Ace was a bit surprised but didn't mind sleeping on the floor since he had already accepted that he might end up sleeping on the street.
Vinny: "Hey, try not to make any noise because I don't know if Alvaro is sleeping."
Ace just nodded, and then Vinny opened the door. As soon as the door was fully open, a voice was heard from the other room.
Alvaro: "You're finally back, and by the way, I have a question why is there nothing in your freezer except eggs, and you don't even have bread? How did you expect me to survive on just this?"
Vinny entered the room, looked in the direction of the freezer where Alvaro stood, and replied: "Well, that food wasn't meant for you. It's for me to survive until Saturday. When you live alone, you have to make do with what you have."
Alvaro: "You have to share a bit with me; I am your guest after all. Also, can you lend me a decent outfit for tomorrow since Kobbie and I are going on a two-man mission, so I need to look presentable."
At that moment, Ace entered the room and looked in Alvaro's direction. Their eyes met, and Alvaro immediately threw in a comment.
Alvaro: "Vinny, why is there a shrimp behind you?"
Vinny moved closer to the freezer, took out the eggs, grabbed a pan, and went to the kitchen, replying to Alvaro: "Long story, I found him on the street and couldn't leave him there to waste away. Plus, he wants to get better at basketball, and since I'm not the best person to give advice on how to succeed, I told him to ask you. So here's a perfect opportunity for you two to bond while I make something for dinner."
Alvaro was confused: "Why was he on the street? This took a complete 360° turn."
Vinny: "Ask Ace, let him tell you everything that happened. I'm not going to tell his story for him."
Alvaro walked over to Ace, put an arm around his neck, and said: "What, were you such a failure that your parents kicked you out? And I hear you want to be good at basketball, but first, we need to fix that pathetic body of yours. In this condition, you won't achieve anything, but to be honest, I can't teach you much about technique since I rely mostly on my athleticism."
Vinny overheard this and chimed in: "Yeah, I know you can't teach him anything about technique. You're only here to help him with conditioning and strength because, in this state, he won't be able to play any position. Ideally, he should be a backup point guard so Samuel can fill the wing spot. Your job is to get him strong enough to play a solid 10 minutes of good defense, and we'll work on technique gradually."
Alvaro: "That makes sense. So shrimp, from now on, you won't be a gamer but an athlete because we're starting now. Get down and give me ten push-ups."
Ace was completely bewildered by this conversation; they both seemed far too friendly compared to how they had acted earlier that day. As Ace was lost in his thoughts, Alvaro repeated himself, tapping Ace on the back as a form of motivational support.
Alvaro: "Shrimp, I said ten push-ups."
Ace: "Alright, right away."
Just as Ace started doing push-ups, Vinny finished making dinner and said:
Vinny: "Cut out the nonsense. Nobody in their right mind trains at one in the morning, especially not someone with zero nutrients in their body. That training would be pointless because he couldn't handle a high-intensity session in this state. Eat now and start training tomorrow."
While explaining, Vinny placed three plates on the table containing an omelet stuffed with peppers, tomatoes, and some cheap meat that was close to expiring. The food looked great, and Alvaro and Ace immediately came to sit down, thanked Vinny for the meal, and started eating.
After they ate, Alvaro received a message on his phone, and his entire facial expression changed as he didn't know what to do. He decided to ignore the message for the moment and started a conversation with Vinny to hide his nervousness after reading it.
Alvaro: "Vinny, I wanted to ask, why did you come up with the name 'Big Ticket' for the team?"
Vinny: "Well, it sounded solid to me, and if you want a deeper meaning, it could be that the best player on the team gets a 'ticket' that changes their whole life an entry to the NBA."
Alvaro really liked the deeper meaning of the name, which was clear from his expression. On the other hand, Ace didn't care much about the team name as long as it wasn't something stupid. This was acceptable to him, so he just nodded to show his approval.
Alvaro: "Vinny, how far do you think we can go, and what lineup do you think we should use?"
Vinny took a moment to take a deep breath and answered: "Well, how far we can go depends entirely on us our play will reflect our desire to win. However, there's always that unwanted factor of talent; if we run into a team that outclasses us in every aspect, our desire won't be enough. Although how real talent is as a factor, I'm still not sure. But realistically speaking, we have a solid roster so far: two players at a G-League level (a league for players good enough to get D1 offers but who choose not to go the college route, and many have been drafted into the NBA from this league, this G-league is different from the NBA G-league). We have Hao, who plays for a college, and Daniel and I are slightly below Hao's level. Samuel is also here, with great potential to play D1 after high school, and of course, there's Ace, who is currently the water boy, but we'll make something out of him. As for the lineup, we'll probably start with the most experienced players: me at PG, Daniel at SG, Kobbie at SF, Hao at PF, and you at C. Even though we're undersized, it doesn't matter because you'll make up for it with your athleticism. Plus, defense is the best aspect of your game; you'll be our personal Ben Wallace. Although, I'd still like to find another bench player with your and Hao's height because none of us can really cover those positions."
Alvaro: "I didn't ask for your philosophical take on it; keep those comments to yourself. If you ask me, we can win this tournament, especially now that Kobbie and I are back on the same team. You guys just play your roles, and everything will be perfect."
Their conversation continued late into the night, and after that long discussion, they went to sleep. The next morning, Vinny received a message in the group from Hao that read:
"The preliminary part of the tournament starts in a month."