Chapter 116: Formidable Foe

Not long after Yang Mimi’s departure, Geng Haoshi received a call from Yu Manman.

"Xiao Er, take a taxi to the East District National Gymnasium now... don't be late!" Yu Manman had timed her call perfectly.

Yang Mimi’s leaving had left Geng Haoshi completely soul-stricken. Yu Manman's call, however, acted like a Taoist priest’s talisman, guiding Geng Haoshi—that "walking corpse"—onto the bus heading toward the East District National Gymnasium.

According to the established traditions of the National Collegiate Basketball League, the venues for the final stage rotate among the four districts: East, West, North, and South. This year, it was the East District’s turn to host, meaning all final-stage matches would take place at the East District National Gymnasium.

At 9:56 AM, Geng Haoshi arrived at the gymnasium.

Zhu Di, having just finished his pre-game warm-up, walked over to Geng Haoshi and draped an arm over his shoulder. "Xiao Er, you finally made it!"

Geng Haoshi sat blankly, seemingly deaf to Zhu Di’s voice and oblivious to the arm resting on his shoulder.

"Xiao Er?" Zhu Di waved a hand in front of Geng Haoshi’s face.

"It’s over, Xiao Er has lost his soul!" Zhu Di spread his hands, addressing the other teammates nearby.

Seated on the coaching bench, Yu Manman also noticed Geng Haoshi’s vacant gaze and couldn't help but shake her head. "I suppose we can't count on him for today's game."

Geng Haoshi had only joined the Tiancheng Polytechnic University basketball team last October, serving as a substitute player ever since. However, during the April 15th assessment, where the target was a 45% shooting accuracy, Geng Haoshi achieved the team’s best record with 56%, prompting Yu Manman to promote him to a starting player.

In subsequent training sessions, Geng Haoshi consistently demonstrated speed, vertical leap, and explosive power superior to the other players, which firmly cemented his spot in the starting lineup. Whenever they faced a formidable opponent, Geng Haoshi was almost always among the starters.

Today, the 2017 National Collegiate Basketball League would officially enter its final stage. According to the tournament format, the ten qualifying teams would be divided into five groups to compete simultaneously. Each team would play the other nine teams once, resulting in nine matches per team. After these nine games, the final rankings from first to tenth place would be determined by the net point difference. Thus, to achieve a high ranking in the league, a team had to not only win their matches but also strive to defeat their opponents by the widest possible margins to maximize their net points.

Consequently, every match in the final stage was vital, as each one influenced the ultimate standing.

Compared to last year, the list of the top ten teams reaching the finals remained largely unchanged. The only exception was Lehua National University, which had placed fourth the previous year but was eliminated after being unlucky enough to be placed in the same qualifying group as Jingtian University. The spot vacated by Lehua National University was claimed by this year’s biggest dark horse, Tiancheng Polytechnic University.

Because the nine games of the final stage were scheduled with one day of rest between each match, every team typically fielded their strongest starting lineup to secure the best possible point advantage.

Today was the first game of the 2017 final stage, and Tiancheng Polytechnic University’s opponent was Wuyan University of Science and Technology.

Last year, Wanlong Transportation University had failed to reach the finals precisely because they were grouped with Wuyan University of Science and Technology in the qualifiers.

Earlier, in the knockout stage, if not for that "incredibly lucky" three-pointer Geng Haoshi hit at the last second, Tiancheng Polytechnic University likely would have been eliminated by Wanlong Transportation University.

Yet, this very same Wanlong Transportation University—the team that nearly halted Tiancheng’s run in the knockouts—had been eliminated by Wuyan University of Science and Technology in last year’s qualifiers by a staggering margin of 39 points.

Today, Tiancheng Polytechnic University faced that very same formidable opponent. To stand a chance, they absolutely had to field their strongest lineup. This was why Yu Manman felt such concern when she saw the vacant-eyed Geng Haoshi on the bench.

"Wuyan University of Science and Technology... just the name sounds extraordinary!" Xu Gaofeng remarked, bobbing his head.

"What’s so extraordinary about it? You’re just overthinking it, you pedant!" Zhu Di retorted with disdain.

"Mind your language, keep it civil," Sun Peng quipped from the side.

Before the start of the game, the players of the Tiancheng Polytechnic University basketball team were accustomed to teasing their opponents; it helped them "despise" their rivals mentally while easing their own nervous tension.

While Zhu Di and the others chattered away, Geng Haoshi remained as motionless as a wooden statue. If this were any other time, he would have joined in their nonsense, aiming to "say something shocking or die trying."

Seeing Geng Haoshi’s indifference, Zhu Di sighed and shook his head. "Xiao Er really is a wreck now!"

One minute before the game began, Yu Manman finally announced the starting lineup: center Meng Lang, small forward Zhu Di, power forward Sun Peng, shooting guard Xu Gaofeng, and point guard Zhou Xiaoshan.

The players in this lineup had been the starters even before Geng Haoshi joined the team. Once Geng Haoshi joined and became a starter, he had essentially replaced Xu Gaofeng.

Yu Manman had waited until the final minute to announce the lineup because she had been observing Geng Haoshi’s condition. Only when she was certain he remained in a "stupefied" state did she finalize the roster.

Compared to Geng Haoshi, Xu Gaofeng was inferior in speed, vertical leap, and explosiveness, which was why he had been sidelined. But given Geng Haoshi’s current state, Yu Manman had no choice but to start Xu Gaofeng instead.

At that moment, the players from both teams began to take the court.

"Wuyan, Wuyan, invincible!" "Wuyan, Wuyan, invincible!"...