The game ended

Tan Xuguang couldn't hear 88's heartfelt apology.

He followed his teammates to the rest area and sat down, took a few sips of water, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He slumped in his seat to recover his strength while listening to Li Fei lay out their tactics for the next half.

"Feng Xing's offense is too aggressive. We need to contain him later, and their center too. With him guarding the boards, it's hard for us to score..."

Li Fei focused on explaining the countermeasures he'd come up with, but his gaze kept drifting toward Tan Xuguang.

For some inexplicable reason, he suddenly felt he should ask Tan Xuguang for his opinion.

"Xuguang, tell us what you think."

Being behind for the moment had shaken the Pluto players' confidence to varying degrees.

They had been listening to their captain with glum faces, but when he suddenly turned the discussion over to Tan Xuguang, they all instinctively looked his way.

The instant they saw Tan Xuguang, they all rubbed their chests, feeling their hearts beat a little faster.

Seeing everyone staring at him so intensely, Tan Xuguang assumed Canghai had crushed their spirits and they wanted him to say a few words to boost their confidence.

So he cleared his throat and decided to fire them up.

"I don't have much to say, Captain."

"Canghai Academy has never beaten us. All they've done this time is add Feng Xing. Their lineup is no different from the last game otherwise. We beat them last time, and we're not losing this time either."

"They only pulled ahead in the first half because I was being shut down, which gave them an opening. Don't worry. I'll crush them in the second half."

With that, he lifted his chin and flashed a boldly confident grin.

It was only a few short remarks, yet the Pluto players grew more excited with every word, as though bewitched.

Their hearts beat faster and faster. Seeing Tan Xuguang's confidence filled them with pride too, and they shouted, fired up:

"You're right! We're definitely not losing!"

"It's only Canghai! If we beat them once, we can beat them again!"

"Don't worry, Xuguang! We'll follow your lead and crush them together!"

There was no trace left of their dejection over falling behind. Their eyes seemed to burn with flames, ready to follow Tan Xuguang onto the court and sweep away all opposition.

Tan Xuguang was a little bewildered. He felt he'd fired them up a bit too much.

Otherwise, why did everyone on his Pluto team look so pumped, as though they were about to charge out and start a fight?

And could someone please tell him why everyone was staring at him with such inexplicable excitement?

Wait.

Tan Xuguang looked at their expressions, his face turning sickly.

Why the hell are you all blushing?!

He was starting to lose it. Somehow, he felt he'd wandered onto the wrong set.

Behind their rest area, Jiang Nian watched the newly invigorated players and let out a long breath of relief.

Thank goodness those buffs worked.

Tan Xuguang will just have to suffer a little and endure everyone's ardent stares for five minutes.

Jiang Nian pressed her palms together and silently repented for what she'd done, then headed onto the court to perform, relieved of her burden.

Five minutes will fly by.

This is the romance channel anyway. It'll be fine~

The cheerleading squads from Pluto Academy and Canghai Academy took up opposite sides of the court.

From a distance, the spectators saw one half awash in Pluto's fiery, dazzling red and the other in Canghai Academy's quiet, composed blue.

Canghai Academy opened the performance. Dressed in deep blue skirts, the squad kept shifting formations to the music, their movements synchronized, crisp, and powerful.

They performed all sorts of difficult moves to the booming music, drawing cheer after cheer from the audience. As the atmosphere grew more charged, they bent down into splits, giving Canghai Academy's morale a tremendous boost.

After their spectacular performance ended, Canghai's music faded, and Pluto's bright, energetic signature music rang out, marking the start of their own showcase.

Tong Chuhe and Jiang Nian led the way, flashing confident smiles as they danced through a lively, ever-changing routine with pom-poms in hand.

Their combination moves varied constantly, and their dancing was cool and effortless. Like butterflies flitting playfully across the court, they left the audience marveling.

Just as the Pluto cheerleaders struck their ending pose and everyone in the arena thought the performance was over, a third song suddenly began.

The cheerleaders from Pluto and Canghai Academy quickly joined together to perform the day's third dance.

With its vibrant costumes, graceful dancing, and lively beat, the routine brought the atmosphere to its peak. The spectators couldn't help swaying and dancing along, swept up in the performance.

The cheerleaders' halftime show was truly breathtaking, delivering a stunning visual spectacle brimming with passion, energy, and movement.

It was distinctive and unforgettable.

Both teams were encouraged by the performance, and the second half turned fiercely competitive from the moment it began.

Watching the players battle for possession, drenched in sweat with flushed cheeks, the spectators unconsciously held their breath, their eyes wide.

On the court, Tan Xuguang was dripping with sweat. Holding the ball in both hands, he swung his arms from side to side, using successive fakes to slip past two defenders. He dribbled forward, took three lunging strides, then leaped into the air and sank a two-pointer.

After playing three straight quarters, the players were growing increasingly tired.

Sweat ran down their foreheads and into their eyes, forcing them to slow down at the start of the fourth quarter and recover a little strength.

Feng Xing bent at the waist, dribbling back and forth and from side to side. Watching the Pluto players double-teaming him, he darted his eyes around, searching for a chance to break through.

He suddenly quickened his pace, cutting left and right as he broke through two layers of defense. Reaching the basket, he sprang up, and the ball traced a beautiful arc through the air before dropping cleanly through the hoop.

The score was tied again, with only a minute and thirty seconds left in the game.

After grabbing the ball, Tan Xuguang immediately passed it to Li Fei. Unfortunately, it bounced away and was snatched by Feng Xing as he leaped up.

Feng Xing shot as soon as he caught the ball, putting Canghai Academy two points ahead.

Another frantic chase followed. Just as Canghai Academy looked set to score again, Pluto's center seized his chance, jumped up, and stole the ball, then sent a pass across half the court straight to Tan Xuguang.

Thirty seconds remained.

Tan Xuguang spun around as soon as he caught the ball. Seeing how little time remained, he jumped straight up from where he stood and raised his hands. A textbook three-pointer swished through the net, and the final whistle rang throughout the arena.

The score was 67-68. Pluto Academy had won.

After a brief silence, deafening cheers erupted.

"Pluto Academy is number one!"