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墨書 Inktalez
The ball drew a beautiful arc in the air before diving straight into the basket, tying the score at 55! With only forty seconds left, we finally leveled the game. Both sides had one possession left. After the opponent's inbound pass, the Point Guard dribbled toward the top of the arc, consuming most of the shot clock, then passed it back to the Center waiting at the free-throw line. The Center jumped up and scored two points, bringing the score to 57. We were down by two points with twenty seconds remaining. After our inbound pass, I drove toward the 45-degree angle and passed the ball to A Fei. A Fei maneuvered in the paint before suddenly passing to Ouyang at mid-range. Ouyang stepped back to the top of the arc. A Fei and I ran over to set a screen for him. Ouyang took a step back and shot a three-pointer! It went in! 87! With only three seconds left, we had just defeated the Gray Machine Team! "Ah!" Ouyang ran around the court like crazy, fully expressing his joy. A Fei and I rushed over to hug him; our hero today was Ouyang Shangqiang!
After the opponent's inbound pass, we quickly fell back on defense. The opposing captain received the ball and quickly threw it high toward the basket. All three of us dashed toward the hoop while their Center also lunged forward. We all jumped high at once, but it was still their Center who emerged with the ball and sent it into the basket. The score was now 89! We were defeated by the Gray Machine Team! The three players from Gray Machine Team embraced tightly together; although they were eliminated, they had won back their dignity in this match. The three of us stood frozen in disbelief, as if we couldn't believe this was real. "We clearly won; we clearly advanced..." Ouyang murmured with his head down. Such words cast a shadow over our hopes of advancing. If we wanted to move on, we could only pray for Firearms Team to lose badly to Flying Team; that way, we could advance based on point differential. It felt as if we had just fallen from grace into hell.
We walked into the Locker Room with our heads down. "We might have to go home this time..." A Fei said as he sat down on a chair. Ouyang buried his head in his knees: "Maybe... we still have a chance..." We all knew that our chances of advancing were slim now. Suddenly, I had an idea: "How about we watch Firearms Team play against Flying Team this afternoon?" A Fei slowly shook his head: "I would rather wait in the hotel for good news than watch our dreams shatter live." "Yeah, I agree; let's not go," Ouyang added with a sigh. Well, maybe that's for the best. When we returned to our hotel and opened the door, we saw our team logo that we had painted ourselves. After closing the door, we quietly stared at it—did we really just finish painting our logo only to have to leave early? This trip to Beijing felt too short; we hadn't spent enough time here yet. Given how things were shaping up, the clash between Triplet Legion's Flying Team and International Legion's Firearms Team would surely be explosive—both teams were evenly matched, and Firearms Team's chances of winning weren't necessarily better than Flying Team's.
We endured until four o'clock in the afternoon. "Team members, I think all matches in this round have concluded; it's time for us to unveil the mystery..." I told them. Regardless of whether we advanced or not, it was something we had to face. They both nodded, and we headed out together. On our way there, they seemed distracted. Although A Fei initially joined Street Basketball Championship just for practice and didn't care about winning or losing, I knew he was a competitive perfectionist who also wanted to defend his title as champion. When we arrived at Kuda Square, we walked over to check the scoreboard at the back. Upon seeing the results on the scoreboard, A Fei's eyes dimmed with disappointment; Ouyang slumped down onto the floor as well. The scoreboard showed that Firearms Team defeated Flying Team by 19 points, pushing Flying Team out of first place while also advancing alongside them into North China Region's semifinals against all odds. We had lost in this final round!
With faces like ashes, we walked back to our hotel to pack our bags when Uncle Li knocked on our door and came in. Seeing us like this made it hard for him to say anything; he simply walked over and patted us on our shoulders before telling us about tomorrow morning's train—we could go home and rest now. That night, I opened my phone and logged onto QQ, posting a status: "Last night in Beijing; we're heading home early..." Then I logged off. Around ten o'clock, Xia Ying called me after seeing my post; she told me not to be sad and that we'd come back next year. I smiled at her over the phone and assured her I wasn't sad—there are no eternal champions; we've already reached national heights without regrets. Soon after, Shuai Dong and Pang Hao called me to comfort me as well. I told them I wasn't fragile; this time was never about fame or fortune but merely warming up for what’s ahead—yet... was that really true? Why did my heart feel a tinge of desolation and sadness? Was I just being overly sensitive? Perhaps.
And so we boarded the train homeward; throughout our journey, there was hardly any conversation among us. As we neared our destination, I said to them: "Team members, we've faced defeat; we'll come back stronger in City High League!" This time A Fei and Ouyang didn't respond as usual but sat there staring blankly at their seats instead; I didn't know what else to say either. Once at the station, our parents along with Shuai Dong, Pang Hao, Zhao Bin, and Situ Jianfei came to pick us up with smiles on their faces as if we were returning victorious heroes. Back home, I lay on my bed reflecting on how both major events this year—the City High League and Street Basketball Championship—had come to an end for us; we'd brought home a city championship trophy which made it worthwhile after all. The Olympics were about to start soon; perfect timing for watching them at home—I wondered how far China's men's basketball team could go without Yao Ming this time around? I've always believed that their goal in both World Championships and Olympics is merely maintaining a spot within top eight while striving for top four—was reaching quarterfinals really our ultimate goal? Of course not! We just know our own strength; achieving top four would feel like winning a championship already—men’s basketball is certainly better than men’s football!
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