Chapter 110: The Nation’s Top Ten
9527: Master, once the "Unstoppable" dunk reward is activated, any time the user appears within three meters of the opponent’s basket, the dunk will be successfully completed without fail.
Geng Haoshi: That’s incredible! …Wait, why didn’t you tell me about this reward earlier? If I had known sooner, I might have already earned it! …What other reward mechanisms are there? Just tell me everything now!
9527: Master, my main program is designed so that system-bound users are only informed of rewards when they meet the activation conditions. Therefore, I cannot disclose the reward mechanisms in advance.
Geng Haoshi: …Right. You don’t have to tell me what the reward mechanisms are; just tell me what actions I need to take to unlock them.
9527: Simply dunk more during official matches… After all, I’m called the “Super Dunk System”… you understand.
Geng Haoshi: …Alright then.
The “Unstoppable” dunk reward is currently the only one available, so it’s best to save it for a critical moment. Geng Haoshi pondered this carefully; he couldn’t just waste this precious reward casually.
He also made a decision: from now on, whenever the game situation allows, he would try to score by dunking as much as possible!
“Beep—”
The second quarter ended. After Geng Haoshi’s recent alley-oop dunk, Tiancheng Polytechnic University had already extended their lead to 36 points, with the score standing at 58 to 22.
“Coach, even though we’ve pulled ahead by more than 30 points, I think we should keep playing to secure our victory…” Geng Haoshi thought; against a weaker opponent, the more time he spent on the court, the more dunk opportunities he would have, and the faster he could earn more unknown system rewards.
Before he could finish, Yu Manman tightened her grip on the leather whip in her hand. “Haven’t whipped in a while, feeling itchy, huh?”
Geng Haoshi quickly covered his mouth, not daring to say another word.
“For the next two quarters, only substitute players will be on the court. If the lead shrinks to within 15 points, then the starters will be put back in.”
“Of course, if the lead shrinks to within 15 points…” Yu Manman glanced at the substitutes and tightened her whip once more.
The substitute players all shuddered, knowing full well what would happen if the lead dropped below 15 points. So, they dared not slack off for the next two quarters.
“Beep—” The game resumed.
Watching the substitutes diligently attack and defend on the court, Geng Haoshi’s heart ached. Such a rare opportunity against weak opponents. If he were on the court, he could have dunked at least ten times before the game ended, possibly earning new system rewards… Alas, what a pity.
Even though Zongzhi Technology University ranked 77th in last year’s National College Basketball League top 100 teams, to Geng Haoshi now, they were just “such a weak opponent.” Over the past six months, he had transformed from an overweight man into a fit and athletic player, and his confidence was higher than ever.
“It looks like their starters won’t be coming back in,” a middle-aged man with a small mustache rose from the stands and left the East District National Gymnasium.
…
“Beep—” The game ended.
Tiancheng Polytechnic University easily won their first match of the National College Basketball League qualifiers with a score of 91 to 52.
Yu Manman had drawn a group of qualifying teams for Tiancheng Polytechnic University that included no teams ranked in the top 50 of last year’s league. This was undoubtedly lucky for Tiancheng.
Therefore, in the upcoming qualifiers, Tiancheng Polytechnic University faced no particularly challenging opponents.
Following her principle of letting substitute players gain experience once victory was assured, Yu Manman allowed the starters to play only one quarter per game, given the weak competition.
The other starters didn’t mind, but Geng Haoshi was especially unhappy. Less time on the court meant fewer dunk opportunities; fewer dunks meant the chance to earn system rewards was greatly delayed. That’s why he felt so frustrated.
In the last qualifying match in the East District, Geng Haoshi successfully completed his 30th dunk in an official match and thus unlocked a new system reward.
9527: Congratulations, Master. Because you have successfully completed 30 dunks in official matches, you have earned the "Piercing Rainbow" dunk reward once. I hope you continue to strive for more rewards.
Geng Haoshi: “Piercing Rainbow” dunk reward? Sounds even more powerful than the “Unstoppable” dunk reward!
9527: Yes, Master. Once activated, the “Piercing Rainbow” dunk reward guarantees a successful dunk as long as the user appears within four meters of the opponent’s basket.
Geng Haoshi: So it’s just one meter farther than the “Unstoppable” dunk reward?
9527: Master, don’t underestimate that one meter. It’s not always possible to get within three meters to dunk. If the game situation requires a player to leap and dunk from beyond three meters, that extra meter may very well be decisive.
…
As the last qualifying match ended, Tiancheng Polytechnic University secured an 83–67 victory, finishing first in their group and advancing as one of the nation’s top ten teams to the finals of this year’s National College Basketball League.
The other nine qualifying groups also concluded, producing the full roster of the top ten teams:
Jingtian University (last year’s No. 1),
Qinghua University (No. 2),
Wuyan Technology University (No. 3),
Zhizhi Media University (No. 5),
New World People’s University (No. 6),
LinkedIn Biological University (No. 7),
Hengli Architecture University (No. 8),
Boguang Agricultural University (No. 9),
Xinyu Medical University (No. 10),
and Tiancheng Polytechnic University (ranked 2,836th last year).
Lehua National University, ranked 4th last year, was placed in the same group as Jingtian University and thus missed out on this year’s finals.
That evening, the front page of Tencent Sports News bore a headline at the very top that read: …