“Don't give up on working hard in college... Remember to keep striving... Life is long, and it's not just about basketball...”
Zhang Zhenpeng suddenly shouted, startling not only his teammates but also causing the retreating seven figures to falter.
Immediately, the seven hands that were raised in warm farewell were uniformly replaced by seven middle fingers… resolute, sharp, and decisive!
Zhang Zhenpeng hadn't expected his well-intentioned reminder to result in such a fate, and he could only sheepishly say, "Sincere advice is often unpleasant to hear, unpleasant to hear..."
He Ximeng covered his face and returned to the gymnasium. The teammates around him all covered their faces and retreated in unison...
Even Zhang Zhenpeng's own sister, classmate Zhang Tian'ai, couldn't help but cover her face. Not with one hand, but with both…
“Hey, hey, what’s the meaning of this? I strongly suspect you’re looking down on me…”
…
The visit from the combined team was merely a minor interlude for Zhuji Middle School, and incidentally allowed He Ximeng to assess the results of the past three weeks of training.
Judging from the outcome of this friendly match, the overall strength of Zhuji Middle School had improved to a certain extent, mainly reflected in tactical coordination, stamina reserves, shooting stability, and fast break success rate.
Especially in fast breaks. A month ago, Zhuji Middle School was still an imitator and follower of Huipu Middle School. Now, Zhuji Middle School’s overall performance was much closer to Huipu Middle School’s. During fast breaks, He Ximeng had boldly incorporated three-point shots, shifting Huipu Middle School’s relatively pure fast break tactic of attacking the basket towards a more “run-and-gun” style…
After the final week of training concluded, Zhuji Middle School was ready to set off on their journey to the Eastern District Finals.
Before leaving, Ms. He Fengting once again delivered her standard "motherly" lecture. The gist of it was always the same: "Be careful, don't get into trouble with anyone, and absolutely do not fight on the court. It’s okay to lose, just come back and study hard..."
He Ximeng could agree to most of her other points, but the last one was something he likely couldn't comply with.
This time, in the Eastern District Finals, He Ximeng was determined to secure a spot to advance. Even if it wasn't first place, he aimed for second.
In comparison, the other players of Zhuji Middle School didn’t have as many ambitions. For Yan Hui and Feng Chen, reaching the Eastern District Finals was already a fulfillment of their high school basketball dreams.
If Yan Hui and Feng Chen felt this way, the other players felt it even more so.
Of course, Zhang Zhenpeng was an exception. This guy’s ambition was no less than He Ximeng’s!
He Ximeng wanted to break through the Eastern District Finals and reach the national championship stage, perhaps even the highest podium. Zhang Zhenpeng not only wanted to reach the highest podium but also to become the strongest high school player in the country… Well, at present, it seemed He Ximeng was slightly stronger than him. Therefore, Zhang Zhenpeng slightly lowered his standards and decided to first become the strongest high school rookie… Next year, after He Ximeng graduated, he would then legitimately shed the title of “rookie” and become the undisputed strongest high school player…
Zhuji was about 240 kilometers from Shanghai, a drive of approximately three hours. However, with the luxurious Golden Dragon coach provided by the Zhang Group, and an unlimited supply of snacks and drinks, the players felt as if they were on a trip to Shanghai. Furthermore, after winning the previous round, He Ximeng had asked Third Master to request Mr. Wang, the secretary of the Zhang Group, to reward each person with a Sony Walkman and a pair of Sennheiser over-ear headphones… The atmosphere on the bus was genuinely relaxed.
However, the Zhang Group wasn't sponsoring them for free. In return, besides the jerseys and shoes, the Zhuji Middle School basketball team’s jackets and duffel bags were all printed with the Zhang Group’s logo, making it a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The 12 teams representing Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Hubei, and Shanghai in this year's Eastern District Finals were divided into Group A and Group B based on the principle of different provinces being in different groups.
Zhuji Middle School was placed in Group A this time. Their groupmates included Shanghai Nanmo Middle School, Weifang No. 1 Middle School, Wuxi Furen Middle School, Wuhan No. 6 Middle School, and Hefei No. 1 Middle School.
Huipu Middle School was placed in Group B, along with Fudan Middle School, Nanjing No. 9 Middle School, Qingdao No. 67 Middle School, Suzhou Experimental Middle School, and Wuhan No. 2 Middle School.
Analyzing the strengths of the two groups, Group A was clearly more competitive than Group B!
This was because four of the champion teams from the six provinces and cities were allocated to Group A.
Zhuji Middle School, the champion of the Zhejiang region; Shanghai Nanmo Middle School, the champion of the Shanghai region; Weifang No. 1 Middle School, the champion of the Shandong region; and Hefei No. 1 Middle School, the champion of the Anhui region, were all in Group A.
Only Nanjing No. 9 Middle School, the champion of the Jiangsu region, and Wuhan No. 2 Middle School, the champion of the Hubei region, were allocated to Group B.
Among the two runner-up teams in Group A, Wuhan No. 6 Middle School was also a formidable opponent. They had a decade-long rivalry with Wuhan No. 2 Middle School, essentially splitting the championship trophies in the Wuhan region over the years. Last year, Wuhan No. 6 Middle School had been the champion of the Wuhan region… Therefore, the strength of these two teams was very close.
In Group A, the team that could be considered relatively weaker was Wuxi Furen Middle School. This was a dark horse that had emerged from the Jiangsu region. In previous years, Wuxi Furen’s record hadn’t been particularly impressive. However, starting last year, they recruited Zhong Shijie, known as the "number one high school student in Taiwan." Zhong Shijie, standing 1.93 meters tall, was a versatile guard-forward with strong scoring ability, sharp drives, and decent three-point shooting.
When Zhong Shijie was a freshman in high school in Taiwan, he was already recognized as the top high school player on the island. To pursue higher basketball aspirations, Zhong Shijie had initially considered studying abroad in the West, but his coach advised him to participate in the national tournament first and become the number one high school player in China…
Therefore, through his coach's recommendation, Zhong Shijie joined Wuxi Furen and repeated his freshman year.
Zhong Shijie believed that with his status as the top high school player in Taiwan, he could surely dominate the national tournament. However, last year, luck was not on his side. Furen Middle School first lost to Chushui Experimental Middle School in the group stage, and then encountered Nanjing No. 9 Middle School, led by Hu Weidong, in the semi-finals… The result was inevitable; Zhong Shijie was severely outplayed by Hu Weidong, nearly questioning his life choices and abandoning basketball…
After being taught a lesson by Hu Weidong, Zhong Shijie realized that the standard of the national tournament was in no way comparable to that of the all-island competition… He also understood why his basketball coach had suggested he become the number one high school player in China before considering going across the Pacific…