"I don't believe it. It is simply because you didn't get me at my peak. Just after half time, I'll show you that I'm not that easy to beat." Damien snorted as he left the court.r
Jack went back to the resting area for the Roosters. There, the enthusiastic players and the coach surrounded him and tried flattering him. Jack wasn't someone that liked the flattering. So, he simply waved them off.r
These guys didn't disturb his rest at all. They went back and took their seats. But still, they threw glances at him. Their eyes were filled with great respect. Just thinking of the time that they actually thought that Jack wasn't supposed to play with them, they couldn't help but feel embarrassed.r
Jack on the other hand didn't actually need to rest because he wasn't tired at all. There wasn't even a drop of sweat on him because he didn't run around in the court at all. He was simply taking the ball before shooting.r
When the half time ended, Jack and the others got back to the court. And just like before, Jack returned to doing what he had done during the previous quarter.r
This made Damien depressed. No matter how he tried, he actually couldn't get past Jack with the ball in his hand. As long as he went past him, he actually had to leave the ball behind.r
This was so demeaning to his status as one of the top players in the top teams that were known in the country. He wasn't sure if he could ever raise his head in front of others if they knew that he actually couldn't do a thing to Jack.r
That's right, he had failed to defend against Jack completely. And what's even more frustrating to him was the fact that he couldn't break past Jack's defense. Jack on the other hand could get past him so easily in such a way that it seemed that he didn't seem to exist at all.r
After several attempts that ended with a failure, Damien finally realized that there was no way that he could actually get past Jack with the ball in his hand. Even now, his teammates were hesitating to pass the ball to him.r
He had lost all the balls to Jack as long as he approached him. So, these guys were afraid that by passing the ball to him, they would be giving away the ball.r
Had it not been for the fact that the Roosters were suppressing them in that they had no choice but to give the ball to Damien, they wouldn't even think of giving him the ball.r
On the other hand, the coach would have already substituted him had it not been for the fact that he didn't want to be on the bad side of this top player. Another thing was that, even if they substituted him, who was going to play better than him?r
So, it was better for Damien to be embarrassed by Jack rather than the members of his team. In this way, at least they would still maintain the spirit of playing the game in the future rather than for them to be so challenged in that they would actually give up on playing the game.r
'Although he's so good at defending and attacking, that doesn't mean that he can actually block me as long as I use my height advantage.' As he thought of this, Damien who was currently holding the ball in his hand gazed at the hoop that was behind Jack.r
Taking a deep breath, he decided that he was simply going to shoot the ball over Jack. This was the only solution that he had in his mind. Although the chances of scoring from such a long distance were lower, he believed that he still had a big chance of getting points in this way rather than believing that he could actually get past Jack and score.r
As for his teammates, they were simply playing mechanically. None of them had the spirit to play the game at all.r
Seeing Damien's eyes that were looking past him, Jack immediately knew what he was planning. He was now weak minded and just wanted to shoot over him. So he was just gonna be aggressive with him this time.r
Damien finally got Jack in the open court and everyone cleared out, it was just Jack and him in the backcourt. Sweat dripping down his face, he knew this was where he can make a change in the game. The crowd went silent.r
He started to dribble and took about 3 dribbles then aimed at the hoop that was far behind Jack. Jack didn't hurry up to go and block him because there was no need. He believed that he would be able to stop the ball from getting into the hoop.r
Damien smiled when he saw that Jack was actually underestimating him. So, he got determined to show Jack that there were situations where he couldn't underestimate a beaten opponent.r
After making sure that he had gotten the target, Damien shot the ball. He had made sure to make it pass as high as he could to make sure that Jack didn't get close to it at all.r
In response to this, Jack simply turned around and dashed towards the basket. His speed was so fast that he could actually win the gold medal in Olympics' 100 m race. Just after a few seconds, he who had a headstart due to the fact that he was closer to the basket, was able to get closer to the basket just a few microseconds before the ball.r
The moment that he got there, he wasted no time and jumped into the air. Just the moment that the ball arrived, Jack slapped the ball hard.r
Bam! Swoosh!r
The ball shot through the air and then heavily hit the backboard on the opposing side before it landed on the rim. It made two circles around the rim before dropping inside. And so, it was another three points that had been earned by Jack.r
This made everyone slack jawed. They no longer viewed Jack as a human, but a monster. His speed could already break the current Olympics' 100 m record. Then, the way that he jumped, just the height that he had jumped was enough for him to break the high jump world record.r
What kind of person was he? To be able to have such amazing basketball skills and physical abilities, no wonder Damien couldn't do a thing to him. He was no match at all.r
Damien immediately got dispirited. He finally understood that he actually couldn't compete against Jack. It would be better if he had given up earlier rather than to have himself embarrassed to this extend.r
But all the same, he still looked at Jack with resentment clear in his eyes. He thought that although it was true that he was the one that had failed to yield when Jack said that he wasn't a match, he never expected that Jack would actually humiliate him to this extend.r
He was someone who was used to being praised by others. He was someone that was used to being arrogant in front of others. He was someone that believed that he would one day become the best of the players in the country and be able to rank amongst the top in the world.r
But today, Jack had made a good joke out of him. Although the number of people that had watched the match today was small, who could say that they won't go around spreading the video of how he was beaten so easily?r
As soon as these videos spread, the reputation that he had built over the years would be completely damaged and he would have to work harder in order to regain it.r
Even if it was true that the opponent that he was facing was clearly a monster, the others wouldn't care and would go ahead to make fun of him. Since they were not the ones that had been beaten, they would laugh at the injured.r
For this very reason, he despised Jack. But, he dared not to make a move at this point because he knew that they would see him as a sour loser. And as long as they termed him as that, his already damaged reputation would be completely diminished.r
He looked at the coach and asked for a substitution. Although it could be said to be embarrassing, he thought that it would be better if he could actually leave this place rather than continue being humiliated.r
The coach was clearly reluctant to replace Damien with his own player. But, looking at the expression on Damien's face, he had no choice but to agree lest he faced the anger of this player.r
The moment that he left the court, Damien left the arena even without changing the jersey. This day, he was going to make sure that he was drowning in alcohol.r
When the Roosters saw that Damien had left, they laughed out loud at their opponents.r
"Hahaha, weren't you guys so arrogant with Damien on your side? Now that he's gone, what are you going to do?"r
"Hehe, you beat us in the first round because our star wasn't here. Now that our star is here, your star had no choice but to flee with his tail between his legs."r
"Man! I remember someone saying that our star chickened out. Now, whose star chickened out?"r
"Humph! You thought that you could beat us? Dream on! You will always be behind us before you chase us."r
"That's just coorect! You only catch up to us because we were waiting for you. In this way, we can give you some false hope that you can surpass us."r
The opponents began retorting as well. They obviously couldn't accept the fact that they were being taunted like that. They had to retaliate even if they knew that what the Roosters were saying was true.r
"So what? You only depend on your star to be able to beat us. Otherwise, you can't even do a thing to us."r
"Right, why don't you ask your star to leave the court so that we can compete against each other fairly?"r
"What fairly? In the first quarter, why didn't your star stay out so that he can wait for our star to come so that they can compete?"r
"You guys are shameless. This is bullying!"r
"Bullying you makes me happier. Anyway, why don't you guys look for someone who can bully us as well?"r
"That's right. You guys were so smug not long ago. Now that you no longer have something to support you, you simply want to look for a way out?"r
Jack ignored the bantering and went to the guard position. He then spoke to the one that was playing there. "You guys can play attacking. Leave the defense to me."
