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墨書 Inktalez
With two minutes and ten seconds left in the game, we were locked in a stalemate, neither side daring to relax, knowing that at this critical moment, whoever let their guard down first would lose. Haoshuai began to move forward slowly after receiving the ball. We all wanted the championship trophy; Haoshuai wanted to prove himself, while Ouyang aimed to fill the gap of not having a major championship title. Suddenly, Haoshuai spun the ball around his waist and passed it to Mulin, who charged toward the basket. A Fei jumped up in front of him and successfully blocked his shot! As he landed, he stumbled slightly, and the ball bounced off the floor before Ouyang grabbed it and passed it to me. I stepped back behind the three-point line and attempted a pass behind my back… but it resulted in a turnover, with Haoshuai snatching the ball.
Haoshuai controlled the ball and passed it to Wei Feixiang outside the three-point line. I really couldn't tell whether Wei Feixiang was a forward or a point guard; he held the ball and took a three-point shot that missed. Mulin grabbed the rebound and passed it out again. After receiving the ball, Haoshuai broke through from the top of the arc. I positioned myself in front of him, and Haoshuai executed a 360-degree spin, tossing the ball to Wei Feixiang, who hit a mid-range jumper. 45! It was tough to score this time; only one minute remained on the clock, and we were trailing by one point. It was the final sixty seconds of battle! I quickly signaled for a timeout. We needed to carefully plan our strategy during this crucial moment; there was still a chance—a fair chance…
“A Fei, Ouyang, it's time to give it our all. Let's position ourselves at three points along the three-point line and focus on mid-range shots,” I began outlining my strategy based on my thoughts. I felt like I was temporarily acting as a coach. A Fei and Ouyang nodded in agreement. Our off-ball movement wasn't aggressive enough, and we needed to expand our running range. It made sense; we mainly had to limit Haoshuai's tricky passing and dribbling. With his martial arts background, his lower body strength should be stable, and his agility was outstanding. I had to do everything I could to contain him; he couldn't continue doing as he pleased in front of us!
After returning to the court, we started our final sixty seconds journey. Both sides knew that this last minute would determine whether we would take the trophy back to Beijing or go home empty-handed. After we inbounded the ball, I controlled it at the top of the arc and passed it behind me to A Fei. A Fei used quick crossovers to shake off Mulin before driving for a layup—65! There were still forty-one seconds left when Mortal Team inbounded the ball. After receiving it, Haoshuai quickly ran under the basket for a layup. When A Fei jumped up for a block, Haoshuai suddenly executed a beautiful reverse layup that went in—67! With twenty-five seconds left in regulation time, our scores kept alternating. In these final moments, both teams had one offensive opportunity each; whoever scored would win! After we inbounded again, I tried to run down the clock as much as possible before passing to Ouyang at the top of the arc. Ouyang moved around near zero degrees while A Fei set a screen for Wei Feixiang. By the time Mulin rushed over for help defense, it was too late; Ouyang jumped at a forty-five-degree angle for a three-pointer—97! We took back the lead by two points with just six seconds remaining! Six seconds! As long as we defended against Mortal Team's last attack, we would win!
As Mulin walked toward the sideline to inbound the ball, Haoshuai signaled for a timeout. Both teams gathered on their respective benches. “There are still six seconds left; we could still be eliminated,” Ouyang said. A Fei clapped his hands: “It's okay! The pressure should be on Mortal Team now; let's just focus on defending our matchups!” We could only tell ourselves that we couldn't let others' spirits dampen our own enthusiasm. The timeout ended quickly, and we returned to start what would be our most important defensive play of this game. As Mortal Team's three players stepped onto the court discussing strategies among themselves, Mulin approached zero degrees for an inbound pass. Once he threw it in, Haoshuai sprinted toward the top of the arc and took an immediate shot that bounced off the rim! Mulin grabbed the rebound and quickly passed it back out to Wei Feixiang beyond the three-point line; he immediately returned it to Mulin, who caught it and executed an explosive dunk! 99-99! There was only one second left! Mortal Team had astonishingly tied up the score again at the last moment! Were we headed for overtime?! With one second left, we didn't even have time for a last-second shot.
After we inbounded, I received the ball and shot just as the whistle blew. The entire crowd fell silent as they held their breath watching my shot soar through the air; all eyes were focused on that ball as it traced a perfect arc straight into the basket! 419—I delivered another game-winner! Just like last year’s situation, I once again snatched away the championship trophy for our city with a buzzer-beater! The crowd erupted into deafening cheers: “King of the Last Shot! King of the Last Shot!” Ouyang and A Fei rushed over to lift me up by my legs; I saw tears welling up in Ouyang's eyes. I fulfilled my promise with A Fei—we three musketeers successfully defended our city championship title! The Street Basketball Championship marked our dynasty with back-to-back city championships—who else could claim that? However, since we had told our fans that we were three musketeers, we couldn't call ourselves defending champions anymore—whatever! Regardless, I had already secured my second city championship trophy: “North China reigns supreme!” At that moment, all spectators chanted a brand new slogan that echoed throughout.
Next came the award ceremony; third place had already been determined—it was Celtics—they defeated Flowing Cloud Team in yesterday's third-place match to claim third place in this tournament. Hmph! How did those guys manage to snag third? Once they set up the award stage, Emcee stepped forward and began rambling before inviting guests to present awards—first third place then second place. I noticed Haoshuai’s eyes were red and swollen; he must have cried earlier as he expressionlessly accepted his medal and certificate. When he received his silver medal, he gripped it tightly in his hand; it was clear that he felt incredibly unwilling about this outcome—only winning the championship trophy would bring him joy. Next came our championship award ceremony; we adjusted our clothes for better presentation while waiting for Emcee’s announcement: “Next up is our Cangzhou City champion from Fever Sports National Street Basketball Championship…” Suddenly, there was silence from the microphone as Emcee fumbled nervously with it while we anxiously waited—it seemed like everything was falling apart just when we were about to lift our trophy! After staff replaced Emcee’s microphone with another one that worked properly, he continued: “The city champion is Three Musketeers Team!”
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