Chapter 106: Three Seconds

Geng Haoshi and his teammates quickly fell back into defense, positioning themselves in front of the opposing players they were assigned to guard. At this moment, regardless of whether the opposing players had the ball, Geng Haoshi and his team continuously waved their arms, leaving no room for passes or shots.

Seeing no good opportunity to make a move, the opposing players seemed to come to a silent agreement—to hold the ball until nearly the 24-second shot clock expired before attempting a shot.

P.S.: When a player holds the ball, if it is not touched by the opposing team during that time, that player’s team must attempt at least one shot within 24 seconds (the ball must touch the rim), or else a shot clock violation is called.

Facing a slim two-point lead and with little time remaining, Wanlong Transportation University adopted a stalling strategy—a wise move under the circumstances.

Damn! They’re running out the clock! No, there’s hardly any time left! Geng Haoshi immediately made a decision and dashed from guarding the opposing No. 4 player to the one holding the ball, the opposing No. 1 player. Along with Sun Peng, who was already guarding the No. 1, now two players were defending the ball handler.

“Peng, let’s take the ball from him together!” Geng Haoshi shouted.

“Come guard me too? That just leaves an opening, idiot!” the opposing No. 1 player mocked, holding the ball high and forcefully tossing it toward the unguarded No. 4 player.

Geng Haoshi glanced in the direction the ball was flying. “Captain, now!”

Bang!

Meng Lang swiftly ran over from the side and leapt high to intercept the ball intended for the opposing No. 4 player.

Earlier, while the opposing No. 1 held the ball, Geng Haoshi had noticed Meng Lang guarding the opposing No. 5 nearby. To counter the opponent’s stall tactic, Geng Haoshi devised this plan—feign a double-team on the No. 1 with Sun Peng, baiting him to pass to the unguarded No. 4, and then have Meng Lang intercept the pass.

After the steal, Geng Haoshi immediately sprinted toward the opponent’s half.

Meng Lang timed it perfectly and passed the ball to Geng Haoshi from beyond the three-point line.

However, Wanlong Transportation University’s five starters displayed remarkable explosiveness. Sprinting back on defense, they formed a nearly impenetrable wall, sealing off the paint and denying Tiancheng Polytechnic’s players any chance to penetrate.

“Time’s almost up!” came Lin Ling’s voice.

Geng Haoshi looked up at the timer... “8,” “7,” “6”... There was no time left to drive to the basket. Should I shoot now? If I miss, the game’s over... If I miss, we lose... The pressure weighed on him like never before.

But there was no time to hesitate or think further.

“Senior, only 3 seconds left!” Li Shishi’s shout snapped him back to reality.

“3 seconds?” Geng Haoshi focused on the hoop, exhaled softly, held the ball with his left hand, raised it above his head with his right hand, and flicked his wrist upward. The ball traced a graceful arc...

It struck the rim!

Only 1 second remained on the clock!

The ball bounced lightly off the rim and rose slightly...

The entire arena seemed to hold its breath...

“Score! Three points!” Normally calm and scholarly, Xu Gaofeng leapt from his seat in excitement.

“Beep—” The final buzzer sounded, the score frozen at 56 to 55.

“We won!” The substitutes, just realizing the outcome, erupted in celebration.

“Xiao Er, love you!” Lin Ling jumped onto a chair, bouncing with excitement.

“Ahhh!” The ever-gentle Yang Mimi screamed with joy.

“Se—nior—” Li Shishi dashed over, leapt onto Geng Haoshi’s back, wrapped her arms around his neck, and showered kisses on his left cheek.

It felt so far... Could I really make that shot from so far away? But I think I took it... Did it go in? It’s so noisy around here... Ah, I just want to sleep... Geng Haoshi remained frozen in the shooting pose, as if time had stopped at that exact second.

“We won?” Hearing the cheers from the sidelines, Zhu Di finally realized, “We won!”

“We won! We won! We won!” Zhu Di, Sun Peng, Meng Lang, and Zhou Xiaoshan also began to cheer.

Everything happened so quickly, so dramatically. After seeing Geng Haoshi’s final three-pointer, they too were momentarily frozen in that instant. Only when the teammates’ cheers reached them and they saw Li Shishi clinging to Geng Haoshi did they realize: we won!

“Clap!” Zhu Di walked up and slapped Geng Haoshi heavily on the shoulder. “Xiao Er, didn’t expect you could shoot threes!”

The slap seemed to bring Geng Haoshi back to himself a bit, though he still held his shooting pose. “Brother Zhu Di? What’s up?”

“What’s up?” Zhu Di looked at him in surprise.

“You’re dazed, aren’t you?” Zhu Di said, about to pat the back of his head—only to catch Li Shishi glaring fiercely with wide eyes. He quickly withdrew his hand, scratched his own head, and wisely walked away.

“We won?” Geng Haoshi mumbled softly, lowering his hands.

“Yes, senior. We won! You were amazing just now! This is the legendary buzzer-beater, right? No wonder you’re the man I chose!” Li Shishi said, then resumed showering kisses.

Geng Haoshi tilted his head back, staring at the gym ceiling, repeating quietly, “We won.” His hands at his sides began to tremble uncontrollably. Then... he unexpectedly cried.

“Senior, what’s wrong?” Li Shishi asked, puzzled as tears streamed down his cheeks.

9527: Master, I didn’t expect you to have such a sentimental side.

Geng Haoshi 2.0: Sentimental my ass! A real man doesn’t cry easily, got it? It’s just a game; why the hell am I crying?

9527: Master, don’t listen to 2.0... Sometimes a good cry is detoxifying and beautifying.

Meanwhile, the opposing No. 1 player, looking at Geng Haoshi’s tear-streaked face, had lost all his earlier arrogance. “The ones who should be crying are us.”

Last year’s top-ranked team in the East Division and 23rd nationally, Wanlong Transportation University, had been eliminated prematurely.