Zhuji Middle School's second offense saw He Ximeng bringing the ball past half-court, observing the opponent's formation.
Panyu Middle School was still employing their usual zone defense to start, with their defensive line neither too tight nor too spread.
Yan Hui had intended to come up and set a high screen for He Ximeng, but He Ximeng waved him off, signaling Yan Hui to go low.
Yan Hui understood and moved to the edge of the paint, calling for the ball. He Ximeng executed a bounce pass to Yan Hui, wanting to gauge Panyu Middle School's interior defense strategy.
Panyu Middle School did not double-team Yan Hui, leaving Su Wei to defend him one-on-one, seemingly confident in Su Wei's individual defensive capabilities.
Yan Hui drove with his back to the basket. Based on strength alone, Su Wei, having trained in rowing, was not intimidated by Yan Hui.
"Don't force it! Add some finesse!"
Heeding He Ximeng's reminder, Yan Hui immediately shifted his approach, incorporating a slight footwork adjustment and a pump fake... Su Wei indeed fell for it.
Yan Hui faked a spin move, successfully shaking Su Wei's balance. He then spun back, followed by a step-in layup with his underhand shot, successfully scoring two points.
"Well done!" He Ximeng spared no praise as they retreated on defense.
"Against a power center like Su Wei, the worst thing you can do is just charge ahead blindly! Use your technique, be skillful!"
"I guess I'm a power player too..." Yan Hui grinned, assessing himself objectively.
Throughout Zhuji Middle School's journey so far, the majority of the centers they had encountered, excluding Yu Chu of Caota Middle School, were not power-oriented.
This was because high school students generally hadn't fully developed, especially in terms of muscle strength. Most were tall and thin; types like Yan Hui and Su Wei, who developed muscles early, were not common.
Yan Hui's physique was full of strength due to his dedication to fitness.
Su Wei, on the other hand, had very strong upper body strength from his past as a rower.
These two were somewhat outliers among high school players.
"It's fine! As long as you can be just a little bit more skillful than him... I believe you can do it, you'll definitely dominate him..."
At this moment, He Ximeng was doing his best to pump Yan Hui up, not to dampen his confidence. Moreover, compared to Su Wei, a rough player who switched sports mid-way, Yan Hui, who had been playing basketball since childhood, had a much more solid fundamental game and footwork.
Meanwhile, on Panyu Middle School's side, captain Du Feng took the opportunity of his positioning to encourage Su Wei: "Awei, you need to be tougher down low, lock down that number 33..."
"Okay, Captain, I understand..." Su Wei responded with a simple nod.
On this possession for Panyu Middle School, Chen Jianghua, following the original plan, passed the ball to Du Feng in the low post on the right.
Du Feng, aiming to give Su Wei an opening, attempted a tough interior drive. Ignoring the double-team from Feng Chen and He Ximeng, he forcefully jumped and shot from under the basket...
The ball bounced off the rim a few times, and then, fortunately, fell into the basket!
"See? That's what you call toughness..." Du Feng turned and instructed Su Wei, who nodded again.
As He Ximeng stopped showing off his individual skills, the game gradually returned to normal.
Panyu Middle School's offensive focus in the opening stages revolved around Du Feng's strong interior play as the starting point, with Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng receiving the ball on the wings. Simultaneously, during fast breaks, they supported Chen Jianghua's relentless drives.
However, Chen Jianghua's fast breaks seemed to have met their match today! His first offensive play was blocked by He Ximeng, and subsequent fast breaks were dismantled by He Ximeng's anticipation.
Chen Jianghua had been a whirlwind, effortlessly driving past opponents in the regional qualifiers and the Southern District Finals. He never expected to encounter He Ximeng in his first game of the national championship finals.
Before this, Chen Jianghua had never felt so stifled.
Panyu Middle School trailed Zhuji Middle School by four points, primarily because of Chen Jianghua's failed aggressive drives, which allowed Zhuji Middle School to seize opportunities and score on fast breaks.
As the first quarter drew to a close, Panyu Middle School initiated substitutions first, removing Su Wei, who had been ineffective in the paint, Du Feng, whose stamina was depleting, and Chen Jianghua, who had frequent turnovers. However, they retained Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng.
Panyu Middle School's head coach believed that Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng had not played much in the first quarter and therefore wouldn't attract much attention from Zhuji Middle School, intending to catch Zhuji Middle School off guard during the substitution period.
He Ximeng certainly wouldn't let the opposing coach's plan succeed!
Although Zhuji Middle School also substituted out Yan Hui, Feng Chen, and Zhang Zhenpeng, they kept Wang Xian and He Ximeng on the court!
At the start of the first quarter, He Ximeng had showcased an explosive display of skill with a one-handed dunk that stunned the entire arena!
As all the spectators eagerly awaited He Ximeng's continued dominant performance, he suddenly receded, not continuing to focus on offense but instead making passes, allowing Yan Hui to isolate in the paint and Zhang Zhenpeng to cut to the basket.
If not for the lingering impact of that one-handed dunk, the audience might have been under the illusion that He Ximeng was a point guard skilled in playmaking but not in scoring.
Of course, the opening dunk had already revealed He Ximeng's true capabilities, making it virtually impossible for him to play the "underdog" card in this game.
Even without showing much offensive intent, Panyu Middle School still guarded him closely, unwilling to give He Ximeng any open shots.
In the rotation lineup, He Ximeng brought in the more mobile Zhu Ningzhen, Huangfu Yanlin, and Fu Xinyuan.
This was essentially Zhuji Middle School's alternative "five-forward" lineup!
These five players could switch defensive assignments infinitely, making them ideal for defending shooters like Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng!
Panyu Middle School had intended to sneak in a few three-pointers during the rotation period. However, Zhuji Middle School expanded their defense significantly, shadowing Zhu and Wang closely, giving them no open looks.
Zhu Fangyu attempted a contested three-pointer over Wang Xian, but the ball hit the rim and missed.
Wang Shipeng tried to use Zhu Fangyu's screen, stepping back to a three-point line a step further, and took an extremely long-range shot, which also hit the rim and missed.
Panyu Middle School's several three-point attempts failed to find the basket. On the other hand, He Ximeng had his new players moving quickly, setting off-ball screens that tore apart Panyu Middle School's defense, allowing them to exploit cuts and drive to the basket.
Panyu Middle School had intended to use the substitution period to narrow the deficit or even take the lead. However, with failed offense and ineffective defense, Zhuji Middle School further extended their lead to seven points!
Panyu Middle School's head coach was somewhat dumbfounded: this script didn't seem right!