The ball spun around the rim while Ace anxiously waited to see if it would go in. At that moment, Hao started running toward the basket, and as he got close, he jumped, but fortunately for him, the ball had already rolled into the hoop, meaning they scored another point scored by none other than Ace.
Daniel and Samuel couldn't believe it, but to their dismay, Ace turned toward them and made a "shush" gesture with his hands, which visibly angered them, especially Alvaro, because the point was scored due to his mistake.
Hao immediately approached Ace and said, "See? You managed to score a point. This shows that it's not impossible for someone like you to play basketball. Everyone has to start somewhere, and this is your moment showing you can play too. Don't worry, we'll both be on the team."
These words hit Ace, and he simply smiled and said, "This is nothing; let's keep going."
At that moment, Alvaro realized that they weren't so bad after all there was just a misunderstanding when they first met. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to beat them. He then called over to Kobbie and said:
Alvaro: "No more mistakes. Now let's dominate this game until the end. The small fry and the tall guy aren't bad guys they are actually chill, so focus entirely on finishing this."
Kobbie nonchalantly nodded, and the two of them returned to their starting positions.
Meanwhile, Hao told Ace about a new play they would try this time. "Listen, Ace, since they'll double-team me again, I'll move to the side where Kobbie is. When I go that way, they'll follow me, but you just need to stand in front of Alvaro. He'll probably knock you over, but that's okay; you'll still set a screen. You might not set a perfect screen the first time, but since we're playing street basketball, you can't get an offensive foul. When Alvaro bumps into you, it'll give me enough time to make a good drive and dunk the ball."
Ace: "Got it."
While all this was happening, Vinny quietly left the court and disappeared from sight.
Hao returned to the 3-point line after discussing the plan with Ace. Just as expected, Alvaro and Kobbie were in front of him again, as predicted. Now it was up to Ace to execute his part of the plan. Kobbie was on the left side, which meant Hao would drive to the left. He started driving, and Kobbie immediately followed, while Alvaro took off a moment later. But when Alvaro started running, he bumped into something he looked around and saw Ace on the ground. He realized that Ace had set a screen, even though it wasn't perfect. That didn't matter at this moment because Hao was now only guarded by Kobbie, whom he outmaneuvered with a spin move. After the spin, Hao jumped with both feet and dunked the ball, scoring another point for his team. Hao went to help Ace up, but Alvaro had already offered his hand and helped him to his feet, saying:
Alvaro: "Not bad for a shrimp."
Scoreboard:
Alvaro & Kobbie 8:4 Hao & Ace
Ace didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. As Hao walked by Ace, he whispered in his ear, "Same plan again." Hao returned to the 3-point line and was once again double-teamed, giving him hope that they could execute the same play again. Hao started from his initial position and drove left toward Kobbie, who immediately followed. But this time, Alvaro didn't follow them; instead, he headed straight for the basket. This left Ace out of position, and he failed to read the play correctly. Hao noticed this, so he decided to drive and dunk the ball, but Alvaro caught up to him and blocked the shot. The ball hit the backboard, and both Alvaro and Hao jumped for the rebound. Alvaro was more stable in the air and grabbed the rebound. Kobbie was already in the corner on the right side, so Alvaro passed the ball to him, leaving Kobbie completely open as Ace had run toward Alvaro without noticing Kobbie standing alone in the corner. Kobbie shot the ball from behind the 3-point line, but as he released it, he felt it wouldn't go in, so he immediately started running toward the basket to catch the rebound. When Hao saw this, he knew Kobbie would miss the shot, so he jumped a few seconds before Alvaro, giving him the advantage to grab the rebound. Even though Hao got the rebound, he was immediately double-teamed, leaving him with only one option a mid-range fadeaway shot. He pushed off Kobbie with his elbow, jumped back, and at the highest point of his jump, released the ball. But Kobbie managed to contest the shot, reducing Hao's accuracy. As Hao watched to see if the ball would go in, Kobbie ran to the 3-point line in line with the basket. This time, Ace followed him, but the ball hit the backboard. Alvaro grabbed the rebound and immediately threw a long pass to Kobbie, who was standing at his favorite spot. But this time, Ace was in front of him. That didn't stop Kobbie; he got serious, jab-stepped right, and Ace didn't fall for it, so Kobbie returned to his initial position and prepared to shoot. At that moment, Hao started running toward him to cover for Ace. As Kobbie started to rise, Ace jumped, but Kobbie pump-faked again, allowing him to sidestep right and get a completely open shot, which he took. He sidestepped right, took the perfect shooting form, and at the peak of his jump, released the ball. Hao jumped to contest the shot, but he was too far away. Kobbie just turned around, raised three fingers, signaling a three-pointer, and the next thing you heard was a swish. Daniel and Samuel immediately started hyping Kobbie up.
Daniel said to Kobbie: "Kobbie, this is a top 10 aura moment."
Kobbie just said to Alvaro, "Pass me the ball; let's finish this with our usual play."
Hao approached Ace and said, "It's not your fault, don't stress over this. But this time, we're changing tactics we'll both double-team Kobbie from the start, instead of you coming from behind like before. We won't lose yet."
Ace: "I'm not stressed; I know I'm not good enough to play against you guys yet. But with your help, I've been able to contribute, which makes me really happy."
Kobbie stood at the 3-point line with Hao on his right and Ace on his left. This pleased Kobbie because it made their play much easier. Kobbie immediately drove left, with Ace following closely. But when Hao tried to follow them, he ran into a perfectly set screen by Alvaro. Hao lost his balance, giving Alvaro time to sprint a few steps toward the basket. When he was close enough, he jumped, and the ball was perfectly passed to him. As Alvaro ran to the basket, Kobbie drove left, and when he saw Alvaro jump, he simply sent the ball for an alley-oop. Their usual tactic was the alley-oop play. When Alvaro caught the ball in the air, he dunked it, ending the game in a poetic moment the game began with an alley-oop, and it ended the same way.
Final Scoreboard:
Alvaro & Kobbie 11:4 Hao & Ace