Chapter 105: Must Stop Them!

At the end of the third quarter, Tiancheng University of Science and Technology trailed Wanlong University of Transportation by six points, the score standing at 39 to 45.

Up to this point, neither side had scored much.

Wanlong University leveraged their players' height advantage to dominate the airspace, making it difficult for Tiancheng to score from inside the paint. Meanwhile, Tiancheng relied on alternating their starting lineup with substitutes, implementing a full-court man-to-man defense. They capitalized on their faster offensive pace to create scoring opportunities.

Thus, both teams were exerting every effort in offense and defense, effectively neutralizing each other’s scoring attempts.

"Only the final quarter remains," the coach said. "I don’t want to pressure you, but if we lose this game, that will be the end of our journey in the National Collegiate Basketball League."

"In other words, lose, and you’re out," Yu Manman added, looking at the players.

The team broke into nervous sweat.

Lin Ling looked at her boyfriend, the starting point guard Zhou Xiaoshan, cupping his face tenderly. "Honey, if we lose, be ready to kneel on the washboard tonight."

"Heh! Lin Ling, don’t make things worse!" Geng Haoshi couldn’t help but chime in.

Right after, Li Shishi imitated Lin Ling, holding Geng Haoshi’s face with both hands and gazing affectionately, "Senior, win or lose, I’ll marry you."

Her words stunned the teammates into awkward silence.

The whistle blew to signal the start of the fourth quarter, and the starters from both sides took the court.

Facing opponents all over 185 cm tall, Yu Manman assigned the defense as follows: Zhou Xiaoshan (176 cm) guarding their number 2 (187 cm), Meng Lang (191 cm) on their number 5 (197 cm), Zhu Di (186 cm) marking number 3 (192 cm), Sun Peng (183 cm) on number 1 (188 cm), and Geng Haoshi (170 cm) defending number 4 (185 cm).

Although every Tiancheng player had to guard someone taller, Geng Haoshi faced the toughest challenge.

Looking at the opponent towering a full head above him, Geng Haoshi felt no fear. Throughout the first and third quarters, he had darted among the five giants, weaving and maneuvering.

Still, defense was physically demanding. Due to the height difference, he had to constantly wave his arms and leap repeatedly to effectively contain his opponent.

Wanlong had originally planned to extend their lead while Tiancheng’s starters rested, but they hadn’t anticipated the tenacity of Tiancheng’s substitutes. The score gap remained narrow, and Wanlong’s starters expended considerable energy.

It wasn’t until halfway through the third quarter, when Tiancheng’s starters rested again, that Wanlong’s starters were finally subbed out.

Because Tiancheng’s starters had rested an entire quarter more than Wanlong’s, their importance began to manifest in this final quarter.

“Snap!”

Zhu Di seized the moment when Wanlong’s number 3, fatigued and distracted, lost focus, swiftly stealing the ball. Nearby, Zhou Xiaoshan recovered it and quickly pushed the offense.

Zhou sprinted to the opponent’s three-point line and spotted Meng Lang, hands raised under the basket. He lobbed the ball to him.

As Meng Lang caught it, Wanlong’s number 3 and 5 converged on him.

“Ah—”

Facing two taller defenders, Meng Lang shouted as he jumped straight up.

“Bang!”

The ball slammed through the hoop.

Gripping the rim with both hands, Meng Lang looked down at the two Wanlong players he’d just dunked over, feeling pure exhilaration.

“Captain, you finally dunked!” Geng Haoshi teased.

The teammates stared in amazement at Meng Lang.

Though the tallest on Tiancheng’s team, no one had ever seen him dunk in an official game before.

Zhu Di approached, patting Meng Lang’s shoulder. “Nice one, Langzi.”

More teammates gathered, eagerly discussing the spectacular dunk.

The scene left Wanlong’s players dumbfounded. They thought, “We’re still ahead—why are they celebrating so much?”

Yu Manman was pleasantly surprised by the dunk but quickly grew irritated as her players started chatting idly on the court.

The game wasn’t over yet. Were they not afraid of a technical foul for such casualness? What a bunch of fools!

With a sharp crack, Yu Manman’s whip struck the floor.

Instantly, the gym fell silent.

The familiar whip’s crack was Yu Manman’s warning. Geng Haoshi and the others immediately slinked back to their defensive positions.

The referees, already startled once by their chatter, were again jolted by the whip’s sound. They had considered calling a technical foul for disrespecting the game but were so surprised they forgot, then blew the whistle to resume play.

Back and forth the teams exchanged plays, the score difference hovering around four points.

Time ticked away—only a little over a minute remained. Seeing the four-point deficit, Geng Haoshi and his teammates grew tense.

Panting heavily, Geng Haoshi glanced at his exhausted teammates, thinking: Is this it? Are we really going to lose here?

No. We’ve come this far—we cannot lose now.

“Zhu Di!” Geng Haoshi charged into the paint, leaping high once more.

Zhu Di delivered the ball perfectly into Geng Haoshi’s hands.

“Bang!”

That was Geng Haoshi’s third alley-oop dunk of the game.

Two points short… he whispered silently.

Wanlong had already inbounded and were swiftly organizing their offense.

“Stop that shot!”

The clock was winding down. If Wanlong scored here, Tiancheng’s chances would be all but gone.

This shot had to be blocked!