Chapter Thirteen: The Final Leaves You to Play

  "Defend together, let them shoot three-pointers!" Sun Feiying said in a low voice to her teammates after retreating back to her own half-court. Zhao Senming hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something, but ultimately just sighed and fixed his sharp gaze on the player with the ball, number 1, who was standing one step inside the three-point line. Sun Feiying stood parallel to him, responding left and right, while Xiang Qingyun and Fu Zijun stood behind them, with Han Dengyun standing firmly under the basket like an iron tower at the free throw line.

  Seeing the eighth class forming a united defense, No. 1 slightly furrowed his brow and thought to himself, "Have they already found our weakness so quickly?" The high school basketball game has started with a united defense, it's really not ordinary annoying!

  Yan Lingfeng smiled as he watched No. 1, who was carrying the ball and didn't know what to do. His teammates were really not ambiguous, and they had also seen the opponent's weakness in such a short period of time. If Class 5 couldn't come up with a good attacking and defensive strategy, then the outcome of this game would be predictable. Although Class 5 was still leading on the field at present, once Fu Zijun or Sun Feiying found their rhythm, the 6-point difference would be wiped out in an instant.

  No way to break through comfortably, No. 1 had to pass the ball to Wang Qun, who was actively seeking position. Wang Qun received the ball and didn't even look at Xiang Qingyun, who was defending in front of him, and jumped up to shoot with ease. Xiang Qingyun didn't expect him to shoot so quickly and tried to jump up to block the shot, but it was too late. The basketball left Wang Qun's fingertips without any arc and flew rapidly towards the hoop, hitting the back of the rim and falling cleanly into the net.

  8 is greater than 0!

  The audience in the fifth row was already boiling, they couldn't see the unfavorable situation of the fifth team members now, but only the score board's leading lead made them think that this victory had been taken for granted.

  The eighth class's attack again, finally by Han Dengyun under the basket hook shot scored, got this game's first point, but the fifth class's attack speed is really fast, in the crowd still haven't reacted when 3 has already passed the ball to 1, and 1 didn't dribble breakthrough, directly a long pass threw the basketball to the opponent's half court.

  Zhao Senming secretly thought it was not good, turned his head and ran to the back court. He didn't believe that No. 1 was a brainless person, and he dared to pass the ball like this, definitely having his own reason. On the other hand, Sun Feiying saw that the object she was defending, No. 32, was still following her honestly, and could only shake her head helplessly. It seemed that another leak had been found in the team's defense. If their opponent grasped this weakness, the outcome of the game would be hard to predict.

  Xiang Qingyun was still in a daze when his opponent, No. 22, had already received the long pass from No. 1 and quickly pushed towards the basket. For a moment, there were only two people left running on the court: No. 22, who was about to score, and Zhao Senming, who refused to give up, gritting his teeth. He knew that even if he had Gay's speed (in 2004, Gay defeated Powell in Athens, while Bolt was still training hard on a small island in Jamaica), he wouldn't be able to block the opponent's sure shot. Yet, he kept running, faster and faster, with a glimmer of hope in his heart. The ball-handling looked a bit awkward for No. 22, who seemed like a rookie; he might not necessarily put the ball into the hoop. It was this glimmer of hope that made Zhao Senming persistently run on.

  No. 22 didn't even turn around, after dribbling to the basket he suddenly made a move that left everyone speechless. He could have easily put the ball into the hoop, but instead of choosing such an ordinary way to score, he treated the air as his imaginary enemy, taking big strides from the right side to the basket, then suddenly jumping up with both hands holding the ball and gliding to the other side of the hoop. As he began to fall, he dragged the ball upwards with his right hand, completing a perfect gliding reverse dunk.

  At this point, Yan Lingfeng couldn't help but smile. He was still too young and remembered a basketball game in college where he had tried to show off with a 360-degree spin move, only to have the ball stolen by the opposing team and lose the game. The current player number 22 might not realize how much his actions would affect the team if he missed this shot. If it didn't go in, the momentum from the first four shots of the game could be broken, which would be disastrous for a team with more than half new players.

  Zhao Senming's crazy dash was rewarded, the alley-oop dunked on the backboard and bounced off the rim, falling right into Zhao Senming's hands as he ran back down the court. He didn't even bother to look at the dejected expression of No. 22, instead shouting as he dribbled the ball up the court: "Do you guys want to get eliminated now? Or did you not eat breakfast this morning?"

  When Zhao Senming said something with a hint of madness, Xiang Qingyun's face turned red with shame, after all, it was because of his own defensive position that he almost let the opponent sneak attack. Sun Feiying touched her nose in distress, while Fu Zijun had an expressionless face. Han Dengyun's eyes turned fierce and menacing as she gritted her teeth at the 3rd player who was a head shorter than her: "Today I will blow you up! If you're afraid of having nightmares later, apply for substitution now!"

  "No. 3 snorted coldly: 'Silver Gun Wax Head.'"

  Han Dengyun was about to clench his fist when Fu Zijun walked over and patted him on the shoulder, saying "Wang Qun understands."

  Han Dengyun thought of something and looked at Wang Qun's pale face in the distance, bursting out laughing.

  "Bang!" Han Dengyun couldn't help but shout in pain, and instinctively hugged the basketball that had smashed into his chest, leaning against No. 3, who was about to turn around and shoot without any scruples. No. 3 let out a loud roar and flew over to pounce on him.

  But when the opponent was in the air, Han Dengyun's fat body agilely drilled from under his armpit, leaving a scornful "stupid" and easily scoring.

  The ball hadn't even been played yet, when Sun Feiyang and Xiang Qingyun had already started running back to their own half of the field. Han Dengyun's move not only deceived his opponents but also caught his teammates off guard.

  When No. 1 received the ball, Sun Feiying and Xiang Qingyun were already standing in position on either side of the three-second zone at mid-court. The fast break didn't work out, and No. 1 furrowed his brow, hoping that Wang Qun's shooting wouldn't be affected.

  Fu Zijun, despite his nonchalant expression, had his anger ignited by the vibrant 8-ball. Wang Qun immediately stuck to him after receiving the ball. Seeing no space for a shot, he passed it back to No. 1, secretly rejoicing in his heart. Fu Zijun pounced out alone, and the opponent's joint defense was likely disrupted as a result. Shaking off Fu Zijun, he turned around and ran in another direction.

  No. 1 patiently dribbled the ball, waiting for Wang Qun to run into Xiang Qingyun's defensive area. Fu Zijun gave Xiang Qingyun a signal, and the two quickly switched positions. By the time Wang Qun received the pass on the other side, Fu Zijun had reappeared in front of him with a cold expression.

  "Come on!" Wang Qun held the ball with both hands at his waist, Fu Zijun's height and strength were stronger than Wang Qun's, there was little time left for offense, Wang Qun gritted his teeth and jumped to shoot.

  "Get out of here!" Fu Zijun suddenly roared, his eyes turning bloodshot, and he jumped high, slapping the basketball that wasn't moving very fast with a loud smack.

  The basketball wailed and changed direction, flying out of bounds. No. 1 shook his head and wanted to make a throw-in, but the referee's whistle sounded before the ball landed, attacking foul, Class 8 throw-in.

  Fu Zijun held up his shooting hand and backed away to his own half of the court, receiving a pass from Han Dengyun outside the three-point line. The defender, Wang Qun, had been completely drawn in by Han's inside-outside move, leaving Fu with an open shot that he was not going to waste. With a smooth wrist motion, he released the ball and it went through the net with a soft swishing sound, echoing above the heads of the spectators.

  In just 1 minute, the members of Class 8 were like lions awakened from sleep, revealing their sharp claws and teeth. The 8-point gap was narrowed to 1 point in the blink of an eye.

  No. 3 passed the ball to No. 1 and ran a few steps quickly to Wang Qun's side, saying in a low voice: "You just shoot, as long as you're not covered, I have at least 70% confidence to grab the rebound."

  Wang Qun looked at the front row of eight classes, nodded slightly and said: "Whether we can win this game today depends on you, Gao Yang. That big guy's bounce is not very good, when defending, just pay attention to his footsteps, don't get dizzy and it's okay."

  The No. 3 player, named Gao Yang, nodded and said, "Yeah, I'll do my best. Without you, I wouldn't be able to appear on this court, and I will do my best to help you avenge your previous defeat on the basketball court."

  Wang Qun's face darkened and he didn't say anything else. He gritted his teeth and quickly ran a few steps to the opponent's half court.

  No. 1 tried a few times, but couldn't make an effective breakthrough at all, and couldn't help but secretly scold the opponent's shamelessness in his heart, but there was nothing he could do about it. If his own team had a three-point shooter like the opponent's No. 9, the opponent wouldn't dare to target him so recklessly, right? Now he can only rely on Wang Qun, but unfortunately his range is too short.

  Wang Qun received the ball in a three-second line and took a step forward. Without looking at Fu Zijun standing in front of him, he directly pulled up for a shot.

  "Are they going to break the jar and smash it? The joint defense is indeed difficult to break through, but as long as we patiently block and intercept, with a few more runs at the connection points, there's still a way to crack it... Ah, no..." Yan Lingfeng muttered to himself, suddenly realizing why Wang Qun was doing this - they had rebounding guarantees, even if they didn't score, they'd have another chance, as long as No. 3 snatched a few rebounds under their own basket, Deng Yun's joint defense formation would likely be unable to maintain its current impenetrable state.

  That despicable No. 3, who would have thought that such an inconspicuous person would become the biggest troublemaker in this Class B match? Although in basketball games, rebounds don't represent everything, and the argument that whoever gets the most rebounds wins is still debatable, for example, during the Nuggets era, Camby would often get 20+ rebounds in a game, but the team's performance wasn't particularly good. However, unlike No. 3, Camby was more about picking up rebounds to pad his stats, whereas No. 3 was actually snatching rebounds from right under the nose of the much taller Hansel Cloud, just like Dennis Rodman during the Bulls dynasty era. Because of his presence, Jordan could fully utilize his unstoppable fadeaway jump shot, because he trusted that Rodman would grab the rebounds he couldn't get, and this confidence also allowed him to shoot without too many worries, resulting in a higher shooting percentage.

  As expected, No. 3 jumped incredibly high and hit the basketball out like a spike in volleyball before it even touched Han Dengyun's arm, which was thicker than his thigh. The target was Wang Qun, who had been left behind by Fu Zijun's rebounding. Wang Qun received the ball without hesitation, aiming at the hoop with ease. In his eyes, the hoop seemed wider than the ocean at that moment. The basketball went through the net, and Class 5 finally turned their scoreboard to a two-digit number.

  For this situation, Yan Lingfeng was also helpless. He thought of a better way to break the similar rogue play of Class 5. If he could go on stage, he could use his experience and jumping ability to protect his team's backcourt rebounding. However, this was obviously impossible due to his height, which limited Handoon's reaction, and his weight, which limited Handoon's jumping ability. His body, which once made him proud, now seemed so cumbersome.

  Sun Feiyang's jump shot didn't go in, and Han Dengyun lost the battle for the rebound again. Zhao Senming and Xiang Qingyun's timely defense limited the opportunity for a fast break by Class 5, but with the guarantee of the rebound, Wang Qun's shooting became more relaxed, still catching and shooting immediately. This time, it didn't trigger another scramble under the basket, and the ball dropped cleanly into the net.

  The score was 12-7, and the gap was widened again.

  In the remaining time of the first half, Wang Qun's shooting percentage became more and more terrifying. High-difficulty shots in his hands had become as simple as throwing stones into the sea. Fu Zijun, who was trying to block the ball before it reached the basket, tried his best to stop the ball, but Wang Qun would rather throw the ball towards the backboard than let the ball be blocked again. At this time, No. 3 Gao Yang could always touch the ball before Han Dengyun, and Nos. 22 and 32 also attempted to shoot several times, although the effect was not very good, but they successfully distracted the defensive focus of the eighth grade team.

  Luckily, Han Dengyun was able to rely on his strength and weight to overpower Gao Yang under the opponent's basket, allowing the eighth team to cling tightly to the score. At the end of the first half, they trailed by only 5 points, with a score of 30-35.

  Five people walked off the field, drenched from head to toe as if they had just been fished out of water. Han Dengyun plopped down beside Yan Lingfeng and shouted angrily: "I don't believe I couldn't snatch it from him! That little runt actually dared to show off over my head!"

  "Is his strength great?" Yan Lingfeng handed over a towel with a faint question.

  Han Dengyun immediately shook his head and said: "Generally speaking, except for being a bit harder on the bones, I'm actually much stronger than him."

  "Didn't you know about Karta's position?" asked Yan Lingfeng.

  "What's the point? Is it useful? I just don't have this habit." Han Dengyun gulped down a big mouthful of water and replied casually.

  Yan Lingfeng sneered coldly, this foolish giant relied on his height and long arms to go under the basket for a battle, not even needing to jump high to tightly grasp the backboard with his hands. But today he met an opponent, still unaware of how to adapt, is this stubbornness or stupidity?

  "Today, if we want to win this game, we must control No. 3. Don't be afraid of Wang Qun, as long as we can guarantee that No. 3 doesn't get the rebound, I'm sure his shooting percentage will drop sharply. To control No. 3's rebound, you must stick tightly to No. 3's position. Qingyun, you can give up defending against No. 22, just as soon as Wang Qun shoots, you immediately run towards the basket. Dengyun, stick to your position, and the rebound will be yours.

  In offense, don't just focus on passing to Dengyun. I think they will adjust their defensive strategy in the second half, and Zi Jun won't dare to let go of Qingyun. They will underestimate your level, so remember, when you receive the ball and encounter a double-team, don't hesitate, immediately find Qingyun."

  "Wow, I just realized that Ling Feng has the potential to be a coach." Sun Feiyang said lazily.

  "I didn't want this year's basketball game to end with me only playing for 2 minutes and drawing a sad full stop." Yan Lingfeng glared at Sun Feiying fiercely.

  "Don't worry, brother, the final is yours to play!" Sun Feiying stepped forward a few steps and patted Yan Lingfeng's shoulder with a serious expression.