"A dunk?!"
"What kind of middle schooler can dunk?!"
Wild reactions were all heard among the gym as they were still shocked by Akihiko's dunk.
"What a freak." Nash commented as he shook his head.
Rosewood Academy's team were in low-spirits after that dunk. The game basically ended with a blowout of 78-109.
Various schools were now alerted of a new competitor. Akihiko who was the cause of this was walking around the campus. After his game ended, Akihiko wanted to take a stroll so he did just that.
The tournament was held in two different gyms for each bracket. As he walked through the unfamiliar corridor, he walked past someone.
'That kid seems so familiar.'
He turned to look back and saw the words "Montverde Academy" engraved to their warm up suits.
'So it's him.'
'Ben Simmons, the future star of the Shanghai Sharks. Other than that, Montverde Academy aswell as IMG Academy are the main picks for the winner of the tournament.
Akihiko shook his head as he went back to the gym. From there, he sat down near his teammates and his coach.
They then began strategizing for the next game.
...
The next day..
Their opponent for today was nothing noteworthy.
They quickly took care of them as they headed for the next round. And for the next round, they were met by their toughest competition yet, Canyon Hills Junior High.
As they walked back to their locker room, they saw them: their next opponents. They also turned to look at them, but no words were exchanged between the two as they went back to their respective locker rooms.
The Game Day...
"Today, you guys are going against a tough opponent. Despite them being a public school, they're an extremely solid team. But I'm confident in our match-ups. Now secure the win!" Alexandra announced
"Yeah" The players of Blackstone Academy were hyped up as they made their way towards the main court. There were more people than usual seeing two strong teams go at it.
On the other side of the court..
"Hey Bro, I heard our opponents are strong. Especially that Akihiko guy." A guy of similar height with Akihiko said
His brother who was of 5"8 then replied
"Nah bro, they're all just another bunch of flashy kids."
Suddenly someone interrupted them as they said
"Your brother LiAngelo's right. Those kids got nothing on you, my sons."
The two brothers gave a wry smile seeing their father acting like that.
..
The two teams went their way towards the court for the tip-off.
They all stared at each other.
It was Adebayo against Jason for the tip-off
When the referee blew the whistle, the two players jumped. Unexpectedly, Adebayo won the tip-off.
"Jason lost?!" Nash exclaimed, he was the guy that knew Jason the most. So he was surprised at the result.
While they were still in shock, Lonzo already passed the ball to LiAngelo who ran to the paint. LiAngelo then simply did an open lay-up.
The first point went to them as Blackstone Academy was unable to response due to shock.
"Move your asses!" Akihiko exclaimed as he received the inbound pass. When he reached front court, he was met by LiAngelo as he tightly guarded Akihiko.
"Get that boy!" Their father said from the bench.
LiAngelo, compared to his other two brothers was often called the worst out of the bunch. But people tend to forget how good he was back in High School.
Akihiko dribbled the ball slowly for a moment. Then suddenly, Akihiko did a crossover as he began to drive with explosive speed. But he was shocked to see LiAngelo still on him. Akihiko then did a lay-up as LiAngelo raised his arms whils he jumped to contest it. But Akihiko turned his hand to the other side as he passed it to Jason, who was the nearest person available.
Jason then caught the ball as he simply laid the ball in. Adebayo was too far from Jason so he wasn't able to contest the shot.
The game was tied as Lonzo received the inbound pass. Nash was there to guard him as Lonzo immediately drove to the paint. Nash was there right on him. But Lonzo passed the ball to Adebayo, who posted up against Jason
The two then went at it as Adebayo then placed his weight on Jason. But Jason was still able to hang-on. Adebayo then turned as he went for the hook shot. Jason was able to react in time as he contested the shot. The ball bounced on the rim a couple of time's.
It then bounced off as the two people went for the rebound. But the two were shocked as a smaller figure got the rebound, it was Akihiko. He then threw the ball full court for it to be catched by Mike. Mike scored by doing a open lay-up, giving Blackstone Academy the lead.
The next possession then went by as Adebayo redeemed himself by scoring a hook shot against Jason.
Nash then passed the ball to Akihiko as they went for revenge.
"This time, you won't stop me." as Akihiko said that, he drove last LiAngelo.
"Stop him!" LaVar screamed as he knew what Akihiko was capable of.
But instead of driving to the rim, Akihiko did the most logical action which was to pull-up from mid range.
*Swooosh*
The ball went in
Lonzo then got the ball as he neared Nash. From there, what Lonzo did shocked Nash. Lonzo then pulled-up from almost half court.
"No way, with that ugly-looking jump shot?" Henry said in disbelief
*Swoosh* the ball went in for an easy three.
..
Nash was then in front of Lonzo as he dribbled the ball slowly.
Nash then went towards the left side, Lonzo reacted but he fell down as Jason was there for a screen.
Nash then shot the ball for 3 points.
"Nice shot!" Jason said as he accompanied Nash back to defense.
Lonzo then dribbled the ball slowly as he reached front court. This time, Nash was so closs to him. He then passed the ball to LiAngelo, but he was shocked because Akihiko intercepted the ball.
Akihiko then proceeded to run to the paint.
Seeing it was open, he jumped as he slammed the ball right on the rim.
*Buzzzzzzzzzzz*
At the same time, the first quarter ended with a score of 30-30.