Chapter Twenty-Four: The Moment of Final Battle

"Swish!" The ball sliced through the net, making a crisp sound.

"Feels pretty good!" I swung my arms up and down, murmuring to myself.

"Have you settled everything?" At some point, Xiaoyi had appeared behind me, and I caught a hint of concern in his tone.

"When did you get here!" I picked up the ball and walked over.

"I've been here a while. Saw how focused you were, so I didn't want to interrupt." Xiaoyi smiled, walked to the basketball hoop, and sat down.

"The final's this afternoon. For some reason, I feel inexplicably nervous." I sat beside Xiaoyi.

"Yeah! A battle we can anticipate will be tough." Xiaoyi’s face suddenly showed a trace of exhilaration.

I turned to look at Xiaoyi. "Are you excited?"

"A bit. A hard-fought match you've waited an entire year for is finally here—anyone would be excited!" Xiaoyi gazed skyward, murmuring thoughtfully, "The weather’s nice today."

"Oh, is it?" Xiaoyi’s abrupt comment left me puzzled, so I tilted my head back as well. With October approaching, the air was crisp and clear; the blue sky held only a few wisps of clouds drifting lazily. Warm sunlight filtered through the banyan tree branches, casting golden patches over the grass beside the court, like a breathtaking painting.

"Last year, the weather was just as good... Today is the final battle!" Xiaoyi unconsciously clenched his fists.

...

This year’s final was scheduled in the newly completed gymnasium—a thrilling prospect for us, who had never played on an indoor wooden court before.

After warming up, I stepped off the court, ready to put on my jacket when Xiaoyi suddenly called out, "Xiaobei, you’re starting today."

"Huh?" I glanced back at Xiaoyi uncertainly. He nodded, signaling I had heard right. I quickly shrugged off the jacket I’d half pulled on and tossed it to Lele, who was sitting on the bench.

"Go, Xiaobei!" Lele shouted as she caught the jacket.

"Lele, I won't let you down!" I silently promised myself.

The game began. Sun Chao got to the ball first but, unfortunately, couldn’t fully control the tempo. Under interference from the opposing center, Liu Kai, the ball flew toward the senior three (Class 3) half.

The shooting guard, Li Mu, from Class 3 read the play, leaped lightly, and caught the ball.

Seeing this, Xiaoyi gestured urgently, signaling everyone to hurry back on defense. Li Mu, seeing no fast break opportunity, passed the ball back to the point guard, Zhang Xu, who had called for it, then sprinted ahead.

Zhang Xu took the ball, calmly dribbled it across half court, and stopped near the three-point line to survey the court.

Small forward Lin Wei glanced at Zhang Xu, then spun toward the corner, followed by Xiaoyi. But before Xiaoyi could slide far, Lin Wei suddenly doubled back. Xiaoyi tried to follow, but someone quickly stepped in his path. Realizing he’d been screened, Xiaoyi twisted around just in time to see Lin Wei, now unguarded, cut straight into the paint—and at that exact moment, the ball found his hands.

"Not good!" Cheng Shuai saw the danger and rushed over, but Lin Wei flicked the ball sideways to Li Mu, who had cut in from the opposite side. Li Mu stopped almost as soon as he caught the ball, then rose up for the shot.

"Swish!" The ball sailed cleanly through the net—a beautiful screen-and-cut, drive-and-dish play...

Class 3 was indeed formidable. Under their relentless double-team pressure, Xiaoyi’s performance was severely hampered. Despite everyone’s best efforts, by halftime, we still trailed by a wide margin: 27 to 38.

Sitting on the sidelines, the whole team looked dispirited. Lele stood wordlessly beside me, her lips moving slightly, uncertain what to say. I held my head, replaying scenes from the match: "What now? Did I practice too long this morning? I can’t find my touch at all! So many open shots wasted—damn it!"

"Ye Hui, you’re going in next. Xiaobei, take a break and get yourself together." Xiaoyi raised his water bottle, took a big gulp, and spoke gravely.

The third quarter was uneventful: 39 to 49. The score hovered around a ten-point gap, and Class 3 seemed confident about their impending second consecutive championship, not playing all out.

"Opportunity! The chance is here! Xiaobei, did you see it?" During the third-quarter break, Xiaoyi suddenly turned toward me.

"I... can't find my rhythm," I said, feeling I’d lost faith in myself.

"Xiaobei, don’t panic! We’ll try our best to get you open looks. You have just one job—make the shot!" Xiaoyi’s face showed no trace of emotion.

Back on the court, I sensed Class 3's defense had slackened compared to the first half.

After a screen, I caught the ball and faked a shot, but Li Mu wasn’t fooled, staying tight on me. So I quickly swung the ball to Xiaoyi in the right corner. As soon as Xiaoyi moved with the ball, he was double-teamed.

Without hesitation, Xiaoyi passed to Sun Chao, who had just shifted from the left to the right inside lane. Sun Chao wasted no time, bouncing the ball back out to me on the perimeter.

Li Mu, caught out of position by our swift ball movement, lost his defensive spot. I seized the moment, bent my knees, leapt naturally, and released a long-range shot from beyond the arc.

"Swish!" Three-pointer, nothing but net! The score shifted to 42–49.

Switching possession, Zhang Xu dribbled leisurely, seemingly burning time. After dribbling for ages, he sensed the clock winding down, faked left, then burst right. Xiaohei wasn’t fooled and followed him into the paint. With Xiaohei’s tight defense, Zhang Xu was forced to try a tough move, but after only two steps, the ball was stripped from his hands. Looking down, he saw Xiaohei already racing toward the frontcourt with the ball.

At this moment, the nine players still in the half court suddenly rushed back together.

Xiaohei dribbled to the right wing and signaled to me. I dashed left, then hit the brakes and spun back toward the right. Seeing this, Li Mu shouted and sprang after me.

I stopped again, glanced at Li Mu, who was almost upon me, then ducked low and sprinted back to the left. Li Mu tried to follow, but was blocked by someone who had pressed closely against him—he realized he’d been screened.

Just then, the ball, which had circled the paint several times with Xiaohei and Zhang Xu, arrived in my hands.

From a step inside the three-point line, I pulled up for a mid-range jumper.

"Swish!" The ball sailed cleanly through the net again.

44–49! The deficit was now just five points.

Seeing the score tighten, our opponents grew hesitant, and their baseline inbounds looked weak. Watching the ball float slowly toward Zhang Xu near the backcourt three-point line, I realized this was my chance. Without hesitation, I leapt sideways, and at the instant the ball touched Zhang Xu’s palm, I stole it.

Zhang Xu roared, leaping after me, arms outstretched. But by then, the ball had already left my hands, dropping into the basket without suspense.

Looking back, perhaps this was the most glorious moment in my basketball career.