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"Teacher Qiu, this time our lineup has a strong synergy, and this will be the last time we have such a complete roster. After we three graduate next year, our Yulin Team may need to be rebuilt. I think we should select some new blood for the team this semester to strengthen our reserves," A Fei analyzed with Teacher Qiu. Generally, when we are not competing, we prefer to call him "Teacher Qiu" rather than "Coach." Teacher Qiu had us sit down in the sidelines. "Actually, I have thought about that too, but I believe it would distract from the importance of the core we have painstakingly developed. That's why I decided not to select any new team members this semester; it's a gamble. Let's use our currently well-coordinated strongest lineup to compete in this City High League, even if next semester we might have to almost rebuild the team..." Teacher Qiu's gaze dimmed. Seeing him like this made us feel uneasy; one can only imagine the pressure a school teacher must bear.
After a while, all the team members arrived, and we set off for the Sports Bureau in the city center to draw lots. On the bus, Lu Yinghao and a few first-time participants in the City High League were very excited, whispering and discussing non-stop. For us veterans, participating in the City High League was nothing new. Teacher Qiu looked serious as he stared ahead, as if contemplating his mission. Upon arriving at the Sports Bureau, we stood at the entrance looking at the prominent banner: "Season 01 City High League, Yulin is here!" Teacher Qiu shouted, and his voice rang out powerfully. We echoed him enthusiastically. After taking our seats inside, we first listened to the emcee ramble on for quite a while before entering the crucial drawing ceremony. We lost interest in looking around and focused intently on the deputy director of the Sports Bureau as he drew each group ball one by one. Our palms were almost sweating; the grouping directly determined our future trajectory. This season, all five great point guards were absent, so no one knew which team would emerge as a surprising dark horse; only after playing against them would we find out.
"Yulin High School has become part of Group B!" The emcee announced loudly. After Yuhai High School was drawn into Group A, we were drawn first into Group B. Soon after, City No. 2 Middle School was also drawn into our group. We all breathed a sigh of relief; at least we wouldn't face Chu Yuetao in the group stage or even in the first round quarter-finals. City No. 1 Middle School was drawn into Group D, followed by Hejiang in Group A and Twenty-Four Middle School in Group B. Twenty-Four Middle School really had bad luck running into us again; if they were eliminated in the group stage this time, they would have to compete in next year's pre-qualifying rounds for a chance at the top sixteen in the main event. Twenty-Four Middle School probably hadn't played in pre-qualifying rounds for many years. The drawing continued until all sixteen teams were grouped; Yulin was placed with Twenty-Four Middle School, New District Experimental Middle School, and Experiment Three in one group. We would first face Twenty-Four Middle School at home. From the grouping results, it seemed that breaking through in Group B shouldn't be an issue for us; however, we couldn't rule out any unexpected surprises. In any case, we must not let our guard down.
After returning to school, we all felt relieved; among those traditional strong teams, only last season's runner-up Experiment Three was grouped with us. We considered ourselves quite lucky; advancing to the top eight alongside Experiment Three would also be acceptable for us. However... it seemed likely that we'd end up as second place again. But we wouldn't give up on seizing the opportunity to fight for first place in our group—Yulin High School, let's go! After school, as I just stepped out of school, Situ Yanan ran over: "Brother Jie!" I stopped and turned around to see her running breathlessly towards me. "Hey, why are you running so fast? Aren't you tired?" I walked over to her. Situ Yanan chuckled and said: "Hehe, it's okay! Brother Jie, I heard you guys are playing the opening match of the City High League at our school tomorrow?" "Yes! We're playing at home tomorrow against that soft target Twenty-Four Middle School," I replied casually. Situ Yanan excitedly exclaimed: "Great! I'll definitely come cheer you on!"
The next day we arrived at the gym for the match; some classmates were already waiting there when we arrived. Once all our team members gathered together, our home fans also showed up—what a packed gym! Everyone was seated tightly together. "Brother Jie, go for it!" I saw Situ Yanan shouting at me from afar; beside her were Situ Jianfei, Zhao Bin, Ding Fang, Sha Xiaomei, Pang Hao... Xia Ying, Zhang Yirong, and Gu Mei Jiao—the Three Sisters—were calmly seated on another side of the stands. With so many classmates cheering us on how could we not win? However, given Twenty-Four Middle School's current strength level, it would be hard not to win against them anyway. The match began with Lu Yinghao jumping against their center for tip-off; naturally, we won it and started dominating Twenty-Four Middle School again. Every time we executed a beautiful play our classmates cheered loudly for us; we played exceptionally well and ultimately won 108-88 against Twenty-Four Middle School in this opening match of the City High League—securing our initiative for advancing from our group.
After finishing the match and walking out of the gymnasium, classmates specifically came out to applaud us; it warmed our hearts because with their support we no longer felt isolated or helpless. As we three musketeers emerged from the crowd, Sha Xiaomei and Situ Yanan ran over: "A Fei! You must be tired." Sha Xiaomei gently ruffled his hair with concern while A Fei smiled: "I'm fine; this game was pretty easy." "Oh really? If you're not too tired then... come shopping with me! Hehe," Sha Xiaomei said mischievously—so that's what she had in mind! A Fei laughed and playfully poked her nose with his finger: "You little rascal! Alright then, I'll go with you." The two greeted us before walking out of school hand-in-hand. Watching their backs felt so familiar; I couldn't help but think of my happy times with Xia Ying...
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