Chapter 79: The Semifinals (Part Five)

After that, neither side bothered with tactics—each played their own way. Dongshan High simply forced their way inside, finishing with layups, close-range shots, or dunks. Qingshui No. 1, on the other hand, relied on perimeter screens, running off the ball for open looks, and shooting from outside. The former maximized their height and physical advantage; the latter showcased their technical prowess to the fullest.

Faced with a huge disadvantage in height and weight, Qingshui No. 1 could barely even contest shots under the basket—a 2.07-meter and a 2-meter player stood guard there. Takayama Tai and Wang Tiezhu opted for the safest options: bank shots or dunks, which a single defender like Jiu Wu simply couldn’t stop. Dongshan High scored on five consecutive possessions, one of them an "and one," making Jiu Wu even more hesitant to raise his arms and contest. In contrast, Qingshui No. 1 succeeded on four of their five possessions: Zhao Zhongshi made both his hook shots, and Lin Nan went two-for-three from the field.

After all, the bank shot, in an almost uncontested scenario, was virtually a guaranteed basket. But no one can shoot jumpers and guarantee a make every time. Although Qingshui No. 1 was only down by two at this point, playing this way would only widen the gap as the game went on.

Seeing this, Coach Gorilla decisively called a timeout and subbed Jiu Wu out for Li Qing. He decided to forgo having a center or fighting for rebounds, instead betting everything on outside shooting. In the VIP suite, both Yao Ming and Lin Lang nodded in approval—this was the right choice. Su Qun also commented at this moment, “Qingshui No. 1’s tactical choice is correct—decisive and clear-headed. Facing such overwhelming size, even with Jiu Wu on the court, it's hard for them to grab rebounds. They might as well take a gamble—bet it all on the three-point percentage.”

Just as he said, Qingshui No. 1’s players spread the floor, all standing beyond the arc, leaving the paint completely empty. The Dongshan High defenders had no choice but to extend their own defense, stretching their zone to try and contest the threes. Qingshui No. 1’s new formation produced its first shot when Lin Nan passed to a wide-open Li Qing, who missed. But no one was discouraged; instead, they immediately pressed Dongshan High as soon as they inbounded the ball.

This was also part of their “small-ball” strategy—using their speed advantage to harass Dongshan High while they were still in the backcourt, applying pressure before they could cross half-court, because stopping them in the frontcourt was impossible.

The tactic worked quite well. Wu Qiong managed to barely hold on despite Lin Nan’s relentless attempts to strip the ball, but when Li Qing closed in for a double team, Wu Qiong could only hug the ball tightly to his chest, searching for a passing option. Lin Nan and Li Qing stuck close, hands raised, obstructing Wu Qiong’s vision and closing off his passing lanes. The Dongshan High players, now in the paint, saw that Wu Qiong hadn't even crossed half-court and was already trapped, so they rushed over to help. The other three Qingshui No. 1 players adeptly blocked their paths.

It took a while before Wang Tiezhu managed to get in front of Wu Qiong, took the ball from his grasp, and tried to bring it up the court. But Lin Nan and Li Qing swarmed him immediately, pressing hard. Wang Tiezhu glanced up and saw Takayama Tai, smartly making his way to the basket. Knowing the twenty-four second clock was running out, Wang Tiezhu hurriedly lobbed the ball to Takayama Tai.

But thanks to Lin Nan and Li Qing’s pressure, and his own rushed delivery, the pass was off target. Luo Si jumped in and intercepted it. Seeing this, Lin Nan dashed upcourt with a speed that left Dongshan High’s retreating defenders far behind—his 100-meter in eleven seconds was on full display. Luo Si fired a long pass, Lin Nan caught it, banked it in.

The score was tied.

In the final two minutes of the first quarter, Dongshan High managed, with great effort, to cross half-court once and scored a basket.

Then Li Qing lived up to expectations, draining a second three-pointer. Qingshui No. 1 took the lead by one point.

After a short break, the second quarter resumed. Qingshui No. 1 kept their lineup unchanged, while Dongshan High subbed out Xu Zhanpeng and Chen Yutian for two shorter point guards. Coach Zhang Jiafei of Dongshan High knew exactly what he was doing—Takayama Tai and Wang Tiezhu were enough for the inside; Qingshui No. 1 couldn’t stop them. The key was to get the ball safely across half-court and to guard against the opponent’s three-point shooting.

But they forgot about Qingshui No. 1’s “hook-shot god,” Zhao Zhongshi. Faced with defenders about his own height, Zhao Zhongshi unleashed his hook shot with abandon. The defense offered almost no resistance, and every time Lin Nan brought the ball up the court, he passed it straight to Zhao Zhongshi. The big man hooked in basket after basket, like a machine executing flawless instructions, emotionless and precise.

Meanwhile, the rest of Qingshui No. 1 poured their energy into relentless pressing and double-teaming, leaving the two new Dongshan High point guards miserable.

Coach Zhang Jiafei was dumbfounded—since when had simply bringing the ball across half-court in basketball become so hard?

Su Qun and Yang Yi, the commentators, were silent. In their view, this tactic could work for Qingshui No. 1 in the short term, but the physical toll would be even heavier than in their previous game against Jiangyuan High. How would they last through the second half?

Zhang Jiafei understood this too, which is why he didn’t change his tactics. Only Coach Gorilla on the bench, and Yao Ming and Lin Lang in the VIP box, smiled knowingly. The three of them all knew that after months of training, Qingshui No. 1’s stamina was monstrous. Recently, Yao Ming had learned that this was all thanks to herbal medicine. He couldn't help but admire Lin Lang again—this man always seemed to do things of great significance for Chinese basketball.

At the same time, Yao Ming felt a twinge of regret. If only this miraculous herbal remedy had been used in basketball sooner, maybe he could have played a few more years.

Back to the court. Twelve minutes passed quickly, and before anyone knew it, the first half was over. Qingshui No. 1 led by ten points.

But Zhang Jiafei wasn’t worried, because he saw all the Qingshui No. 1 players utterly exhausted, especially Lin Nan and Zhao Zhongshi, who supported each other as they left the court. He’d just seen these two running everywhere, scoring the most, always in the thick of action.

Little did he know, what he saw was all a façade.

This was the “exit strategy” Coach Gorilla had assigned them during the first-quarter break. Worried that Zhao Zhongshi might not be convincing enough, he specifically had Lin Nan help him off the court. Jiu Wu, watching from the bench, couldn’t help but smile to himself. Maybe Li Qing, Luo Si, and Zhu Bo really were tired, but for Lin Nan and Zhao Zhongshi, exhaustion simply did not exist. No one had ever seen those two get tired.

Soon, the third quarter began. Lin Nan had fully transformed into an Oscar-worthy actor, completely immersed in his role. He timed Zhao Zhongshi’s offensive touches carefully, spacing them out every two minutes to maintain the ruse. Each time Lin Nan took a jump shot, his face twisted in exaggerated effort, as if he was summoning every ounce of strength, his complexion flushed red. He even faked a fall during a steal attempt, pretending to be out of energy.

Coach Zhang Jiafei sat on the sidelines, watching Lin Nan grit his teeth and refuse to give up, his face drawn tight with strain. Zhang couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for this boy—only fifteen, yet possessed of such formidable willpower.

And so, by the end of the third quarter, Qingshui No. 1 led by twelve—a margin Lin Nan had deliberately kept. When Lin Nan left the court, he collapsed to the floor, waving for Wang Jinsong and Jiu Wu to come help him up. Seeing this, Zhang Jiafei nodded in satisfaction. He even felt a twinge of guilt—had he really pushed such a young man to such exhaustion? Lin Nan looked even more worn out than Tiramisu had the previous day.

Still, Zhang Jiafei quickly steeled his heart. Sports are fair; bringing out your best is the greatest respect for your opponent!

On the commentary bench, Yang Yi remarked, “It looks like Lin Nan from Qingshui No. 1 won’t be able to play in the fourth quarter! Can Dongshan High seize this opportunity to close the gap and win in the end?”

Hearing this, Zhang Jiafei brimmed with confidence, feeling as if the light of victory was within reach. Yet when he glanced again at Lin Nan sitting on the bench, surrounded by teammates massaging and pounding his back, his eyes welled with tears. He wondered: Would Lin Nan really try to play the fourth quarter in this condition?

In the stands, fans from both the north and south admired the boy’s tenacity. Only Li Chuan was puzzled: he remembered Lin Nan never showing signs of fatigue in previous games—was he really that tired just now? He turned to his friend, whose eyes were moist from emotion, and asked, “Don’t you think there’s something a bit off about Lin Nan?” His friend snapped back, “What’s wrong with you? Lin Nan’s already exhausted—what more do you want from him?”

Seeing his friend didn’t get his meaning, Li Chuan stared hard at Lin Nan. Even from far away, he thought Lin Nan looked a bit like his father, the CEO. It was the same look his dad had when negotiating a business deal.

Li Chuan shook his head, ridding himself of such odd thoughts. How could watching a passionate basketball game remind him of the cunning world of business?

The fourth quarter began. Lin Nan, step by step, walked onto the court. Dongshan High had the first possession and scored two points. Then it was Qingshui No. 1’s turn to attack, with Lin Nan bringing the ball up. Wu Qiong, tasked with guarding him, looked at Lin Nan’s heaving chest and asked, “Doesn’t Qingshui No. 1 have any subs? Do you really have to play?”

Suddenly, Lin Nan’s expression changed; he didn’t answer. He’d noticed that Takayama Tai and Wang Tiezhu under the basket had both let their guard down. Lin Nan knew the time had come. He shed his earlier sluggishness, his movements becoming sharp and explosive. With a familiar crossover, he left the still-stunned Wu Qiong behind, then shot toward the basket at lightning speed, catching Takayama Tai and Wang Tiezhu completely off guard. Lin Nan soared high, unleashing a thunderous tomahawk dunk.

With a resounding bang, he slammed the ball through the rim and hung from it with both hands.

Everyone was stunned!