Before they knew it, the shot clock ended, and that was the only ti that Zedong snapped out of his thought, everything suddenly becoming clear.
'Did I just...miss the shot clock?' he thought.
Coach Yixing frowned deeply before calling for a ti-out, knowing that his players needed it more than anything else.
"Ti-out!" the referee exclaid, causing the ga to halt.
The Shizi Dogs went back to their bench with pleasant smiles.
"Good job, team!" Aang exclaid.
Shang smiled and gave them a thumbs-up.
Lina, too, smiled in satisfaction, feeling particularly thankful to Kai for suggesting their current gaplay.
The others also started discussing how aweso the team was for being able to catch up to the gap that the XIng Stars had created.
"Doesn't the Shizi Dogs seem a bit..different this year?"
"Have they always been like this?"
"I watched a ga of theirs last year. It wasn't like this."
"They couldn't even play with the Xing Stars back then."
"When is their next ga? I might watch it for fun."
"If they win this one...they're going to play with whoever wins between the Feng Foxes and the other team."
"Yeah, if they win this one."
As the Xing Stars' bench called for a ti-out, frustration simred from the coach and the players.
They were caught off guard by the Shizi Dogs' unexpected tactics, and it was getting out of hand.
How could they be struggling against a team that wasn't known for their skill or strategy?
"I can't believe this," Coach Yixing muttered, raking his fingers through his already ssy hair.
Then, he glanced once more at the Shizi Dogs, still in disbelief that they were getting beaten by a team led by a teenager girl.
The only team in the league whom they couldn't beat in the South was the Feng Foxes, and that was because they were more skilled.
Even their losses against them were calculated...expected.
The Shizi Dogs, on the other hand, weren't known for their skills. In fact, Yuze was the only one with impeccable skills. So why were they only leading by two points?
Zedong furrowed his brows in frustration as he scanned the court. "The problem is that guy over there," he muttered, nodding towards Kai, who seed to be arguing with Zeren.
His statent was t with disbelief from his teammates. "What? But why?" one of them asked incredulously.
"I heard he's just a first-year," another chid in.
"A first-year?" Coach Yixing asked in disbelief. "Are you sure he's not a repeating student? He looks like my eldest son."
The player scratched the back of his head. "That's what I heard from Peng Yang. Anyway, he hasn't done anything extraordinary except for those two shots, right?"
"Yeah, and he hasn't even shot many tis," Zedong explained. "Yuze's still the main offender. But there's sothing about that kid. He's the most unexpected player on their team. I don't know what's going on inside of his head."
Coach Yixing listened intently to Zedong's assessnt.
"Are you alright?" he finally asked.
Zedong stopped mid-drink.
Was he okay?
He honestly didn't know.
What happened a while back, when he couldn't perceive anything, was sothing he had never experienced before.
However, as he glanced at his teammates, he knew he couldn't afford to fumble.
"Yeah," he said, knowing he had to be strong and unyielding. "Just tired from playing three sets."
"Sit these two minutes out," Coach Yixing said, noticing that sothing was off with their playmaker.
Zedong nodded despite wanting to play.
With that, the ga resud, but Zedong remained in his seat.
The Shizi Dogs turned to each other in surprise. However, they also thought of this as their chance.
As the final minutes of the third quarter ticked away, the intensity on the court reached new heights.
With Zedong's absence, the Shizi Dogs realized that it wasn't only him who carried his team. His other teammates might not be the best playmakers, but they were still good, which still made the Shizi Dogs struggle.
Zedong's eyes narrowed as he focused on the ga.
He had always been a systematic person, relying on careful planning and thodical execution to achieve success.
The system never failed him.
In fact, his life was organized down to the smallest detail—his schedules were all laid out on a titable, and even their training was ticulously crafted based on evidence and analysis.
"Stick to it. Stick to it," Zedong muttered to himself, repeating his mantra as he watched his teammates.
However, as the ga progressed, it beca increasingly obvious that the Shizi Dogs were slowly tipping them off balance. He couldn't understand how they could be so effective without a systematic system like his own.
Just then, as Zedong focused his attention on Kai, the unexpected happened. Kai looked to his right and was faced with one of Zedong's teammates, determined to stop him. But before the defender could even react, Kai bounced the ball on the ground, sending it flying towards Zeren's waiting hand.
Zeren's eyes widened in surprise as the ball ca hurtling towards him, but he reacted quickly, catching it with little difficulty.
The dodgeball ga that the two of them engaged in seed to be useful since the two could now catch each other's passes with more ease.
Without hesitation, he squared up to the basket and launched a three-point shot.
The crowd held their breath as the ball sailed through the air.
Lina, too, couldn't help but stand, knowing this was their chance to overco the gap.
As the ball escaped his hands, Zeren smirked.
'That felt right,' he thought.
Then, he glanced at the scoreboard and saw that there were only three seconds left.
So, he glanced to his side before the ball even touched the rim.
He looked at Lina and threw her a wink and a flying kiss, causing the girl to grimace.
Then, Zeren walked away confidently, knowing that his shot would make it in.
Zedong's hands started shaking as the ball finally hit the rim, circling around the hoop a few tis before going inside the net.
Then, the buzzer that indicated the end third set was heard in the entire court.
Along with that, the scoreboard moved.
33-34.
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