May 16, 1998, Saturday. Tianhe Sports Center Basketball Gymnasium. The final of the annual Guangzhou Senior High School Boys' Basketball League was underway here. The two teams vying for the championship this year were from Xiaoda Middle School and Gaowen Middle School.
The Xiaoda team was an undisputed "king" in Guangzhou's middle school boys' basketball circle. Over the past five years, 10 championships had been awarded in the city's junior and senior high school boys' basketball leagues, with Xiaoda claiming half of them. Many former and current standout players from Xiaoda, such as the "Basketball King" Qiao Zisheng, the "Little Basketball Emperor" Zhao Bolun, and "the Little Basketball Prince" Gao Xinglang, were well-known "stars" among Guangzhou's middle school students.
The Gaowen Middle School team, however, was this year's "super dark horse." The team's best performance in the city league over the past five years was reaching the top 16. However, last year, Gaowen paid a fortune to hire former national team player Chai Yanxiong (pron.: chai yen shong) as coach and recruited Chinese-American twin brothers Su Yingwen (pron.: soo ying wen) and Su Yingwu (pron.: soo ying woo), who had played in a US high school league. As a result, the team had made leaps and bounds this year. Not only had they advanced from the group stage with outstanding results, but they had also defeated two strong teams, from No. 54 Middle School and from Dongsha, in the knockout rounds to reach the final.
In previous years, when Xiaoda faced Gaowen in the group stage, they could easily win by 20 to 30 points. This year, meeting again in the final, Gaowen seemed reborn. After trailing by 12 points in the first quarter, they had stayed neck-and-neck with Xiaoda, even taking a 4-point lead in the closing moments of the third quarter. Now midway through the fourth quarter, the score stood at 85-79 in Xiaoda's favor.
Despite the 6-point lead, Gao Xinglang knew this game hadn't been easy, and he dared not let up for a second. This game was not only Xiaoda's "title defense match" but also Gao Xinglang's "last game" in middle school. He had promised his parents that he would quit the basketball team in Senior Three to focus on the college entrance exams and strive to enter his dream university. Thus, he hoped the team could successfully defend their championship and bring his basketball career in middle school to a perfect close.
Just then, Xiaoda's team captain Feng Zhizi (pron.: fung jir dzuh) grabbed a rebound, broke through the defense, and dribbled toward the opponent's half-court. After running a few steps, he stopped, quickly scanned the court, and passed the ball to Gao Xinglang nearby.
The moment Gao Xinglang caught the ball, Su Yingwen and Su Yingwu from the Gaowen team charged toward him like vultures. At the sight of the Su brothers, Gao Xinglang felt a twinge of dread. The twins weren't just highly skilled—their speed was so blinding that it created the illusion of teleportation. Adding to the confusion, the identical twins wore very similar jersey numbers, 6 and 8. Sometimes, Gao Xinglang would get confused while playing, unsure whether he was facing one person or two.
Gao Xinglang shot a subtle glance at Lu Zhenming and Shen Yitian, who stood a few meters away. The two took the cue, split up swiftly, and dashed along the left and right sidelines toward Gaowen's backcourt.
With the Su brothers closing in, Gao Xinglang feigned a pass to Shen Yitian, then abruptly shifted direction, flinging the ball toward Lu Zhenming.
He had hoped this fake move would confuse the Su brothers and break their "twin" formation. But as he started the feint, the twins exchanged a glance. In perfect sync, they spun around and charged toward Lu Zhenming and Shen Yitian respectively. By the time Gao Xinglang realized his mistake, the ball had left his hands.
Su Yingwu, who had been chasing Shen Yitian, moved with uncanny awareness. Without even looking back, he abruptly changed course and sped toward Lu Zhenming. Shen Yitian and Gao Xinglang dashed to help, but they were half a beat too slow.
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