Chapter 130: Total Lockdown

Geng Haoshi 50: Yes. Analysis, judgment, and decision-making are precisely my greatest strengths.

Geng Haoshi: Fine... though I still have no idea whether you can be trusted.

Geng Haoshi 50: Relax. Among all your personalities, I doubt you’ll find one wiser than me.

...

On the court, after Peng Shuai once again swatted away Geng Haoshi’s dunk, Yu Xiaotian of Jingtian University seized the ball.

The moment he got possession, Yu Xiaotian launched a fast break.

Sun Peng and Meng Lang were the first to get back on defense.

Blocked by the two of them, Yu Xiaotian saw no good opening and passed the ball to Lu Yiming, who had come up to support him.

Lu Yiming drove straight toward the basket of Tiancheng University of Technology.

From the way he was charging in, it looked as though he intended to throw down another vicious dunk.

Lu Yiming dribbled beneath the basket, then leaped high into the air.

With the ball cradled in one hand, he was just about to slam it through the hoop—

“Smack!”

Zhu Di suddenly appeared behind him and knocked the ball straight out of his hands.

“Great block, Brother Zhu!”

Geng Haoshi, who had already made it back on defense, happened to pick up the loose ball beneath the basket.

Geng Haoshi 50: Pass it to Zhou Xiaoshan!

Hearing Geng Haoshi 50’s voice, Geng Haoshi noticed that Zhou Xiaoshan had already sprinted in from the right side and crossed inside Jingtian University’s three-point line.

“Brother Xiaoshan!”

Geng Haoshi hurled the ball forward, and it landed perfectly in Zhou Xiaoshan’s hands.

At that moment, Zhang Li was the only player inside Jingtian University’s painted area.

Relying on his superior speed, Zhou Xiaoshan shook off Zhang Li’s defense and drove beneath the basket.

With textbook form, Zhou Xiaoshan laid the ball into the hoop.

After Jingtian University had scored three consecutive dunks, Tiancheng University of Technology finally put its first points on the board.

But not long afterward, during Jingtian University’s next possession, Han Feng widened the gap once more with a three-pointer.

The score was now 2–9, with Tiancheng University of Technology trailing by seven.

Geng Haoshi 50: Have you noticed? Every player on Jingtian University’s court possesses an exceptional ability to score independently.

Geng Haoshi: Do you even need to say that? A blind man could see it!

Geng Haoshi 50: What I mean is that you can’t rely solely on full-court man-to-man defense. You also need to use coordinated zone defense from multiple angles. Only then will you have any chance of restraining their scoring momentum.

Geng Haoshi: Coordinated zone defense from multiple angles?

Geng Haoshi 50: Most of the time, you only need to maintain full-court man-to-man coverage. But whenever one of Jingtian University’s players begins an offensive drive, you must immediately switch to the corresponding zone defense.

Geng Haoshi: The corresponding zone defense? What exactly are we supposed to do?

Geng Haoshi 50: Specifically, whenever any Jingtian University player begins an attack, the three players among your five starters who are closest to him must quickly close in and surround him.

Geng Haoshi: You mean that, in addition to full-court man-to-man defense, we’re supposed to switch to three-on-one zone coverage at any moment? Won’t that drain our stamina too quickly?

Geng Haoshi 50: There’s no way around it. Your opponents are Jingtian University, the number-one-ranked team in the country. Every one of their starters is extremely strong. If you don’t defend with everything you have... you’ll have almost no hope of winning.

Geng Haoshi: ...I understand.

Following Geng Haoshi 50’s instructions, Geng Haoshi explained the strategy of combining full-court man-to-man defense with coordinated zone defense to his four teammates on the court.

Meng Lang, Zhu Di, Sun Peng, and Zhou Xiaoshan were all somewhat hesitant at first. They understood that this approach would rapidly consume a tremendous amount of energy.

But they soon agreed to Geng Haoshi’s proposal. Jingtian University’s scoring ability was plain to see. If they did not defend with every ounce of strength they possessed, they would not only fail to win the game—they might not even be able to narrow the deficit.

Thus, Meng Lang, Zhu Di, Sun Peng, Zhou Xiaoshan, and Geng Haoshi reached a unanimous decision: they would completely shut down every Jingtian University player on the court by combining full-court man-to-man defense with coordinated zone defense from multiple angles.

From then on, the spectators saw the five starters of Tiancheng University of Technology running without pause. At times, each man guarded his own assignment; at others, three of them rapidly converged on whichever Jingtian University player had the ball.

Whenever three Tiancheng players surrounded a Jingtian attacker, two Jingtian players would be left completely unguarded. In that situation, the surrounded player would usually choose to pass to one of them.

But because the Jingtian attacker was surrounded by three Tiancheng defenders, there was a good chance the pass would be intercepted before it left his hands.

Even if he managed to pass the ball through the encircling defenders to one of the two open teammates, Tiancheng’s five starters would quickly return to their one-on-one, full-court man-to-man formation.

And the instant another Jingtian player initiated an attack, the three Tiancheng defenders closest to him would immediately close in and surround him.

Under Tiancheng University of Technology’s comprehensive defensive system of full-court man-to-man coverage combined with multidirectional zone defense, Jingtian University’s scoring momentum began to slow dramatically.

At that moment, Han Feng was carrying the ball and organizing the offense.

Geng Haoshi 50: He’s about to pass to Lu Yiming. Go intercept it!

Geng Haoshi believed Han Feng would pass to Peng Shuai, who was positioned at the free-throw line. But after hearing Geng Haoshi 50’s warning, he still moved rapidly toward Lu Yiming near the three-point line.

“Smack!”

Geng Haoshi was still wondering about Geng Haoshi 50’s judgment when Han Feng really did pass in Lu Yiming’s direction. Geng Haoshi, who had suddenly shifted over, intercepted it cleanly.

Han Feng stared in astonishment. He had never expected Geng Haoshi to appear there out of nowhere.

“Nice pass!”

Geng Haoshi could not resist teasing Han Feng, who stood there frozen in disbelief. Then he took off with the ball and launched a fast break.

“Captain!”

Seeing that Meng Lang had already charged into Jingtian University’s painted area, Geng Haoshi sent the ball flying toward him.

Meng Lang caught it and drove swiftly beneath the basket.

“Boom!”

With a thunderous dunk, Meng Lang slammed the ball forcefully through Jingtian University’s hoop.

After completing the dunk, Meng Lang pounded his chest several times, finally releasing the pent-up frustration weighing on his heart...