The entire final had no dull moments.
Because during halftime, the cheerleading squad from Class 3, led by Wu Chun, performed a cute dance, making the male students cheer and jump.
Meanwhile, Zheng Yang, at such a critical moment in the game, let some of her old straight-guy nature slip through—
She barely glanced at the cheerleaders and spent the whole time discussing tactics with Teacher Wang and the players.
After the dance, Wu Chun ran back to the bench, panting, only to find that Zheng Yang hadn’t looked at her at all.
She was so angry she wanted to punch Zheng Yang in the back, but seeing how serious Zheng Yang was, she held back.
The players from Class 8 were generally bigger and stronger than those from Class 3, so Teacher Wang told everyone to play steadily in the second half, pass more, and avoid exhausting one-on-one plays.
Whether it was passing or positioning, Zheng Siyuan, as the point guard, had an indispensable role.
After the tip-off, Siyuan kept an eye on everything, using his rich experience and intuition to direct his teammates’ movements and look for passing opportunities.
Seeing him distracted, the Class 8 defense immediately went for a steal.
Unexpectedly, Siyuan dodged with a crossover dribble and pulled up for a jump shot before the defender could adjust his stance to recover.
That one shot showcased Siyuan’s organization, adaptability, and accuracy, drawing a round of applause.
However, the coach from Class 8 stood steadily on the sidelines, expressionless, and only said, “Execute the plan!”
Zheng Yang felt something was wrong.
Sure enough, from the second ball onward, Siyuan felt increasing pressure because he was always double-teamed.
He instinctively looked for Zhang Zihan’s position in the paint, only to find Zhang Zihan also tightly contained by a large frame.
After barely managing to pass between an opponent’s legs to Li Tong or another player, the defenders who had been trapping him reacted quickly and recovered, affecting the shot.
Siyuan’s passing and scoring were severely limited.
With his passing restricted, Zhang Zihan’s possession rate also dropped.
As a result, Class 3’s two main scorers were essentially neutralized.
The situation became dangerous again.
Not only that, but as Class 8’s primary defensive targets, Siyuan and Zhang Zihan’s mental and physical exertion increased exponentially.
As their stamina ran low, their turnover rate also rose.
Sighs came from Class 3 one after another.
The gap that had nearly been closed widened back to double digits.
After Class 8 scored again, it was 37 to 26.
Zhang Zihan felt helpless, kneeling on the floor and pounding it in frustration.
Zheng Yang was burning with anxiety.
“Teacher, let me in!”
Teacher Wang didn’t refuse this time and directly called a timeout to substitute. The one he took out was Zheng Siyuan.
Class 3’s top scorer was forced off the court, and Class 8 breathed a sigh of relief.
As Zheng Yang and Siyuan passed each other, they high-fived.
She gritted her teeth and said in her heart, ‘Good son, watch your old dad! I’ll show you that the older the ginger, the spicier it gets!’
She was filled with fighting spirit, as if all the pent-up power in her body finally had a chance to be unleashed.
But she could see that Class 8 was physically stronger and had an advantage in power.
She couldn’t go head-to-head, especially since she was a girl.
What was more annoying was that Class 8’s coach also shouted, “Don’t treat her like a girl!”
This largely relieved Class 8’s players of any psychological burden when dealing with Zheng Yang.
But Zheng Yang was even more excited instead.
In a confrontation, the more serious the enemy, the more interesting it is.
She dribbled to the three-point line.
Before the opponents—
Or even her own teammates—
Could react, she smoothly pulled up for a jump shot.
It wasn’t that Class 8 intended to underestimate her, but they simply hadn’t expected this seemingly frail little girl to take a three-pointer directly.
And she made it!
After all, three-pointers require a combination of strength and skill, and even boys have a hard time sinking them.
This three-pointer ignited a long-lost fire in Class 3. Everyone roared and applauded.
“Brother Yang! Brother Yang! Brother Yang!”
The Class 3 students shouted in unison without anyone leading them.
But Zheng Yang didn’t have time to be pleased.
After scoring, she hurried back on defense.
Her height as a girl put her at a disadvantage, but the opponent didn’t go easy and jumped up for a shot right in front of her, sinking a two-pointer.
Zheng Yang gritted her teeth in anger.
‘They really aren’t going easy on me at all.’
With determination, she shot from beyond the arc again.
The opponents didn’t guard her—
Probably the one defending her thought her three-pointer was a fluke and never expected her to take a second one.
She made it again!
“Wow——!”
Even the spectators who didn’t know much about basketball jumped up and cheered.
Among them, Wu Chun jumped the highest.
She knew her little glutinous rice ball was no ordinary girl!
For the third time, Class 8’s defender finally got serious.
However, Zheng Yang was stubbornly determined to take him on.
She faked a move, shook him off, and then pulled up for a jump shot—
She made it! And the opponent fouled!
3+1!
With the free throw also landing, Zheng Yang had scored 10 consecutive points in less than two minutes.
The cheers in the gymnasium were deafening, and even the senior students joined in shouting “Brother Yang!”
At that moment, Zheng Yang’s heart surged with emotion, and she got goosebumps all over.
She felt like a savior, but she glanced at the scoreboard and saw that the gap was only one point.
She didn’t dare get carried away and forcibly suppressed that “savior” feeling.
She knew Class 8 would target her next, just like they did Siyuan, and maybe even more intensely.
Sure enough, Class 8’s coach sent two defenders to guard Zheng Yang, betting that her small stature and short wingspan would make her even more constrained against the same level of defense as Siyuan, and even her fakes would be ineffective.
Zheng Yang held the ball in front of her abdomen, facing the two wall-like defenders.
She faked left then right, shaking one defender and creating a gap between them.
Seizing the opportunity, she slipped through the gap and drove to the basket.
She didn’t care even when her chest brushed directly against the opponent’s body.
This kind of courage, for a girl, even if she hadn’t scored yet, made everyone gasp.
However, before Zheng Yang’s layup ended, another opponent came to block her.
She no longer had the energy to fake again.
But with three opponents defending her, there must be an open teammate somewhere.
On her last step, she made a back pass to Li Tong, who still had stamina.
Li Tong felt that this was his moment to prove himself.
He caught the ball, shuffled two steps into the paint, spun past the opposing center, and hooked the ball into the net.
“Ooh!”
The entire venue erupted in frenzy.
Even Class 8’s spectators could be heard sighing, “Damn, there’s really no way around it.”
In this state, Class 3 began to exchange scores with Class 8, and the game became a stalemate.
But Class 3 was already riding a wave of momentum, with everyone rising to the occasion.
Even the neutral spectators kept cheering for Class 3, and some girls were so excited they were crying while shouting.
Meanwhile, under this pressure, Class 8 grew flustered.
They made two turnovers, giving Class 3 two more opportunities.
On the last play, Zheng Yang feigned a three-point shot, drawing two defenders.
But as she jumped in the air, she pulled her wrist back and passed the ball from under the defender’s armpit to an open Zhang Zihan.
Zhang Zihan, facing an incoming defender, passed to Li Tong.
Li Tong pump-faked and passed back to Zhang Zihan.
Zhang Zihan, holding the ball again and feeling the trust from Li Tong and Zheng Yang, executed a Euro step layup and scored!
The whistle blew.
Buzzer beater!
Class 3 won by a narrow margin of 2 points.
The whole place cheered.
Many senior students even rushed onto the court, half-jokingly vying for Zheng Yang’s autograph.
Zheng Yang laughed—
‘This treatment, am I really a star player now?’
But she didn’t dare get cocky.
She simply waved to the spectators, bowed to acknowledge them, and quickly turned back to find her teammates.
The last play was an assist from her and Li Tong, but it was Zhang Zihan’s buzzer-beater.
As an old ballplayer, Zheng Yang naturally understood the significance of a buzzer-beater in a basketball game.
She hugged Zhang Zihan excitedly, but Zhang Zihan only patted her on the back symbolically, then raised both hands in victory.
Zheng Yang realized it was inappropriate and quickly let go, pretending nothing had happened as she celebrated the victory with the other classmates.
However, even though Zhang Zihan had been gentlemanly earlier, he was already impressed by Zheng Yang’s performance on the court
The idea he had been hesitating about was finally decided at this moment.