Chapter 133: Run for Your Life
“Han Feng, Han Feng, who can rival you!” “Yi Ming, Yi Ming, a stunning surprise!” “Jing Tian, Jing Tian, earth-shattering!”...
As the key players from Jing Tian University took the court, waves of cheers and applause erupted from the stands once again.
Lin Ling scanned the 520 members of the “Devoted Admirers Group” and raised her arm, shouting, “Though we’re all ‘persimmon cakes,’ we are not soft persimmons! We cannot lose to them!”
“Shizi, Shizi, unstoppable force!” “Tian Cheng, Tian Cheng, scoring again!”... Under Lin Ling’s lead, the crowd roared with the spirit of Tian Cheng Institute of Technology.
“Shizi, they’re calling for you,” Zhu Di teased Geng Haoshi as they took their positions. “Good thing they didn’t call you ‘Gengzi,’ or the chant might have turned into ‘Gengzi, Gengzi, my precious gem.’”
“Hmph,” Geng Haoshi replied expressionlessly.
Had it been before, he would have fired back with a few retorts.
Seeing Geng Haoshi’s deadpan demeanor, Zhu Di said no more and assumed his defensive stance.
With both teams in position, the fourth quarter commenced.
Ball possession was with Jing Tian University. Zhang Li passed to Yu Xiaotian.
Yu Xiaotian was immediately surrounded by Zhou Xiaoshan, Sun Peng, and Zhu Di.
Undoubtedly, Tian Cheng Institute continued their strategy of full-court man-to-man defense combined with multi-directional zone defense in this final quarter.
However, before Zhou Xiaoshan, Sun Peng, and Zhu Di could close in, Yu Xiaotian swiftly passed to Peng Shuai.
Soon, Meng Lang and Geng Haoshi pressed in around Peng Shuai. Zhu Di sprinted over to form a triple “zone trap.”
But before Geng Haoshi and the others could fully encircle him, Peng Shuai passed the ball again.
Now the ball was in Lu Yiming’s hands.
Upon receiving it, Lu Yiming immediately dashed quickly toward Tian Cheng’s half.
Geng Haoshi gave chase.
His speed was impressive, and soon he positioned himself directly in Lu Yiming’s path.
Yet, as Geng Haoshi appeared before him, Lu Yiming quickly lobbed the ball to Han Feng, who had slipped under Tian Cheng’s basket.
Though Zhu Di had recovered to defend, he couldn’t stop Han Feng.
“Bang!”
Han Feng leapt high, basketball in hand, and effortlessly slammed it through the hoop.
Clearly, Jing Tian University had accelerated their offensive tempo at the start of the fourth quarter. Whenever their players held the ball, they passed it to teammates before Tian Cheng’s defenders could close in, maintaining a swift, fast-break rhythm.
The score shifted to 46-48, Jing Tian University retaking the lead.
Now it was Tian Cheng Institute’s possession.
Sun Peng passed, and Zhou Xiaoshan dribbled to organize the offense.
No sooner had Zhou Xiaoshan crossed into Jing Tian’s half than Zhang Li, Yu Xiaotian, and Lu Yiming swarmed him.
Watching the scene, Yu Manman mused: It seems Jing Tian’s main players also intend to use full-court man-to-man defense combined with multi-directional zone defense in this last quarter... This battle is no longer just about stamina but about which team coordinates better.
Zhou Xiaoshan was so tightly guarded he had no chance to pass until Zhu Di rushed over to support and received the ball.
But soon after Zhu Di got the ball, he too was surrounded.
Round and round it went, and 24 seconds had already slipped by!
“Beep—”
Tian Cheng Institute violated the 24-second shot clock.
...
“Great defense!”
“Jing Tian University is going all out now!”
“Tian Cheng’s hopes are truly dashed.”
“Last year they ranked dead last; this year, second to last is already impressive!”
“Yeah, I think they might be satisfied with that.”
...
“Alright, back to defense!” Seeing his teammates standing there dazed, Geng Haoshi signaled them to quickly fall back.
While retreating, Geng Haoshi consulted his internal system, Geng Haoshi 5.0.
Geng Haoshi: Hey, you’re supposed to be good at analysis and decision-making. Got any advice?
Geng Haoshi 5.0: They’re still using full-court man-to-man plus multi-directional zone defense. To break the deadlock and create opportunities, you must outpace them—just like they did with rapid passing earlier.
“Faster speed, faster speed...” Geng Haoshi muttered.
At that moment, Han Feng from Jing Tian University carried the ball into Tian Cheng’s half.
Geng Haoshi immediately positioned himself in front of Han Feng, ready to defend.
Han Feng stood 186 cm tall; Geng Haoshi was only 170 cm. So unless Han Feng engaged in a direct physical clash, he could easily lob the ball over Geng Haoshi’s head.
Having witnessed Geng Haoshi’s “Weaving Butterfly Steps” and quick footwork before, Han Feng chose to toss the ball high to Peng Shuai near the free-throw line.
“Surround him! Hurry!”
Geng Haoshi signaled nearby teammates to close in and quickly blocked Peng Shuai’s path.
As before, Peng Shuai passed the ball before Geng Haoshi’s team could fully trap him.
The ball reached Yu Xiaotian from Jing Tian University.
“Quick!”
Geng Haoshi signaled his nearby teammates again and charged swiftly toward Yu Xiaotian.
Seeing Geng Haoshi approach with speed, Yu Xiaotian quickly passed the ball.
“Snap!”
Just as the ball neared Zhang Li’s hands, Zhou Xiaoshan suddenly dashed out from Zhang Li’s left side and intercepted it.
“Xiao Er!”
Zhou Xiaoshan, now with the ball, dashed forward and passed it to Geng Haoshi, who was sprinting toward Jing Tian University’s paint.
Geng Haoshi caught the ball and continued his rapid charge toward the basket.
Jing Tian’s Lu Yiming and Han Feng trailed behind him, also racing forward.
With the hoop looming near, Geng Haoshi took the ball and leapt fiercely.
Lu Yiming and Han Feng were a step too slow.
“Bang!”
With a thunderous sound, the basketball firmly slammed through Jing Tian University’s hoop.
The score was tied once again!
After scoring, Zhu Di came over and clapped Geng Haoshi on the shoulder. “Xiao Er, not bad, that run was fierce!”
“Didn’t we agree to go all out?” Geng Haoshi caught his breath and looked at Zhu Di. “Then let’s start running like our lives depend on it!”
Hearing this, Zhu Di thought to himself: Is Xiao Er blaming me for not quickly defending that center earlier?
I’m not about to let Xiao Er look down on me! Zhu Di loudly responded, “If I start running, even ghosts will be scared!”