262 Aftermath (1/2)

As the ball went through the net, I turned around and walked back to our side of the court. Although I cannot see their facial expressions, I'm pretty certain that those jocks must be temporarily stunned. As for the reason why? It's because even my own teammates appeared rather shocked.

”Was that luck or was that skill?” Noah asked.

”He had a pretty good form,” Zaksus answered. ”Alevian, do you usually play basketball?”

”I would shoot around from time to time in the gym in my building,” I responded to him. ”Sometimes, I would play against people who need an extra player or just want to play a one on one.”

”Damn,” Noah looked at me with a frown. ”So you do know how to play.”

”All the better,” Zaksus nodded as he looked over at the other team. ”Let's whoop their asses.”

The game then resumed after the team of jocks inbounded the ball. Jock B dribbled the ball up the court to our side as they ran their offense, using screens to try and get people open for a drive to the basket. They were playing rather physical, and it was obvious that the others except Zaksus were unused to this rugged style of play, allowing the jocks to push through to the rim and scoring a layup.

”My bad,” Zevin apologized after the person he was guarding scored.

”No worries,” Zaksus responded. ”It's like this at the start. You'll get used to their physicality.”

Noah inbounded the ball to Zaksus, and we mobilized to the other side of the court. Then, with Zaksus at the top of the key, we moved to the side, allowing him to iso on Jock A.

”Expose him!” Noah called over to Zaksus as Zaksus began performing dribble moves at a speed that was difficult for the eye to catch up with.

With a rapid and smooth crossover, Zaksus feinted right and then immediately drove hard to the left, keeping his head down low and used his strong build to force his way through to the paint. Although other Jocks gave up on their defensive assignments and came over to try and help, once Zaksus jumped into the air, it was all over. With his uber athleticism and long, powerful arms, he slammed the ball into the basket.

”Nice dunk,” Loyd smiled and nodded in approval. ”You still got it in you.”

”Of course,” Zaksus laughed and answered. ”I'm still young.”

The game then went on, and it was mostly a Zaksus show. It was to be expected as he is the best player on the court. However, for some reason, I became the secondary offensive option on the team, whenever Zaksus would get trapped, he would pass the ball out. For some reason, the ball would always end up in my hands. Instead of taking the shot, I would perform a pump fake, watch as the defender fly by me as he tried to block the ball, and drive hard to the basket. I know that if I were to miss, Zaksus got the rebound and would likely get a put-back dunk. So, I was shooting with rather high confidence.

As the game progressed on, it was soon time for the game point, with us at 29 and the team of jocks at 20. I have to give it to the team of jocks for still playing hard despite knowing that their chances of coming back and winning is slim. Maybe it is because of their arrogance and pride. Their pride just will not allow them to lose to people like us that they deem as inferior. Maybe that is what is fueling their intensity. But whatever. It's not like it matters to us or anything.

”Let's end this here, Alevian.”Zaksus glanced over in my direction and smiled in a rather excited and amused manner.

He was trying to communicate something to me, and for some reason, I felt like I know exactly what he wanted. It's...rather risky—well, it's not risky since we have a comfortable lead. It's just risky because...there's not that high of a chance of success, and if we fail, it's gonna be embarrassing. However, it would appear that Zaksus had his mind set up on running this play that he had whispered to me earlier, so I guess I'll just have to go along with him.

With a sigh, I jogged over to him and set a pick on his defender for him. Right after absorbing the impact of Jock A ramming into my body as he tried to fight over the screen, I made a hard cut and began rolling towards the basket. The jocks weren't focused on me, as they had all their attention on Zaksus, who was driving with the ball towards the basket. We took advantage of this, and Zaksus leaped into the air and threw a hard, one-handed pass in my direction.

The pass that he threw was a bit too fast and a bit too hard. It flew right before me, and I had to reach my right arm all the way over to the left side of my body to barely catch it. However, the play cannot stop now as Zaksus had already resumed running towards the basket as a few of the jocks that had swarmed him left him and chased after me.

With my right hand, I stopped the ball's movement completely, neutralizing the spin as the rough surface of the ball rubbed against the skin of my palm. Once the ball stopped, I did not stabilize it with both hands, and instead, I chose to apply a force to the ball using my right hand and performed a bullet pass towards the rim. My intent wasn't to shoot or make the ball go through the net. Making the ball go through the net isn't my concern. Instead, it's Zaksus's. He leaped high into the air, with his right arm reaching high up into the air as he palmed the alley-oop pass and slammed it hard into the basket

When the game was over, the team of jocks left with a rather pissed off expression on their faces. However, it wasn't our problem that their mood is ruined. It was them that challenged us to this match.