Scrolling even more on multiple social media platforms, he found quite a few posts and videos about him. The most interesting one was that the Philippine version of CNN had featured his game against Concordia in their news, dubbing him the first pure blooded Filipino to be able to make an NBA draft.
After about an hour more he started feeling tired and decided to sleep.
About a week from now, it was finally time for the opening night of the UCLA Bruins 2022-2023 NCAA Division 1 campaign. Their game tonight will be against Sacramento State, a fellow NCAA Division 1 team, though compared to the Bruins, they are much more inferior in terms of basketball programs.
Tying his shoes, he started relaxing as one of the physiotherapists was massaging his legs to get them ready for the game. Looking to his left, there was Amari who was also getting massaged.
"Hey Amari, how bout we make a bet?" Jake asked.
"Mhm? Yeah sure, what you wanna make a bet on?"
"You get me the new Curry 10's if I score more than 25, but if I don't I get to buy you any shoe you want." Jake asked as the physiotherapist lifted his leg up and started massaging it.
"Pfft, well better get your money ready, you gon buy me the Luka's." Amari said as he started grinning at Jake.
"Yeah, yeah, you're still buying me the new Curry's tho." Jake said as the two began laughing.
Soon the game was about to tip off, the starting five remained the same, except for Kenneth Nwuba, who replaced the injured Adem Bona.
And so, it was once again tip off!
Jumping up for the ball, the two centers battled for a second before Kenneth Nwuba tipped it to Amari. Slowly passing it to Tyger, the team's main ball handler brought the ball before tipping it back to Kenneth who dunked it in, scoring the team's first points.
As they started grouping for defence, a freshman of Sacramento State drained a long three from nearly the logo. The announcer called his name, with it being "Kyle Martin."
Jake vividly recognized Martin, he was a decent point guard for any D1 team, though scouts doubted if he could make it in the nba. To add, he too was in the top 100 in Jake's high school batch, ranked number 54.
He was well noted for his shooting ability and leadership, but he supposedly lacked athleticism and was a one dimensional player.
But back to the game, Tyger had attempted a baseball pass to Jaime, but was tipped out of bounds. Wanting to push the pace, Amari quickly inbounded the ball, passing to Jake who answered back with a logo shot of his own, banking the ball using the glass.
As the game went on, it stayed pretty close, with the score being 29-22 in favor of UCLA. Though after that, Jake Mendoza went off.
First he sized up Sacramento's center, then he slashed his way, scoring off the backboard. Then on the team's next possession, he posted up the same center and faded away for a smooth jumper. Finally, in the final seconds of the 1st half he called for an isolation against Kyle Martin, who was an above average defender for his position, but Jake was far above average.
Driving into the rim, he lost Martin with his first step as he burst to the rim, dunking over the center with a back scratcher to end the 1st half.
As they headed to the locker rooms, Jake went up to Amari, teasing him about their bet.
"Hey Amari, you don't look too good." Jake teasingly said as he giggled.
"Shut Up man, who the hell knew you would score 16 on the 1st half, like damn man slow down."
Following this interaction, the 2nd half was now starting. The score being 39-27, thanks to Jake's burst of scoring in the last 6 minutes of the half, the Bruins were now holding a comfortable lead.
A lead which they added to even more in the 2nd half, with the game ending 103-71. Jake Mendoza once more dominating, scoring a mesmerizing double double with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
And this made his name become a household for UCLA, but people doubted he could keep this consistency.
Which he answered with back to back 20+ point games against Long Beach state and Norfolk State. And in 3 NCAA D1 games, he has now averaged a whopping 24.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.7 blocks. Even becoming an internet sensation after getting Kobe comparisons after scoring over nearly 4 defenders who contested his shot.
But now a real test was here, as the number 8 ranked UCLA Bruins faced the number 19 ranked Illinois, and in Jake's previous life, the Bruins had lost by 9. But he wanted to change that, he wanted to, he was hungry for the win.
With Illinois Terrence Shannon Jr. leading the team, it'll be Jake against him. As the team prepped for the game, the air seemed normal, the team looked easy going despite it being a continental tire main event semi final.
"Hey come on guys! Y'all acting like this just some game!? Hell nah man, we in a semi final! Yeah it ain't no March Madness but come on y'all, show some heart and passion! Y'all acting like y'all don't want this win!" Jake stood up and screamed at everyone. Immediately turning the room silent.
"Yeah I agree with JM, this is a semi final! We acting like we gon win this shit with a blowout! Hell nah, if we want a blowout then we better give them a blowout!" Jaime said standing up as well, as soon as he finished the locker room erupted in shouts as the UCLA Bruins came out of the locker room locking hungry.
And they were extremely hungry, devouring Illinois 90-70. With Jaime Jaquez Jr. scoring a whooping 28 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. But it was Jake's defense against Terrence Shannon Jr that made the difference, containing him to 11 points and a terrible 4-15 shooting night. While he contributed with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks to finish the game.
Finally to top it all off, Amari had kept his promised and bought Jake new Curry 10's.