Three years ago, in the finals of the junior high league, Chen Qiudao won the stats, and He Ximeng won the game. But Chen Qiudao was not convinced! So, the two agreed after the match that whoever could lead their team to break through the Zhejiang and Eastern regional competitions and advance to the national finals first in the high school league would be the winner...
However, both of them underestimated the difficulty of the national competition at the time. Two years passed, and neither of them managed to break through the Zhejiang region, let alone reach the national finals.
This year, although Caota High School had not yet played against Huipu High School, their loss to Ningbo No. 4 High School made their chances of advancing extremely slim.
Although Chen Qiudao was unwilling to admit it, he knew the situation clearly.
"Tomorrow, I will go all out against Huipu High School, leaving no regrets in my high school career..."
Chen Qiudao kept his word!
The next morning, Qingxi High School lost to Ningbo No. 4 High School. Although Caota High School also defeated Yunhe High School, their last glimmer of hope was extinguished.
For Caota High School to advance, they had to fight against Zhejiang's strongest, Huipu High School!
The next afternoon, Chen Qiudao truly gave his all!
Midway through the third quarter, Chen Qiudao dived for a loose ball and crashed into the scorer's table, bleeding from his forehead, even causing the game to be stopped for 15 minutes... After simple hemostasis, Chen Qiudao returned to the court and fought with Caota High School until the last minute of the game...
In the end, due to the gap in overall strength, Caota High School lost to Huipu High School by a narrow margin of 68:75, with five points difference!
Despite the loss, Caota High School received warm applause from all the spectators in the stands!
"Caota High School, well done!"
"Caota number 7, played beautifully!"
...
Even their opponents, Huipu High School, applauded Caota High School after the game.
The charm of basketball lies not only in victory and defeat but also in effort, perseverance, and passion... It never ends with the conclusion of a game...
Facing the thunderous applause from the entire venue, Chen Qiudao suddenly burst into tears, unable to control himself.
Yu Chu hugged the tearful Chen Qiudao, shook hands with Huipu High School, and then, holding Chen Qiudao by the neck, bowed to the audience who had given Caota High School such enthusiastic applause.
The national competition journey belonging to Yu Chu and Chen Qiudao had seemingly come to an end...
The final battle against Qingxi High School tomorrow had become a game of honor for Caota High School.
But as long as their passion remained, basketball would always accompany Yu Chu and Chen Qiudao. Even if they entered unrelated majors in college or pursued careers unrelated to basketball in the future... basketball would always be an inseparable bond in the hearts of these young basketball players... regardless of their status, profession, or age...
As Caota High School's national competition journey ended tragically, the fate of Zhuji High School had already taken a turn!
Under He Ximeng's leadership, Zhuji High School continued their winning streak on the second day, defeating Tiantai High School in the morning and Ouhai High School in the afternoon, topping their group with a perfect record of four wins and zero losses, sharing the first place with the host Hangzhou No. 4 High School!
The advancement scenarios for groups A and B had become clear.
In group A, Huipu High School and Ningbo No. 4 High School both had four wins and zero losses, advancing together.
In group B, Hangzhou No. 4 High School and Zhuji High School also had four wins and zero losses, advancing together.
The matches on the morning of the third day directly evolved into battles for the top spot in the groups.
Apart from the matches between Huipu High School vs. Ningbo No. 4 High School and Hangzhou No. 4 High School vs. Zhuji High School, all other games were matches of honor, with no impact on advancement.
On October 11th, at 10:00 AM on the final morning of the group stage, the strongest battles of the Zhejiang regional group stage simultaneously kicked off in both gymnasiums A and B!
In Gymnasium B, Zhuji High School faced the perennial runner-up of the Zhejiang region, and this year's host, Hangzhou No. 4 High School!
For today's game, He Ximeng finally adjusted the starting lineup.
Center: Yan Hui, Power Forward: Feng Chen, Small Forward: Wang Xian, Shooting Guard: Tang Chenfeng, Point Guard: He Ximeng!
Yes, facing the strongest opponent in the group stage, He Ximeng dared not be complacent.
"Third Grandpa" had issued a strict order to the entire team: to advance to the Eastern regional finals, they must defeat Hangzhou No. 4 High School and secure the first place in the group!
Because if they didn't win group B and advanced as the second seed to the semifinals, they would have to face the first seed of group A!
And the first seed of group A was highly likely to be Huipu High School!
No one wanted to face Huipu High School in the semifinals; Zhuji High School didn't, and neither did Hangzhou No. 4 High School!
Therefore, Hangzhou No. 4 High School's goal today was also to defeat Zhuji High School and win the group to advance!
When paths cross, the brave prevail!
Before He Ximeng announced the starting lineup, Zhang Zhenpeng had privately approached He Ximeng, wanting to be in the starting lineup and directly challenge Liu Yudong, the strongest player in Zhejiang, but He Ximeng did not agree!
He Ximeng's reason was very simple: the advancement games were not friendly matches, and the team's victory had to be the top priority!
"In the starting lineup, it's enough for Yan Hui and me to team up to contend with Liu Yudong! Your task is to take on the core offensive and defensive responsibilities after we come off the court... The starting lineup is just the vanguard, you are the key player who will determine whether we win or lose this game in the end..."
After this "bowl of chicken soup," Zhang Zhenpeng obediently sat on the bench, waiting for the moment he would be called upon to save the team.