May 17, 1997, Saturday, the Basketball Gym of Tianhe Sports Center. The final of the Guangzhou Senior High School Boys' Basketball League was in full fervor. The two teams vying for the championship were Xiaoda Middle School Team and Dongsha Middle School Team.
These two teams were frequent participants in the finals of the junior and senior leagues, and they were also long-time rivals. In a sense, they were like the "West Coast Champion" and "East Coast Champion" in the circle of middle school boys' basketball in Guangzhou. And this year's final was more like an "all-star game", truly shining with starlight, because the players on both sides were all renowned masters of basketball from the city's middle schools.
The players on Team Xiaoda were as follows: Qiao Zisheng, the current captain, who had once served as the captain of the Dongsha Middle School Junior Boys' Basketball Team, excelled in jump shots, and who had once led the school team to almost draw with the national youth team, known as the "Basketball King"; Feng Zhizi, who had once served as the captain of the Mu Mian Middle School Junior Boys' Basketball Team, good at scoring when receiving the ball in a 45-degree open position, reputed as the "Son of the Wind"; Gao Xinglang, who had won multiple city championships in primary and junior middle school, who had once served as the captain of the Xiaoda Middle School Junior Boys' Basketball Team, and who had a three-point shooting percentage of nearly 40%, known as the "Little Basketball Prince"; Shen Yitian, the "Basketball Genius", who had started playing basketball at the age of five; and Luo Deman, the "Cobra" who was skilled at dribbling past opponents. They were all basketball masters who could take on important responsibilities on the court.
The players on Team Dongsha were as follows: Zhao Bolun, the current captain, who had once served as the captain of the Xiaoda Middle School Junior Boys' Basketball Team, capable of shooting beautiful three-pointers with either hand, and who once led the team to represent Guangzhou in the National Middle School Students' Championship and won the runner-up, known as the "Little Basketball Emperor"; Ke Boren, who had once served as the captain of the Dongsha Middle School Junior Boys' Basketball Team, good at pull-up jump shots, and who had won the title of Most Valuable Player in provincial and municipal competitions many times, known as the "Flash"; Ou Wenli, who had once served as the captain of the Baiyue Middle School Junior Boys' Basketball Team, good at crossover dribbles, and known as the "Basketball Doctor"; Rong Jinglian, the "Stone Buddha" with excellent basic skills and mental quality; and Bao Lier, the "Glider" with excellent jumping ability. The last two were basketball elites "poached" from Xiaoda with the help of Zhao Bolun to help the team achieve unexpected victories on the court.
The game had reached the middle of the fourth quarter, with the score tied at 82. In the previous parts, the two teams had been playing neck and neck, with the score being extremely close and rising alternately. Moreover, the tension on the court was palpable. In the first three quarters, both teams had multiple records of fouls for charging or pushing. The players on both sides were now playing with great irritation, glaring daggers at each other. Gao Xinglang was also playing with great irritation. In the second quarter, he had been knocked to the floor by Bao Lier, the "Glider" of the Dongsha team, and just a few minutes ago, he had been knocked down by Zhao Bolun, the "Little Basketball Emperor". Therefore, the "Little Basketball Prince" was now wearing a look of intense anger. He had participated in countless games, big and small, but he felt that this game was particularly tense. It didn't feel like basketball, more like rugby, or even, to be honest, a fight. Besides being annoyed, he also felt a bit distressed, because three players on the other side had been his teammates, but now they had become rivals on the court.
In particular, Gao Xinglang didn't know how to face Zhao Bolun. He still remembered the basketball team tryout in junior middle school, when he was having a difficult time because of the "Three Freaks of the East". It was Zhao Bolun who encouraged him with a famous quote from Michael Jordan. Later, after he joined the team, he was bullied by the "Three Freaks". It was also Zhao Bolun who often stepped in to help. However, when Zhao Bolun went to Dongsha for senior middle school, the two gradually drifted apart and had less contact. A year ago, they met again outside the venue of the municipal basketball competition. Gao Xinglang was really excited at that time, but he didn't expect that Zhao Bolun's main intention was to recruit him. In the end, Gao Xinglang decided to stay at Xiaoda, and the two became distant from each other once more.
YOU ARE READING
Love Me in Another Universe
General FictionIt was such a long time ago that you don't even remember why you fell for that person in the first place. You just remember stubbornly that you were once deeply in love with someone with that name... It's a story about the bond between two Chinese b...
