Chapter 185
At three in the afternoon, Athena headed out. She first went to the kindergarten to apply for leave from the teacher and picked Josie up to go to the University of Technology.
On the way, she bought two sets of clappers and reached the stadium of the University of Technology at around four in the afternoon
When she arrived at the entrance, she was shocked. It was just a warm–up match, but the entrance of the stadium was filled with people. Most of them were students and girls, but many were outsiders. Judging from the commotion in the stadium, it was probably filled with people.
Athena couldn’t get in, so she could only call Alaric. Alaric immediately sent two of his buddies out to pick them up and led them into the stadium through the passageway reserved for players.
The gymnasium was really full. Even the aisles were filled with people.
Most of the girls were holding signs and banners such as “I Love Alaric“. “Good Luck Alaric, Forever the Prince of Basketball“, and “Alanc is the coolest. It was like a large–scale fan meeting
Fortunately Alaric had reserved two seats for Athena and Josie in the first row. When Alaric saw them, he ran over amidst the screams of all the girls. He rubbed Josie’s head through the partition and chatted with Athena for a while before returning to the court to warm up.
Alaric was wearing a red jersey while the Hataland players were wearing yellow jerseys.
Alaric was 6.2 feet tall. He was tall compared to ordinary people but did not stand out among professional players. One could not see how good Alaric from his warm–up. They would just think he was especially handsome and innocent, like a celebrity.
Athena observed the players on the court while explaining the rules to Josie,
Josie did not fully understand what Athena was saying but clapped with all her might. Her legs were also swinging. Before the competition started, she kept shouting, “Alaric is handsome, Alaric is so awesome!”
Alaric looked at them as he ran and dribbled on the field, waving at them from time to time. He didn’t seem focused, as if he was playing around.
However, when the whistle sounded at 4:30 pm. Alaric seemed to completely change into a different person. He was no longer as lazy and casual as before. His gaze was firm and focused. He stared at the basketball like a hungry wolf alpha staring at its only prey, not allowing his opponents to steal his prey away.
Although his height and physique did not give him an advantage, his skills were superb. He ran a lot and was very agile. His speed and reaction were like lightning. Coupled with his excellent jumping ability and accurate shooting, he was indeed a very outstanding basketball player.
In the beginning, perhaps because the players on their side were not in the zone yet, their reactions were a little slow. The other team from Hataland scored more than ten points very quickly.
However, Alaric went all out. He was the fastest runner, the most active ball snatcher, and the e one who took the most shots.
With Alaric’s hard work, their team managed to catch up by more than ten points. Their condition also improved, and soon they were evenly matched with the players from Hataland.
The atmosphere in the venue became lively. The fans‘ attention also shifted from Alaric to the competition itself. The entire stadium was chanting. “Alaric, go for gold. Osceiton, go for gold.
Athena was affected by the atmosphere. She also waved her hands crazily and clapped, shouting, “Alaric, you can do it”
11:02 Tue, Oct 15
Chapter 183
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Just as Arthur had säd, Alaric was a natural–born competitor. Before the start of the competition, he looked as though he was messing around and couldn’t focus. But once the competition began, he had one thing in mind: winning.
Throughout the first half of the match, Alaric did not even look at the audience. It was not until the whistle at the end of the first half that he looked as if he had just woken up from a dream. He realized that there were still spectators and his two precious sisters.
Alaric picked up his towel and jogged over to the stands as he wiped his sweat. He asked Athena and Josie smugly. “How did I do? Was I cool?”
Athena gave him a thumbs up. “Very cool!”
Josie stood up and jumped around. “You’re the coolest.”
Alaric stroked her head and said with satisfaction, “Yes, I will be even more cool in the second half of the match. You must watch me carefully.”
Josie nodded vigorously. “I do, even more seriously than I am in class.”
Behind Athena and Josie, the students stood up and waved frantically at Alaric, screaming. Alaric smiled at them, waved his hand, and returned to the rest area to listen to the coach’s instructions.
Athena noticed the coach say something to Alaric after a while. Then, Alaric followed the coach to the lounge. They were gone for a long time.
It wasn’t until the start of the second half that Alaric came out with the coach. No one knew what the coach said to Abric, but Alaric hung his head and his shoulders were a little slump. He didn’t look too good.
After the game whistle sounded, Alaric was still actively running, but his movements were slow and hesitant, like when he was playing a game.
Every time he snatched the ball, he would hesitate for a few seconds, as if he was thinking about who to pass it to, whether to pass it and so on. His hesitation made him miss opportunities, which benefited their opponents.
Soon, the Hataland players‘ possession rate increased. They were shooting and scoring more and more, leaving Alaric’s team
behind.
The entire audience was anxious. They kept shouting, “All the best, Alaric!“, “Win Hataland!“, “You must win!”
Alaric looked down the court several times, watching the distribution cards, the coach, the audience, and Athena and Josie. His movements were still hesitant.
Athena noticed that there was no light in his eyes. She thought, “What on earth happened? What distracted him, made him hesitate, and upset him?”
What was even stranger was that the coach did not call for a stop even though they were behind. Instead, the coach of Hataland called for a pause and proudly guided the players on how to score more points.
The crowd booed, dissatisfied with Alaric’s performance.
Someone even threw mineral water bottles and support signs at Alaric and scolded, “If you don’t want to win, get lost. Don’t embarrass our school and Osceiton!”
Another shouted, “What basketball prince! Who says he’s the rising star of the National Basketball Team? Pit, he’s a liar and trash. He doesn’t deserve his reputation. How can he fantasize about joining the national team? We really misjudged him.”
Even Alaric’s buddies rushed to the sidelines and said anxiously, Alaric, what’s wrong with you? Didn’t you play very well in the first half? Why did you become like this in the second half? Are you okay?”
2/3
11:02 Tue, Oct 1500
Chapter 185
82%
“Whether you can enter the national team depends on this match. Pull yourself together and don’t screw up at this critical moment, another added.
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