As the whistle signaled the start of the game, Evan immediately took off with a burst. Thomas looked at the approaching Evan and smirked.
Evan, now very serious, started moving the ball around him—he effortlessly dribbled past Thomas, who didn't even put up a defensive stance.
Noticing this, Evan thought Thomas had completely given up, and he was stupid to think that any logical, sane person would challenge someone on his level, especially with such deadly odds that even pro players would struggle against.
As he approached the hoop, Evan leapt high to end it all in a slam dunk. He smirked and muttered, "It's our win."
As the ball went halfway through the hoop, everyone in the crowd thought it was over. Some of the students and teachers shook their heads as they prepared to leave.
Evan watched in slow motion as the ball was more than halfway through the hoop, adrenaline still coursing through his body. He felt a little nervous; after all, he was still human, pressure and countless gazes could affect anyone.
'I should calm down,' Evan thought to himself, regretting the situation he put himself in. People like to drag others down, especially when they're achieving success. Thomas was probably that type of person.
But before Evan could calm down completely, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a fast flash with a golden hue at the top. 'What?' Evan startled.
Hadn't Thomas already lost? Well, not yet, as the ball did not completely pass through the hoop. But 'how can you stop a ball that has gone in like 80% of the way?'
With his eyes wide, Evan watched as five fingers, from under the hoop, reached the basketball, and it was now stuck in a deadlock for less than half a second.
The ball sandwiched between his and Thomas's fingers. Then, it was pushed upwards.
"Wh-What!?" Evan was too shocked to see Thomas cover half the court in a couple of seconds and force the ball, which should've been going downwards, to shift its momentum upwards.
After being in the air for two seconds, the ball flew out of the hoop and hit the ground—'It did not go through' was the only thing Evan knew from this confusing ordeal as he fell onto the cold court floor, too shocked to move.
He couldn't believe the events unfolding before him. He looked back with wide eyes as Thomas picked up the ball and dashed away with astonishing speed.
Evan instinctively knew this; he had faced players faster than him before. But this one was the fastest he had ever seen and faced.
The crowd gasped in shock, even the coaches couldn't believe what they saw as their mouths dropped to the floor.
"Di-Did you see that?"
"Ye-Yeah."
"What was that?"
Thomas, already stepping into his opponent's half, came face to face with Ryan, who was shocked to see him beat Evan and approach him with lighting speed.
But Ryan was determined to defend with whatever it took and wouldn't let him pass easily.
Thomas, his face still full of confidence, smiled and began to make wild, provoking moves, threatening to go left or right, taking advantage of his speed.
Ryan kept track of his movements until Thomas rushed forward. Startled, Ryan took a step back to counter whatever Thomas was planning, but Thomas suddenly threatened to go right to swoop past him, forcing Ryan to move to the right.
With a full smile on his face, Thomas muttered, "Too easy," and rapidly changed his direction to the left.
Ryan, not realizing he was led into a trap, tried to follow Thomas's movements and turn left, but instead fell onto the ground.
"Ah," was the sound that escaped his mouth.
"OOOOOHHHHHHHH!" The crowd recovered from their shock and cheered as they watched how easily Thomas dealt with Ryan.
After all, it was human nature to cheer for the underdog, who seemed to be coming back from what everyone thought was already a lost cause, suddenly close to scoring his first point.
"Why did he fall on the floor?" Luna, the brown-haired girl, asked as she eyed her friend.
"He simply lost his center of balance," Val explained calmly. Pausing for a brief moment as she cast a side glance at Ryan, who was sitting on the ground, she spoke again.
"Thomas made him move multiple times, shifting his momentum from left to right and back again, causing him to lose his balance and footing. You can see the results for yourself."
"Hmmm, that makes sense, I guess. But Val, how did you keep track of all his movements from here, this distance? Also, when it all went down in a second or less?"
To that, Val just shrugged and smiled. "Who knows? Maybe I have good eyesight."
Back on the court, as Thomas easily got past Ryan, he came face to face with a black-haired student with glasses. He wasn't very tall, unlike his previous two opponents.
'Hmm?' Thomas, who was rushing towards the hoop, slowed down to take a better look at the person guarding it.
The crowd, seeing Thomas slowing down, erupted in cheers, shouting his name.
"Thomas! Thomas! Thomas!"
But Thomas didn't slow down because he was taking it easy. No, he was a little confused as he looked back at the student with glasses. He... He had a blank expression on his face?
He looked at him straight in the eyes, his pupils ever so slightly moving, making it seem as if he was analyzing the slightest change of expression in Thomas's face.
Thomas had utterly destroyed his previous two opponents. Even the experienced coaches couldn't hide their shocked expressions.
But this student had no reaction, his body calm as one can get, as if he were merely standing and sightseeing.
'Is he gonna let me pass through?' Thomas, bouncing the ball, seemed to think so. He then, with a burst, took off again and turned to the left side, avoiding his expressionless opponent and approached the hoop.
As he got past him and was about to jump, he then saw stretched out hands reaching for the ball. Fast? No, calling it fast would be an understatement. It not only equaled his level of speed but maybe was slightly faster.
Noticing this, Thomas was a little surprised, but nothing that would worry him. In fact, no matter how fast or strong his opponent was, he couldn't be faster and stronger than himself.
Thomas whistled and muttered, "Oh?" then used his body as a shield to cover the ball before stopping and turning 180 degrees, causing the position of the ball to be in the opposite direction of the outstretched hand. Then, he slightly pushed the opponent out of the way, jumped, and slammed the ball down the hoop.
'1 - 0, only 4 more to go.'
"OOOOOHHHHH!"
"Insane! He just beat all three of them? Just like that?"
-Clap, Clap, Clap.
As he came back down, letting go of the hoop from which he was hanging, he heard cheers, praises, and claps directed towards himself from the crowd.