"When did you start liking me?"
"I don't know, maybe the first time I saw you."
"Wow, kept it under wraps, huh? What do you like about me?"
"You're beautiful, great figure, great personality."
"So, you're gonna be swept off your feet by the next pretty girl with a nice figure?"
"That won't happen."
"Hmph, men."
...
...
After fooling around for a bit, they continued watching the sunset until it completely disappeared.
Then the lights came on, and the nightlife at Venice Beach kicked off!
Arjun drove Sunita to the Staples Center.
Lakers' Christmas Day game tickets are pretty pricey, but Arjun had some freebies courtesy of the Lakers.
They were a gift from Kupchak.
Kupchak wanted Arjun to keep up a good relationship with the Lakers.
The seats Kupchak provided were right up front.
You can't just buy these tickets with money.
Before the game, Arjun even greeted Kobe, getting a photo of him with Sunita.
Sunita was blushing hard.
It was an exciting day for her.
The atmosphere at the game was electric.
Arjun and Sunita were both thrilled watching the match.
It was their first time watching an NBA game live together.
The vibe at an NBA game is different from NCAA games, especially on Christmas, it's even more intense here.
The only downside was that their team, the Lakers, were way behind in the last quarter with just 1 minute and 10 seconds left.
Kobe was all on his own this game!
There was even a moment when Kobe yelled at the point guard, Smush Parker.
No helping it, Parker was just not cutting it, messing up even basic passes.
It wasn't just Kobe,the fans were also giving Parker a hard time.
At that moment.
The Staples Center camera precisely found Arjun in the crowd.
Arjun was somewhat of a local celebrity in the LA basketball scene.
The Lakers fans all knew him as UCLA's star point guard.
Arjun appeared on the big screen.
The crowd immediately cheered.
"Arjun, we need you!"
"Arjun, we need you!"
"Arjun, we need you!"
Arjun was really popular among the LA fans.
The fans felt that if Arjun were on the court, Kobe wouldn't have been so frustrated.
Arjun stood up and acknowledged the cheering fans.
101 to 86, the Lakers lost cleanly.
Kobe walked back to the locker room with a grim expression.
...
Arjun and Sunita returned to the hotel.
Staying in separate rooms was out of the question,one room was enough, and everything just happened naturally.
...
For Arjun and Sunita, deeply in love, the Christmas holiday was all too brief.
They spent nearly every day together.
Even during training, Sunita was there watching Arjun practice.
Of course, for Westbrook, the holiday seemed endless.
Back home, Westbrook couldn't engage in professional training.
Not being able to train made the days drag on for Westbrook.
Westbrook even returned to school early to practice with Arjun.
After being the third wheel to Arjun and Sunita for two days, Westbrook declared in frustration, "Arjun, I'm gonna find myself a girlfriend too."
Arjun thought Westbrook was just joking.
But during the third practice session together, Westbrook showed up with a girl.
Her name was Sophie, and she played for the UCLA women's basketball team.
...
After Christmas, UCLA continued their winning streak.
Arjun kept up his stellar performance, shining brightly in the college basketball scene.
By February 15th, UCLA had finished their regular season with a jaw-dropping record of 35 wins and no losses.
While undefeated seasons aren't unheard of in NCAA history, going undefeated in the PAC-12 was still pretty remarkable.
After the regular season, it was time for the Conference Tournament.
The tournament was a single-elimination format, but that didn't pose a problem for UCLA.
There were no upsets.
UCLA won their quarterfinal and semifinal games by more than 20 points each.
On February 27th.
UCLA's final opponent was the University of Washington.
The game ended as expected, 71 to 62.
Under the leadership of Arjun and Afflalo, UCLA smoothly clinched the championship title.
An undefeated season and a championship!
Arjun's joining was a reason, but UCLA's inherent strength played a big part too.
Just think, future first-round picks like Collison and Westbrook were sitting on the bench.
That gives you an idea of how strong UCLA's lineup was this year.
The Bruins clinched the championship, and Arjun earned 5 Victory Points.
"UCLA has topped the PAC-12 again."
"This year's UCLA team is more dominant than ever, looking forward to their performance in March Madness!" exclaimed Mike Breen as the championship game concluded.
Ben Howland wasn't new to winning this title, but he was still thrilled.
As Mike Breen shouted, this year's UCLA looked like the number one seed.
Ben Howland had never been so confident about winning a national championship.
Ever since he recruited Arjun to the team, it all seemed destined.
Arjun's stats were locked in at an average of 21.5 points, 8.2 assists, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game.
Arjun was named the PAC-12's MVP for both the regular season and the tournament!
Dual MVPs, the highest honor Arjun had achieved so far in his college career.
At the award ceremony, Arjun stood center stage with Afflalo, lifting the trophy together.
As the player representative, Arjun gave the acceptance speech.
"I need to thank Coach Howland, for allowing a non-basketball major to join the Bruins!"
"He trusted me to start in the first game, and I gave it my all."
"I'm honored to win this league championship with everyone, and I'm thrilled, but what I want to say to everyone is, our goal isn't just this league championship, our goal is to go all the way in March Madness!!"
"There are many league champions in the NCAA, but only the champion of March Madness is unique, and we aim to be that unique one!"
"Also, I want to announce something in advance."
Arjun looked around at his teammates and coaches.
Westbrook gave Arjun a firm look!
"I will be entering this year's draft, taking my talents to the NBA, so this is my last year playing college basketball."
Arjun's public declaration meant there was no turning back.
If a player hires an agent to enter the draft, it also means they can't participate in NCAA events the following year.
...
Arjun's announcement of entering the draft overshadowed many other teams' news of winning their league championships.
Several professional media outlets in India featured this news on their front pages.
Arjun's spectacular performance in the NCAA was no secret in India's basketball circles.
Especially after winning dual MVPs, the number of Indian fans following Arjun exploded.
Fans were increasingly eager to see Arjun in the NBA.
If Arjun could make it to the Indian national basketball team, the combination of Arjun and Satnam had fans dreaming about next year's Olympic Games qualifications!