Chapter 131: Must Hold the Line!

Watching Meng Lang’s face flush with satisfaction, Geng Haoshi couldn’t help but feel curious about Geng Haoshi 50’s earlier call on that play.

Geng Haoshi asked, “How did you know Han Feng was going to pass the ball to Lu Yiming? From his gesture, it looked more like he was about to pass to Peng Shuai.”

Geng Haoshi 50 replied, “Because, when Han Feng was about to pass, I noticed his left pinky finger shifted slightly to the right first. Based on ergonomics, the probability he’d pass to Lu Yiming, who’s on his right side, was 98.61%. …So, what do you think? Isn’t my observation sharp? It’s this keen perception that sharpens my analytical judgment and decision-making skills. …Have you fallen for me yet? Ahahaha—”

9527: …

Geng Haoshi 20: …

Geng Haoshi: …Let’s wait until we win the game before we talk.

Under the combined pressure of man-to-man defense by Meng Lang, Zhu Di, Sun Peng, Zhou Xiaoshan, and Geng Haoshi, along with multi-directional zone defense, Tiancheng Polytechnic University narrowed the score gap to two points.

The current score stood at 15 to 17.

“Beep—”

The referee blew the whistle, signaling the end of the first quarter.

“Everyone performed well.” Seeing the five starters come off the court, panting heavily, Yu Manman first praised their effort.

Then, she outlined her plan: “For the second quarter, the substitutes will take the court.”

“Coach, we can still play!” Geng Haoshi didn’t want to leave the game so soon, watching the score inch closer.

“Do you want to finish playing just the second quarter?” Yu Manman’s meaning was clear—if they didn’t rest properly before returning, they wouldn’t sustain the high-intensity full-court man-to-man defense combined with multi-directional zone defense. If they couldn’t maintain that defensive strategy, the game would essentially be over early—with their defeat sealed.

During the first quarter, Yu Manman had considered calling a timeout after watching each of the key players from Jingtian University perform, planning to deploy a full-court man-to-man defense combined with multi-directional zone defense. But unexpectedly, Geng Haoshi had already taken the initiative to relay this strategy to the team.

“Remember the match against Wanlong Transportation University in the playoffs?” Yu Manman glanced over all the players on the bench. “At that time, we faced a team with a clear height advantage—Wanlong’s players were not only tall but also fast. So, we adopted full-court man-to-man defense and rotated starters with substitutes. It was exhausting and difficult, but in the end, we won.”

She looked at Geng Haoshi. “So, trust your teammates.”

However, this opponent was far tougher than Wanlong Transportation University… Geng Haoshi thought but kept quiet.

Because he knew that as an internationally top-tier coach, Yu Manman was well aware of this fact.

Moreover, what Yu Manman said was true—if the starters stayed on the court, they’d likely be drained of energy by the second quarter.

“Xu Gaofeng, Chen Yu, He Zhikun, Zhang Zhaolong, Wang Meng, you’re up for the second quarter.”

“Just like before, you’ll use full-court man-to-man defense. Whenever the opposing team has the ball, the three closest defenders should swarm that player—forming a three-on-one zone defense.”

Yu Manman looked at Meng Lang, Zhu Di, Sun Peng, Zhou Xiaoshan, and Geng Haoshi sitting nearby: “You five will return for the third and fourth quarters.”

“So, this will be your last 15 minutes of play in this national university basketball league,” she said solemnly to Xu Gaofeng, Chen Yu, He Zhikun, Zhang Zhaolong, and Wang Meng. “You must hold the line. Under no circumstances can you let Jingtian University widen the lead!”

“Yes!”

Xu Gaofeng, Chen Yu, He Zhikun, Zhang Zhaolong, and Wang Meng nodded firmly, giving Yu Manman their confident reply.

“Beep—”

The whistle blew for the start of the second quarter.

“Let’s go!”

At Yu Manman’s command, Xu Gaofeng, Chen Yu, He Zhikun, Zhang Zhaolong, and Wang Meng stormed onto the court like warriors going into battle.

“Looks like Tiancheng Polytechnic swapped out all their players. Are they all substitutes?”

“Have they already given up the game?”

“It’s only the second quarter; they wouldn’t quit this early, right?”

“Maybe this is their main lineup?”

“No, it can’t be. Because from the first quarter, seeing how those five starters matched up against the five strongest players from Jingtian University, their skill level was clearly high. So those five must be the starters.”

“Let’s see how these new players perform.”

Though most spectators not supporting Jingtian University still believed Jingtian would ultimately win, they were glad to see Tiancheng Polytechnic fight back because that made the game more thrilling.

As the second quarter progressed, the game unfolded just as the audience hoped.

Xu Gaofeng, currently the only starter on the court for Tiancheng Polytechnic, always managed to coordinate with teammates and claw back points after Jingtian University scored to widen the gap.

Chen Yu, the substitute point guard, used his agile movement and fast breaks to create scoring opportunities for his team.

He Zhikun, the substitute shooting guard, contributed many points with his solid mid- to short-range shooting.

Zhang Zhaolong, the substitute small forward, used his strong physique to block numerous attacks from Jingtian University.

Wang Meng, the substitute center, leveraged his sturdy build and excellent jumping ability to block many threatening attempts by Jingtian University.

Defensively, they strictly followed Yu Manman’s orders, employing full-court man-to-man defense combined with multi-directional zone defense, successfully intercepting Jingtian’s fierce offense multiple times.

“These players from Tiancheng Polytechnic look a lot like the first quarter’s lineup—each one running tirelessly!”

“Yeah, Jingtian University is being defended tightly. If it weren’t for Han Feng constantly scoring, Tiancheng Polytechnic might have overtaken the score by now!”

…

“Only three minutes left!”

Xu Gaofeng reminded the other four teammates on the court, just as he had at the start, signaling how much time remained in this national university basketball league match—and reminding them that they had to hold their defense!