“Three, two, one!” The countdown reverberated over the stadium, almost taking its roof off. The instant the basketball touched the ground, the School of Geodesy and Geomatics (SGG) team declared victory with crowning glory, with cheers and applause mingling and lingering around the stadium accompanied by a great deal of beating drums. It was the last fight of the Tengfei Cup, a grand basketball game held annually at WHU, of which this year’s final fell on May 13th. For this moment, the team of SGG had waited for a whole year.

The team of SGG celebrating victory

This time last year, the team lost the championship after three intensive games on the same court in Zall Stadium, but this time they did it. “Moments of last year’s final have been hovering in my mind, and now that we have won, I can finally be free of all that stress,” said the starting point guard of the team and one of its meritorious players, Liu Zhengrong. This year was his last year competing for the Tengfei Cup.

Players on drive

“The last minutes when we were in the lead and the buzzer rang, I almost couldn’t wait to celebrate with my teammates. My mind was occupied with the scenario of us raising the championship trophy,” said Dilyar, the team leader. “This season was tough. At the start, our team was not fully staffed, and we were disturbed by consequent injuries which led to several losses in the middle of the season. However, we constantly improved our competitiveness so that it peaked during the finals, and we won the championship after being through all of this,” Dilyar added. “This season, we made 100% effort during training and each game. Because of the consecutive tournament schedule, many of our teammates had to play with minor injuries. But every time when we were on the court, we had nothing to reserve. The whole world will back you up if you are determined to pursue your target!” Zhang Lizhi, one of the team members, said.

Flag of the SGG team

Team members did extend much effort to improve their game performance. Meanwhile, guidance from the coach, Shi Ziyang, behind the wonderful tactical execution on the court should not be ignored. Shi Ziyang said, “One thing I have to declare is that I do not pay much attention to offensive tactics, and the players’ brilliant offensive performances should thus be attributed to their basketball talents and overall comprehension of tactics. We endeavor to construct our defensive system during training time, and every practice starts with fundamental defensive skills. We have six different defensive strategies, which enable us to deal with different types of opponents.” This year Tengfei Cup took a new game format of win-or-go-home (best of three during the last year). Coach Shi specially mentioned the new game format, which requires better tactical accomplishment, “Win-or-go-home means we have no retreat so that the coach needs to strain on the spot and adjust tactical deployment quickly. Nevertheless, daily routines and training play the most important role in winning the championship.”

The team of SGG

The moment they won the championship, all the injuries and frustration along the way were forgotten. After a perfect journey, some players have to leave the team because of graduation. “I am glad that I achieved my dream during my last season. Thanks to our strength in numbers, my five-year career has a happy ending,” said Liu Zhengrong. While some other rookies envision the future, Huang Maoyuan, one of the freshmen said, “I have made up my mind to diversify my offensive skills and reinforce my offense with the ball because I am not satisfied with only being a shooter. This is what we call heritage, and this is why we play basketball.”

What contributes to the triumph of this team? It should be an endless, continuous endeavor based on their extraordinary talents. It should be the countless days and nights spent running, dribbling, shooting, and lay-ups with sweat sprinkling the court. It should be a year’s experience and toughening after the taste of failure. It should also be a sense of faith in each other to pull through all the diversity and embrace subsequent success.

Group photo of the champion team

Tengfei Cup, which means ‘taking off’, has accompanied students of Wuhan University through many a spring, bringing youth, passion, and a special touch to Luojia Hill, attaching wings to the dream of all basketball enthusiasts. As long as the basketball is thrown up in the air and the whistle keeps ringing, the spirit of struggle continues, and youth is still sparkling like the noonday shining sun.

Photo by Physical Education Department of WHU & Physical Education Department of the School of Geodesy and Geomatics, Lin Yangjie and Peng Zhuo

Edited by Li Jing, Qin Zehao, Liang Tong, Zhang Yilin, Sylvia, Xi Bingqing