Chapter Sixty-Three: One Million?!

“In the finals, the ten teams are divided into five groups and compete simultaneously. Each team faces the other nine teams one-on-one. After the nine matches are completed, the final standings from first to tenth place in the National College Basketball League are determined by the total point differential in these nine games.”

As a newcomer who had only recently joined the college basketball team, Geng Haoshi commented carelessly, “Coach Beauty, shouldn’t we wait until we actually qualify for the playoffs before worrying about the finals? This team finished dead last just last year…”

He hadn’t finished speaking when he felt a surge of murderous intent all around him… His teammates were all glaring at him coldly.

“Ahem, of course, this year we’re bound to make it to the finals!” Realizing he had stirred up collective indignation, Geng Haoshi quickly thumped his chest and corrected himself.

Yu Manman sneered inwardly, thinking: This guy is truly gifted at making everyone hate him.

“All of the top ten teams in the National College Basketball League receive prize money.” As she said “prize money,” Yu Manman deliberately raised her voice, knowing that for this group of impoverished students, cash was the most practical and effective motivator.

“Tenth place gets fifty thousand, ninth place seventy thousand, eighth place a hundred thousand, seventh place a hundred and fifty thousand, sixth place two hundred thousand, fifth place three hundred thousand, fourth place four hundred thousand, third place half a million, second place seven hundred thousand, and first place receives a million.”

“A million?!” Unlike the others, Geng Haoshi was hearing about the prize money for the National College Basketball League for the first time.

The prize pool was so large (which, for college students, was a considerable sum) because each participating school paid a two-thousand-yuan tournament fee. With 2,836 colleges across the country, the total fund reached 5.67 million. The portion not allotted for prize money covered the players’ food and lodging during the playoffs and finals.

Geng Haoshi did a quick calculation in his head: One million split among twelve people is 83,333 each! That would cover all my tuition and living expenses for the rest of college! Maybe I’d even have fifty thousand left over by graduation!

9527: Master, your talent for calculating money far exceeds your basketball skills!

Seeing Geng Haoshi’s excitement, Yu Manman pressed her advantage: “If you make it to the finals, the school will award you extra prize money, and it’s guaranteed to be even more than what you’d get for your official ranking.” (After all, this was the wealthiest university in the Eastern District.)

Indeed, just from the extra forty thousand the school gave us after we won the championship in the Ten Schools United Fall Sports Meet, it’s obvious that if we make it to the finals of the National College Basketball League, the school’s bonus will far exceed forty thousand!

What’s more, if the school’s incentive is the same as for the Ten Schools United Fall Sports Meet (where the official prize was twenty thousand and the school gave forty thousand—double the amount), if we win the championship, the school would give us an extra two million! That’s three million in total! Split twelve ways, that’s two hundred fifty thousand each! With two hundred fifty thousand, you could build a small villa in my hometown! Geng Haoshi grew more and more excited at the thought.

At this point, aside from Geng Haoshi’s obvious excitement, the rest of the team wore grim expressions. After all, they had finished at the bottom for several years in a row—so, for them, just reaching the finals felt psychologically out of reach.

“Making it to the finals of the National College Basketball League won’t be easy,” Yu Manman could read the doubts in her players’ minds. “But this year, you have me—an international-level coach!” (A coach with sky-high confidence, indeed.) “As long as you follow the training plan I’ve prepared for you, I guarantee you’ll reach the finals!”

Geng Haoshi nodded vigorously, eager to please… while the other players remained tense and silent.

Never mind, I’ll straighten them out over time. Yu Manman cleared her throat and continued, “Have you all looked over the ‘Daily Schedule for the Basketball Team’?”

“Coach Beauty, we were so focused on training hard that we haven’t had a chance to look!” Geng Haoshi replied energetically, obviously spurred on by the thought of the prize money.

Yu Manman said, “Then read it carefully after lunch… Anyone who doesn’t follow the rules can pack up and leave!”

“From today onward, you’ll begin real training.”

Geng Haoshi was puzzled: Real training? What was all the previous stuff, then?

“Evening training from seven to ten remains the same as before, except for one new condition.” Yu Manman picked up a weighted bag from the floor. “Except for shooting practice, you’ll wear these weights on your upper arms, forearms, thighs, and calves during all other drills.”

The players thought: So many weights! Can we even function while training?

“That’s the evening session,” Yu Manman tossed the weights behind her. “Now, about the morning session.”

“In the morning, you’ll still get up at six, start with ten minutes of warm-up, then run a hundred laps around the court.”

“After that, you’ll practice rapid-fire shooting, focusing on developing your feel for the ball. Don’t worry at first about whether the shots go in—just keep shooting without pause.”

“Keep this up until eight o’clock, then you can go eat breakfast.”

“That’s the full training schedule from six to eight in the morning… No weights during the morning session, so it’s pretty relaxed, right?”

Relaxed? The players swallowed nervously, but no one dared protest.

“And don’t complain about the workload—I’ll increase it soon enough.”

The players sweated: Sure, pile it on, you’ll kill us yet!

“After breakfast, those with classes go to class. If you don’t have class, be back here by nine!”

“This is a personalized training plan for each of you,” Yu Manman said as she distributed a notebook to every player.

Geng Haoshi noticed the top left corner of the cover was embossed with the emblem of the Tiancheng University of Technology basketball team—a roaring lion. In the center was a red number 10 jersey (his own number, inspired by Hanamichi Sakuragi from Slam Dunk). He thought: It really is personalized. Who knew the coach had such a thoughtful side?

He flipped open the notebook, and on the very first page, in bold letters, it read…