The East District Finals will be held in Shanghai in mid-November.
At that time, the top two teams from the grassroots competitions of six provinces and cities in the Eastern region, including Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Anhui, Hubei, and Shanghai, a total of 12 teams, will gather together for a peak showdown between provinces. Only two spots are available to advance to the national finals! In other words, only the champions and runners-up of the Eastern region will be eligible to advance to the final national competition!
The competition level rises, and the difficulty increases.
Zheng Wu's "Newcomer King" remark, it's unclear whether it was directed at Zhang Zhenpeng or He Ximeng.
However, He Ximeng was surrounded by his teammates and couldn't hear, so Zhang Zhenpeng naturally assumed that Zheng Wu's "Newcomer King" was meant for him.
Initially, Zhang Zhenpeng was feeling dejected about being "neglected" by his teammates, but after hearing Zheng Wu's "Newcomer King," his mood immediately brightened.
Representing He Ximeng and Zhuji Middle School, he shouted at Zheng Wu's retreating back: "We'll battle again in Shanghai in a month..."
By the time He Ximeng broke free from his teammates' embrace, Zheng Wu had already returned to the Huipu Middle School players' bench, tidying his belongings.
Huipu Middle School was generally downcast, but as Zheng Wu had said, their goal had always been the national finals! The grassroots competition was just about breaking through.
Uncle San, finally waiting for the players to finish celebrating, immediately took He Ximeng to the Huipu Middle School coaches' bench to bid farewell to the old coach.
The old coach did not seem displeased that He Ximeng had led his team to defeat Huipu Middle School. On the contrary, he praised He Ximeng's performance in the game with a smile.
"The kid played well! This is how you should play! Youth without passion is a waste. Young man, if you're not bold now, when will you be? All along, I've told Zheng Wu to follow Liu Yudong's example! But Zheng Wu didn't listen and insisted on following my example..."
"Old coach, you were the epitome of maturity beyond your years in the national youth team back then..." The assistant coach of Huipu Middle School tried to flatter the old coach, but he didn't accept it.
"I was young and foolish back then... I missed the era of youthful exuberance... If I could go back to my youth now... Screw it!"
Liu Yudong became the best power forward, Zheng Wu the best small forward, and Wu Hou the best shooting guard.
In the last game against Zhuji Middle School, Wu Hou's performance was mediocre due to the tireless close defense from Tang Chenfeng and Wang Xian. However, in the previous six games, Wu Hou, utilizing the system advantage of Huipu Middle School, averaged three three-pointers per game and scored 21 points, making him a killer shooter. Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to explode in the final match.
After the individual awards, it was time to present trophies and medals to the top three teams.
Liu Yudong accepted the third-place trophy on behalf of Hangzhou No. 4 High School, Zheng Wu accepted the second-place trophy for Huipu Middle School, and He Ximeng accepted the championship trophy representing first place for Zhuji Middle School.
The captains of the first two teams didn't look very happy when they received their trophies, their smiles felt forced.
Only He Ximeng smiled brilliantly when he received the trophy, his joy genuine and heartfelt...
Applause thundered through the stadium as the entire Zhuji Middle School team ascended the highest podium to receive congratulations from everyone.
With this, all matches in the Zhejiang region concluded successfully.
After the awards ceremony, all teams dispersed.
Zhuji Middle School had originally planned to return directly to Zhuji after the game, but they couldn't resist the invitation from the current head of the Zhang Group, who was Zhang Zhenpeng and Zhang Tian'ai's mother!
Upon hearing that her son had "led the team" to win the Zhejiang region championship, Mother Zhang generously arranged for the entire basketball team to be taken to Lou Wai Lou, a restaurant by the West Lake, for a feast of famous Zhejiang-Jiangsu cuisine...
As the head coach, Zhang Yide, prioritizing the players' well-being, forbade these high schoolers from drinking alcohol, not even beer!
Therefore, everyone had to settle for Coke instead of beer, and they had a lively time.
After eating and drinking their fill, He Ximeng went out to the balcony outside the private room for some fresh air. The West Lake was right below, its surface shimmering with the reflections of neon lights, the night view as beautiful and captivating as ever.
He Ximeng remembered that in his previous life, he had brought Kayla to Hangzhou for an event, and they had eaten Hangzhou delicacies at this very Lou Wai Lou.
The West Lake was still the same West Lake, Lou Wai Lou was still the same Lou Wai Lou, and even the Hangzhou cuisine served within Lou Wai Lou was the same, but the time was no longer the same.
In this timeline, He Ximeng was still playing in the Chinese high school league, and Kayla, if He Ximeng recalled correctly, had also entered the entertainment industry under her mother's arrangement...
As He Ximeng was lost in his memories, Zhang Tian'ai crept up beside him.