Chapter 123: Are We Going to Lose?

After shaking off Wu Yan, Geng Haoshi drove quickly into Wuyan University of Technology’s key.

Before long, two Wuyan University of Technology players moved to block his path. Remembering how Geng Haoshi had dunked over three of their teammates earlier, they did not dare lower their guard.

This time, Geng Haoshi did not continue driving toward the basket. Instead, he passed the ball to Zhu Di, who was standing near the free-throw line.

The players from Wuyan University of Technology were undeniably aggressive on defense. The moment they saw the ball reach Zhu Di, the two players who had been blocking Geng Haoshi turned and rushed to defend him.

“Perfect.”

Seeing the two defenders converge on Zhu Di, Geng Haoshi immediately sprinted beneath Wuyan University of Technology’s basket.

“Brother Zhu!”

Among the five starters from Tiancheng Institute of Technology on the court, only Geng Haoshi was a sophomore; the other four were all juniors. Thus, he was the only one who would call Zhu Di “Brother Zhu.”

Zhu Di knew Geng Haoshi was calling him and realized that the latter must have slipped beneath the basket again.

Zhu Di turned sideways to evade the defender in front of him and raised the ball high.

“Second Brother, catch!”

With that, he lofted the ball high into the air above Geng Haoshi.

Geng Haoshi leaped beneath Wuyan University of Technology’s basket, his right hand raised high as he reached for the ball Zhu Di had thrown.

Smack!

A pair of large hands snatched the ball away a split second before Geng Haoshi could reach it.

The player who had seized it was Wuyan University of Technology’s number five.

Geng Haoshi landed before the number five player did.

As the opposing center came down with the ball clutched in his arms, Geng Haoshi suddenly swept upward from below and knocked it straight out of his hands and into the air.

Geng Haoshi sprang up once more, following the ball’s trajectory, his right hand raised high.

Bang!

With a crisp crack, Geng Haoshi slammed the ball cleanly through Wuyan University of Technology’s hoop.

Once again, Court C of the East District National Gymnasium fell utterly silent.

“What a play!”

Zhu Di shouted, breaking the silence in the arena.

Zhou Xiaoshan ran over to Geng Haoshi and slapped him on the back.

“Second Brother, not bad. You’re getting more and more polished with that move.”

“Pretty good.”

Meng Lang, who rarely spoke, came over and added his own brief comment.

On the court, the starters from Wuyan University of Technology stared blankly at Geng Haoshi.

Along the sidelines, Wu Yan’s fans all wore stunned expressions. They were as silent as if they had swallowed their own words.

At that moment, the “professional” spectators along the court began whispering among themselves again.

“That short kid seems to have even greater potential than Wu Yan!”

“Should we recruit him too?”

“His height is a serious weakness, though.”

“He just dunked over Wuyan University of Technology’s one-hundred-and-ninety-six-centimeter center. Isn’t that enough?”

“...Then let’s recruit him.”

“No problem.” The speaker adjusted his glasses, looking utterly confident of success.

In the stands, the mustached middle-aged man surveyed the surroundings. Noticing several fellow scouts whispering among themselves, he pulled a photograph from his jacket pocket.

Looking at the photograph in his hand, he murmured to himself, “At a crucial moment, I still have to rely on you.”

The whistle sounded.

Wuyan University of Technology’s coach called a timeout.

“Second Brother, you’re doing well. Keep it up.”

Yu Manman did not say much more. She merely made a few minor adjustments to the defensive assignments for the players on the court.

Before long, play resumed.

Wu Yan brought the ball up to organize the offense while Geng Haoshi continued to guard him closely.

Perhaps because Wuyan University of Technology’s coach had just issued new instructions, Wu Yan no longer lingered in a one-on-one battle with Geng Haoshi. Before long, he passed the ball to a teammate.

...

During the remainder of the first quarter, players from both teams scored in turn. When the quarter ended, Tiancheng Institute of Technology trailed Wuyan University of Technology by six points, 12–18.

In the second quarter, the players traded blows back and forth, and neither side gained a clear advantage. At halftime, Tiancheng Institute of Technology trailed 31–38, now seven points behind.

There were no changes to either lineup in the third quarter. The same players remained on the court. When the quarter ended, Tiancheng Institute of Technology trailed 50–58, down by eight.

Yu Manman looked at her players, who were already beginning to gasp for breath, and found herself at a loss for words.

In truth, she had noticed a fatal problem as early as the second quarter: Wuyan University of Technology’s five starters were all slightly superior to Tiancheng Institute of Technology’s five starters in height, speed, and skill.

Although the two teams appeared evenly matched as they traded scores, the changing numbers on the scoreboard revealed a different story.

At the end of the first quarter, Tiancheng Institute of Technology trailed by six. At the end of the second, they trailed by seven. At the end of the third, they trailed by eight.

Each quarter, they had conceded only one more point than in the previous one. Yet that gradual change in the score revealed the direction of the game—the direction in which Tiancheng Institute of Technology would be unable to turn things around and would ultimately lose.

If Geng Haoshi had not been able to match, or even surpass, Wu Yan’s speed and limit his scoring, Tiancheng Institute of Technology would have been trailing by far more than eight points.

Yu Manman sighed inwardly.

Could they really lose the opening game of the finals?

The players rested on the bench. They had already performed very well, and now Yu Manman had no strategy or arrangement left that could help them play any better in this game.

The final quarter would be difficult...

“Coach, are we going to lose?”

Sitting on the bench, Geng Haoshi turned to look at Yu Manman.

Still “Coach”? Looking at Geng Haoshi’s expressionless face, Yu Manman thought to herself, He usually calls me “Beautiful Coach.” None of the other players would dare address me that way. But today, he has called me “Coach” every time. It seems he still hasn’t recovered from the fact that Mimi has gone to America.

If Mimi hadn’t gone to America—if she were sitting on the sidelines—Second Brother might have played even better. Maybe we could even win this game...

At that thought, Yu Manman could not help smiling bitterly. What “maybe”? There was only the reality before them.

“Coach, are we going to lose?”

When Yu Manman did not answer, Geng Haoshi asked again.

“Do you think you’ve given it everything you have?”

Yu Manman did not answer directly. Instead, she responded with a question of her own.

Geng Haoshi lowered his head and fell into deep thought.