Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The team was currently eating pizza at a large pizza parlor, each having their own pie since Kun insisted they deserved it.

In the end, Yuze had no choice but to agree to it. Fortunately, those who only played in the game came, so Yuze spared his wallet from treating everyone on the team.

Meanwhile, the group of cheerleaders, who were in the corner of the room, glanced at the Shizi Dogs and shook their heads.

Jet and Kun were feeding each other like a couple while Zeren picked out the bell peppers from his pizza. Meanwhile, Jinping was busy glaring at Kai, who was happily eating his pizza.

"They're a lost cause, really," Yani sighed, her eyes straying to Yuze, who looked the most handsome and proper out of them all.

"Yuze should really get out of there," she said in a dreamy voice.

Suzy shook her head and glanced at their team. From her point of view, she clearly saw Kai, who was slicing a piece of pizza for Lina.

Suzy frowned for a moment as Lina bowed at Kai with a pretty smile.

"They seem close," she muttered.

"Lina's very cute, too," she added.

Lina and Suzy were in the same class, yet they were still unfamiliar with each other. In fact, they haven't talked to each other despite being classmates. Maybe it was because of the unspoken tension between the basketball team and the cheerleading team, but they never really crossed paths since then.

"Wait," Qian, one of the male cheerleaders, said, capturing their attention.

"They won," he said, making the others frown.

"Who?" Yani asked. "The Feng Foxes? Well, it's about time that their game had finished. That isn't really news, though. It would be more shocking if they didn't win."

"No—well, yes, the Feng Foxes did win. However, based on the latest league posts, Shizi High won their game, too!"

"What?" Suzy exclaimed, grabbing the phone from Qian's hand to see if he was telling the truth.

Indeed, he was telling the truth, making Suzy purse her lips.

"But they were losing," she muttered. Yani was still able to hear her.

"They were losing?" Yani asked. "Did you watch their game?"

Suzy froze before shaking her head. "No," she denied. "I just heard from...others who were there."

Yani was thankfully fooled. "I see. Well, it is pretty shocking that they won—especially with a team like the Dolphins. Although, they're probably going to drop out after one or two more games. That's usually how it goes."

"You don't understand," Qian said. "They won against the Dolphins—a team they haven't beaten before. This is big news!"

Yani narrowed her eyes at the excited male.

"You sound awfully excited," she said. "The next thing we know, you'll be wanting to cheer for the basketball team, too."

Qian pursed his lips and placed his hands on his lap.

"It wouldn't be too bad," he muttered, so only Suzy was able to hear him.

"Well, let's go," Yani said. "We still have to practice tomorrow. The first football game of the year is this Friday! We need to perfect our routine, right, Suzy?" she asked, nudging the pretty girl's shoulder.

Suzy nodded absentmindedly, although her mind was still stuck on Shizi High's win.

"Let's go," she said, exiting through the back so they wouldn't pass by the basketball team.

Meanwhile, at the Shizi Dogs' table, Yuze was compelled to order three more large pizzas for the team.

"Goodness," he muttered. "You guys eat like you're starved."

"Food tastes so much better when it's free!" Kun said with his mouth full.

"Agreed," Jet said, wiping his greasy mouth with the back of his head.

Yuze grimaced in disgust before clearing his throat.

"Well, since all of you are enjoying the food that I've bought, why don't we talk about our next game this Saturday?" he said.

The others nodded in agreement, with Kai placing down his pizza piece to pay greater attention to Yuze's statements.

"There are eight registered schools in the South," he started off. "Last year, we were eliminated right away after only three games. The last team to beat us was the Daxue Dolphins, so it's great that we were able to beat the team that beat us back then."

"In order to get to the semi-finals, we need to win two more games in the winner's bracket. We'll be playing against the teams who won today. Only the Feng Foxes and the Dongyi Embers are confirmed to have won. Currently, the Xing Stars are battling it out with the Pili Lightnings."

"Then, the last winner is also confirmed," Jet said. "We beat the Pili Lightnings last year. The Xing Stars will definitely win this game."

"Jet's right," Kun said. "That means we'll be playing with one of these teams next week. I just hope that it's the Dongyi Embers! I don't want to be eliminated!"

Yuze clicked his tongue. However, deep inside, he also wished for their next competitors to be the Dongyi Embers. As much as he wanted to believe in their skills, he also knew the limitations of their team. There was still a lot to be done, and although he felt the drastic improvement in how they played, he felt that it wasn't enough to beat a team like the Xing Stars and the Feng Foxes.

"Anyway, let me give you a gist of how these teams play," Yuze said.

"Well, you already know about the Feng Foxes. If we do play against them, let's focus on Chunlei and Yiming. They haven't played against us to their fullest capacity, so we need to tighten up our defenses and double up on offense once they play against us."

"Meanwhile, the Dongyi Embers is a team we've played with often. Without a doubt, they are the easiest competitors out of the four, but they are still the reigning winners of the loser's bracket. They even beat the Daxue Dolphins and were hailed the third strongest team in the South—although there is a clear difference from the top two teams."

"The Xing Stars, on the other hand, are textbook players," Yuze continued. "They're the type of team you would see on a basketball catalog. They have clean basketball skills, and all of them have great foundations. Compared to the other teams who have so-called 'star players,' the Xing Stars seem to all have equal skills.

With this in mind, they would be difficult to beat with the current foundation our team has."

Lina nodded in agreement, her eyes fixed on her phone as she waited for the announcement of the new tournament schedule.

Then, her eyes widened when she finally saw the schedule.

"It's out," she said, capturing the others' attention.

She turned her phone to the boys with wide eyes before gulping.

"We're playing with the Xing Stars next."