It was undoubtedly Zhang Zhenpeng!
During the time He Ximeng was going all out, although Zhang Zhenpeng knew the probability of He Ximeng passing the ball was low, he never gave up asking for the ball or his desire to keep scoring… Zhang Zhenpeng's persistent actions caused considerable disruption to Qinghua High School.
After the timeout, He Ximeng brought the ball up, with Zhang Yunsong defending him full court! As soon as they crossed half-court, Chen Lei pressed up, the two attempting to put pressure on He Ximeng near half-court.
Zhuji Middle School would not just watch He Ximeng be pressured. Wang Xian and Zhang Zhenpeng came up on his left and right to receive the pass. However, Qinghua High School was relentless. Li Nan chased Zhang Zhenpeng closely, while Jiao Jian helped Chen Lei with the double-team on Wang Xian!
Qinghua High School applied multi-point pressure, aiming to make this defensive stop in one fell swoop. But Zhuji Middle School was prepared.
Yan Hui and Feng Chen also came out from the paint to the three-point line to receive the pass!
Qinghua High School had to double-team He Ximeng and pressure others. No matter how they calculated, they would leave someone open.
Between defending Yan Hui and Feng Chen, Da Zhi chose to guard Yan Hui. He Ximeng, meanwhile, chose to pass to Feng Chen!
After receiving the ball, Feng Chen held it in place. When He Ximeng, with Zhang Yunsong on him, came up, it looked like a hand-off. In reality, He Ximeng hadn't called for it at all. It was a fake, a feigned drive, leading the defender into the paint…
Feng Chen pretended to hand the ball to He Ximeng, but in fact, he used his body as a screen, obscuring the ball. Then, when all of Qinghua High School's attention was on He Ximeng, he passed the ball to Zhang Zhenpeng, who had run to the three-point line to receive it… and he also managed to slow down Li Nan, who was chasing from behind…
Zhang Zhenpeng caught the ball and shot. Swish! He hit an extremely crucial three-pointer!
On this play, He Ximeng did not play selfishly but chose to trust his teammates! However, he also had a backup plan. As Zhang Zhenpeng shot from beyond the arc, He Ximeng charged into the paint. If Zhang Zhenpeng's three-pointer missed, He Ximeng was ready to drive to the basket, looking for an opportunity to forcefully dunk.
Fortunately, his teammates did not disappoint He Ximeng.
With the score at 73:72, thanks to Zhang Zhenpeng's clutch three-pointer, Zhuji Middle School successfully took the lead by one point!
With less than thirty seconds left in the game, both sides basically had only one more offensive opportunity.
On Qinghua High School's side, Zhang Yunsong pushed the ball up and passed it to Da Zhi in the high post!
Da Zhi did not launch an immediate attack but carefully observed his teammates' positioning. However, Zhuji Middle School's defense was solid, and they did not allow Qinghua High School to exploit any obvious loopholes.
Da Zhi then began to post up. As soon as Da Zhi moved, Feng Chen's double-team immediately followed!
Da Zhi then passed the ball outwards to Chen Lei on the wing. Chen Lei did not shoot but made a bounce pass to Jiao Jian at the edge of the paint!
Jiao Jian feigned a move in place, trying to get past the backtracking Feng Chen. Feng Chen didn't fall for it, so Jiao Jian dribbled the ball towards the middle…
After a series of dazzling passes from Qinghua High School, Yan Hui suddenly heard He Ximeng shouting from outside the arc, reminding him: "Yan Hui, Da Zhi!"
Yan Hui then realized that Da Zhi was no longer inside the paint but had slipped to the three-point line in the right thirty-degree angle area…
"What is this play?"
"Is Da Zhi going to shoot a three-pointer?"
"A center shooting threes?"
"Isn't Qinghua High School taking a huge risk with this decision?"
While Yan Hui was stunned, Jiao Jian, who was driving, indeed passed the ball to Da Zhi, who was outside the three-point line!
He Ximeng, the quickest to react, lunged from the high post, attempting to contest Da Zhi's three-point shot from the side. But the height difference between He Ximeng and Da Zhi was too great. Even with his jumping ability, it was useless…
All the spectators watching the game believed that Da Zhi shooting from three-point range was an unreliable choice. Only He Ximeng knew that Da Zhi's three-point touch was never bad…
It was just that, in previous games, Da Zhi's footwork in the paint was invincible, and his close-range jump shots were unstoppable. He simply didn't need to pull up from three-point range… Therefore, apart from Qinghua High School's teammates and coaches, no one knew that Da Zhi also possessed a very respectable three-point shot…
Of course, He Ximeng was an exception!
It was just that Da Zhi had saved this ultimate move for the very end. Before he slipped to the three-point line, even He Ximeng thought that Da Zhi hadn't developed his three-point shot yet. In reality, Da Zhi had always held back his strength, hiding this trump card…
Da Zhi originally didn't want to showcase his three-point shooting ability in high school games, wanting to keep a trump card for professional leagues. But he hadn't expected that, relying on his low-post skills and Li Nan's outside three-pointers, they couldn't defeat Zhuji Middle School in regulation time… Helplessly, to ensure his high school career had no regrets, Da Zhi had to reveal his ultimate secret weapon… the strongest means for the strongest enemy!
The basketball traced a beautiful arc, hit the rim, and went in!
The entire arena erupted!
No one could have imagined that Da Zhi, who was invincible in the low post, was also so formidable from beyond the three-point line!
"Are they even going to let the opponents live?"
"With Da Zhi's skill level, hasn't he already reached professional league standards?"
"Da Zhi playing in the high school league now is completely a 'descending dimension' battle!"
"As expected of the nation's strongest high school student!"
"It's impressive that Zhuji Middle School was able to push the strongest Da Zhi to this point! They fought with honor even in defeat…"
With the three-pointer, the score became 75:73. Da Zhi helped Qinghua High School regain the lead again!
Zhuji Middle School had only seven seconds left!
The critical point was that Zhuji Middle School had no timeouts left. He Ximeng needed to advance the ball past half-court and organize an offense… Time was extremely tight…
"Yan Hui, Feng Chen, get down court, head straight for the basket!"
"Zhang Zhenpeng, Wang Xian, receive passes on the sides, don't be too far away!"
After Da Zhi hit the go-ahead three-pointer, He Ximeng did not linger in shock. He immediately issued the tactical orders for the final play!
Yan Hui, who had been blaming himself, heard He Ximeng's instructions and began to sprint towards Qinghua High School's basket with his head down.
Zhang Zhenpeng went to the baseline to inbound the ball for He Ximeng!
On Qinghua High School's side, except for Da Zhi chasing Yan Hui upcourt, Jiao Jian, Li Nan, Chen Lei, and Zhang Yunsong tried to press in the backcourt to steal Zhuji Middle School's inbound pass!
He Ximeng, of course, would not let them succeed!
With off-ball screens from Feng Chen and Wang Xian, He Ximeng used constant back cuts to successfully receive the pass from Zhang Zhenpeng!
Upon receiving the ball, He Ximeng controlled it. Under the double-team of Zhang Yunsong and Chen Lei, he weaved through a series of changes of direction, successfully breaking free from their entanglement and accelerating towards the frontcourt…