Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Max crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Well, it looks like they got this one in the bag," he said as he glanced at the scoreboard.

Despite the height difference, the Shizi Dogs managed to pull away from the Giants with a 30-point lead. It was ridiculous. The Giants had fouled them a lot of times, too, but it didn't hurt the Dogs.

"Yeah," Fabin muttered. "I do wish we still stay higher up on the ranking, though. I want to end up first in our bracket."

"I think we will," Max said. "We went against relatively weaker teams. Most of our points exceeded a hundred in each game. We might even make it into the top four of all the teams."

"Let's hope so," Ailun muttered.

Meanwhile, Suzy couldn't stop looking at Kai. "How is he so good at this?" she muttered. That made her heart flutter even more.

However, she wasn't the only one. Below her was Lina, who had her hands clasped in front of her chest. She was monitoring the entire game; however, Suzy noticed that her gaze lingered on Kai for a little bit longer.

She shook her head in disappointment. She hadn't gotten the chance to talk to him much since they arrived for the Nationals. Meanwhile, Lina got to see him every day.

"That guy's really handsome, right?"

"Yeah, I doubted his skills at first because he's so handsome, but he's the best out there."

"Do you think he'll accept my number?"

Suzy pursed her lips. It also seemed like Kai was going to get even more popular as the Nationals progressed.

"Ah, this is a nice end to the group phase," Muchen said, resting his hands behind his head. He glanced at the bench of the Giants and saw Coach Li stressing out.

However, it also seemed like he had accepted the results.

With a little over five minutes left on the clock, it was definitely impossible to bounce back from a thirty-point deficit.

"If we win against them, then it's going to be the first time that the Giants aren't going to the quarter-finals in years," Shang chimed.

"Really," Muchen muttered. "So, this is quite a big deal for them, huh?"

"Yup," Lina muttered, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "However, it's satisfying seeing them like this. They don't deserve to get into the quarter finals."

"Agreed," Shang said, nodding along with Lina.

"How do you say so?" Muchen asked. "I know they're known for their blatant fouls, but they can't be that bad, right?"

Shang and Lina glanced at each other before collectively sighing.

"Oh, they are," Lina muttered. "Do you remember that incident?"

Shang nodded. "Was it three or four years ago? I don't exactly remember, but the Keystone Giants had been known to be really aggressive ever since they implemented their height rule."

"They're even worse than the Feng Foxes when it came to fouls," he continued.

"Why? What happened?" Muchen asked.

"Well, it seems like the game is going well, so let me tell you the short story," Shang said.

Lina bit her lip. She could still vividly remember the incident. She had been religiously watching the Nationals ever since she was young, and this was one of the most traumatizing events she saw on live television.

"Their captain back then, Charles Li, was the star of the Keystone Giants. He stood at seven feet, and he was the start of their height rule. However, even before that, the Giants were already known for their aggressive plays."

"However, with Charles in the team, it became worse. They managed to get into the quarter-finals of the Nationals ever since he was a first-year. He even managed to join the Elite Five in his second year! However, things took a turn during the first game of the quarter-finals."

"They were against a team that made it to the Nationals for the first time. They were losing by a few points in the fourth quarter, and Charles couldn't bear to see that. He didn't want to be beaten by a new team."

Coach Muchen's eyebrows furrowed when the story started sounding familiar. "Is it when—"

"Yup," Shang answered before Muchen could finish his sentence. "He tripped the guy in the midst of a run, and he had a concussion. After that, it was found that he had a brain hemorrhage from the impact. In the end, he had to undergo surgery that left him bedridden for months."

Muchen pursed his lips. He remembered it now. There were a lot of petitions back then to have Charles Li arrested. However, he was let off because it was deemed an accident, and he was still a minor at that time.

"Do you know what happened with the injured guy?" Muchen asked.

"He's fine now," Lina said. "However, the last thing I read—he couldn't play basketball again."

"And Charles Li?" Muchen asked.

Lina and Shang shrugged. "He was kicked out of the team, and the Giants went on to play without him in the quarter-finals. They didn't get pretty far, though. I don't have any recent news about him. Some say he's part of a college basketball team, while some say he's preparing to join a pro team. Anyway, I still stand by what I said that he shouldn't have a basketball career anymore," Shang said.

Then, he glanced at the clock. "Three minutes left," he said. "It's almost the end of the game. Let's hope it finishes quickly."

"Hmm," Lina hummed, already excited for the quarter-finals. At first, she was worried that the Dogs would undergo some kind of mishap in their game with the Giants.

However, it was going relatively well.

Kai shot once more, and two points were added to their score.

"Wooh, go Kai!" Lina exclaimed from the bench.

Shang glanced at her and shook her head. "Well, we have a biased manager."

Lina's cheeks reddened. "Shut up," he said.

Just then, Jinping also shot. However, Lina remained quiet.

"See!" Shang exclaimed.

Lina scoffed and shook her head, her gaze now focused on the timer.

"It's over," she muttered, the smile not leaving her face.

However, Lina should have known not to speak too soon.

Because the next thing she knew, the game came to a halt—and it wasn't because time had ran out.