Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The last quarter of the game finally started, and almost everyone was on the edge of their seats.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Nobody was expecting such a close game, especially with the Feng Foxes dominating over the other teams.

However, the Shizi Dogs were determined to break their streak—with Zeren landing the first score of the quarter.

"A blind shot from Ding Zeren! He's even shooting from the three-point line. Will this be it? Will we see them get close to the Feng Foxes with only one point?"

Zeren held his breath as he watched the ball bounce on the rim. Then, he finally sighed in relief as it went inside the hole, earning them three more points.

60-59

"Nice!" Kun exclaimed from the bench, causing Zeren to turn to their side with a smug smirk.

He was expecting Lina to do the same, but she merely had a worried look on her face. As the two of them met gazes, Lina gave him a thumbs-up, to which he pouted in response.

He thought she would be happier than that!

However, Zeren didn't have much time to dwell on his hurt feelings as Kexin pushed his body to the limits and landed two points near the free-throw line.

Zeren frowned since it seemed like the second-year player wasn't going down without a fight.

Then, Kexin turned to Zeren with a smug smirk.

"I'm the original sharpshooter," Kexin said, which made Zeren roll his eyes in resentment.

Meanwhile, Jinping decided to cover Junfeng this time, knowing that their playing styles were more at par with each other—they were both aggressive.

Junfeng clicked his tongue, becoming warier since he only needed one more foul before he got kicked out of the game.

He initially didn't have a problem with that, but he wanted his last foul to be the most worth it—he wanted to bring down one key player along with him.

However, this Jinping guy was making it nearly impossible! He circled around Junfeng like prey, making him unable to execute the fouls that he wanted.

At that point, he would foul Jinping without leaving a lasting impact on the game!

"Let's go, Shizi!" Shang exclaimed from the bleachers, still feeling bitter about his injury from their practice game with the Foxes.

However, even if the injury didn't happen, he still felt like he would have quit basketball to pursue farming. He loved his little orange carrots more than the round orange basketballs on the court!

"Shit," Yiming cursed as he watched their three-point gap.

A minute had just passed on the clock, and he realized that the time had flown faster than he had imagined.

He needed to act fast.

However, with Yuze back in the game and with the other official starting players preoccupied with their own guards, Yiming fumbled the ball, which led it to roll toward Jet.

Jet tried to make a play, but Shilei blocked his shoot before it could even enter the ring, eliciting a loud response from the audience.

Jet clicked his tongue, disappointed in himself for not being able to make it.

"Don't sweat it," Yuze said to him as he patted his back. "Let's catch up to them together."

With that, Shizi's teamwork shone through. They defended to their best, scoring in response to the Feng Foxes shots.

Two minutes felt like a blur, and before they knew it, they were chasing each other's scores—none of them wanting to cave in.

67-65

68-66

70-69

With every shot they made, the people couldn't help but clutch onto their seats.

"This seems like a torture chamber," Yani said as she held onto Suzy for support.

"When is this back-and-forth going to end?" she asked.

"I don't know," Suzy said, also feeling frustrated. "All I know is that people are finding this very entertaining."

Indeed, the people who decided to stay from the previous game with Yin Yang High couldn't leave their seats despite them saying they would only watch one quarter.

"Can we leave now? My mom's already outside," one of them said.

"Let her come in!" her friend said. "The game is so intense, I bet everyone would enjoy it!"

"One point again!" Mark exclaimed excitedly, nearly jumping out of his seat with every score that both teams made.

"My heart is jumping in excitement. I don't know what to expect. I don't know who to root for! All I know is that these two teams have some of the most promising athletes in the city! What a game," he shouted, nearly breathless.

Coach Ben frowned after Mark Li said those words. Somehow, he didn't feel too good being clustered with the likes of Shizi High.

Last year, they were the champions—champions of the losers, that is.

So, being compared to them didn't leave a good taste in his mouth.

Just then, Yuze managed to make another shot in, making Ben stand from his seat.

70-71

Then, he glanced at Chunlei, who surprisingly had a calm look on his face.

He sat down and nudged his shoulder.

"How do you predict this game is going to end?" he asked.

Chunlei stared at the court, staying silent for a couple of seconds before finally replying.

"We'll win," Chunlei confidently said.

Coach Ben frowned. Of course, he also believed that they could win, but with how things were going, he didn't know how sure he really was.

Coach Ben was about to ask another question when Chunlei started speaking once again.

"From the looks of it, the Shizi Dogs had improved a lot," he said.

"A tremendous amount," he continued.

"However," a smirk arose from his face, which surprised the coach and the teammate right by his side.

"They still have some flaws."

"Every team has them—and with Shizi, it's just more evident."

"First," Chunlei continued. "Their lack of coach."

He glanced at their bench and saw the anxious girl sitting in the corner.

"No matter how good that girl is, she will never provide the same level of support that a coach has. That's their first flaw."

Coach Ben listened intently since he knew that Chunlei wasn't called a genius without any good reason. He might have a happy-go-lucky personality, but for basketball, he was truly talented.

"Second," he smirked. "Their lack of players."

"They have players on the bench, some of them I even recognize from last year. However, they're not utilized enough," he said.

"Why?" he chuckled. "Because they're not any good. With that, their six key players are forced to play in four quarters, which makes them susceptible to making mistakes during the last quarter."

"We had been substituting some players here and there to give our key players some rest, which elevates their playing style in the long run."

"And last, but definitely not least..." he said, his expression suddenly turning serious.

"...is me."

Coach Ben frowned in confusion, wondering what he could mean.

Then, Chunlei stood, facing the professional scorer's table and showing them a hand sign.

"Substitution!"