two crystalline tears rolled down his cheeks along with Zhongqi Senior and Bing Ge who embraced each other in a corner staring vacantly at the floor—our core duo from Yulin’s inside-outside finally concluded their last City High League journey in this manner.
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