Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Chapter 143 - First Win In The State Tournament

Jason had just gotten caught in the screen as he cursed in his head 'Fuck! Why now? Why at the most crucial moment?!'

Jason saw as his defensive assignment stopped at the free throw line. From how he had dipped the ball down Jason knew that he was about to get in his shooting motion.

And without a defender anywhere near him there was a good chance that the mid range jumper would go in.

'Is this how things are going to end? Is our basketball season finished? No! I can't let that happen! I made a promise to Kyle!'

Even though his legs had just given out on him Jason pushed as hard as he could. He tried to squeeze out any strength that was still hiding deep within his bones.

His mind went blank as he found himself getting closer and closer to his defensive assignment that he had lost on the screen.

"Ahhhhh!" Jason leapt up into the air Just as the Small Forward had raised the ball to eye level. With his right hand on top of the ball Jason pushed down as hard as he could.

Jason had used up everything that he had for that final spurt. So as he was in the air he didn't have the ability to balance himself in order to land properly.

Jason fell to the floor and as the clock buzzed he raised his head to the scoreboard. Seeing the final score of 68 to 67 a smile blossomed across his face. 

As he laid on his back and stared at the lights up above Jason couldn't help but to raise both of his fists to the air as he yelled his heart out "WE WON!!!"

Udonis ran over to Jason and picked him up straight from the floor "That was fucking crazy! You a beast bro! That block was wild as hell!"

The rest of the guys rushed Jason as they all cheered for him. Even the guys on the bench had ran their way to the floor.

The entire time the crowd was going wild as they showered the boys with a thunderous round of applause and cheers from their seats.

Ms. Yuller walked up to the boys with a bright smile on her face "Wonderful performance tonight gentlemen.

Especially you Jason. That last act had the entire audience up and on their feet. From how much noise they are currently making it is as though they were asking for an encore!"

Jason smiled as he nodded his head 'The way she says things is kinda weird but she really is happy for us.'

After a few moments of celebration the boys had to line up for the end of game handshake. Jefferson and Hill Crest stood across from each other.

Jason had nothing but respect for the kids from Hill Crest. They had played hard the entire night and they did their best.

Jason smiled as he shook their hands "That was a hell of a game." "Goof effort out there." "Good game man, good game."

And on the other side the respect was mutual as all of Hill Crest's players were able to recognize Jason's efforts.

"I honestly thought that you were all hype from the TV show but you really are crazy good." "Good game Jason." "Damn man I can't believe you played the whole game. Respect."

Ms. Yuller shook hands with Hill Crest's head coach "You and your boys were great tonight. Things just so happened to have fallen in our favor."

The head coach chuckled as he waved his hands in front of him "Thank you for the compliment but we know that we lost fair and square.

Luck might have had a tiny part in it but your boys just wanted it more tonight. Our season might be over but we'll all be waiting to see what kind of noise you guys can make."

After the hand shake the boys made their way back to the locker room to shower up and change.

The guys couldn't help but stare at the locker room in amazement. Trell whistled "Damn! Check out the massage chairs."

Udonis chuckled "Massage chairs? Man take a look at the hot tubs and sauna rooms. They definitely don't have those at Jefferson."

Jason smiled after seeing the guys' reactions "This is the locker room for Los Angeles' best college basketball program. Their funding is just a tiny bit higher than ours hehe."

After they got cleaned up and dressed they met up with their parents outside of the arena. Jason ran up to Kyle before slapping him on the back.

"I told you we would win. Just focus on healing up and leave the work to us for now. We'll make sure to last long enough for you to come back."

Kyle's eyes were beginning to moisten up but he fought back the urge to cry. He smiled as he ruffled Jason's hair.

"You're telling me to focus on healing up but I think you need to focus on taking better care of your body. Who the hell plays the entire game?

If you're not careful you're going to end up getting hurt yourself you know that?" Jason put his hands behind his head as he answered confidently.

"There's no need to worry about me. All the food I eat is keeping my body in tip top condition. My body is so tough that it would take something like a car crash to hurt me."

Jason's mom laughed as she approached her son. She put her hand on top of his head and began to play with his hair.

"Alright Jaya enough bragging. Everyone knows that you eat like a hippo there's no need to broadcast it.

Now that you guys won your first game in the state tournament the real question is what are we going to eat to celebrate?"

Jason's face lit up after hearing them bring up food "We have to eat something super tasty. It's not everyday that we get to be in LA."

Kyle was currently wearing a boot around his ankle to help keep it stabilized while he healed up. He was also using a crutch.

Kyle spoke up "Ooh I know. I was reading up on places to eat at in LA and I heard about this really good Korean Mexican fusion restaurant.

All of the reviews were really positive. I heard that the best part is that they have really nice BBWs there."

Jason had been drinking from his water bottle. When he heard Kyle say that the water launched out of his mouth.

Jason coughed as he looked at Kyle. Trell had a shaken expression on his face as he looked Kyle up and down "I-I didn't think you were that kind of guy Kyle."

Kyle's mom smacked him on the top of his head "You got a lot of guts talkin bout BBWs in front of yo momma like that."

Kyle saw that everyone had shocked expressions on their faces. He looked at them confused "What's the problem?

All of the reviews said that the best thing on their menu is their BBWs. Their Bulgogi Burrito Wraps are supposed to be out of this world."

A sense of clarity fell on everyone as they realized that Kyle had just been talking about food. Kyle looked at his mom questioningly "What did you think I was talking about?"

His mom gave a nervous chuckle after realizing that she had just jumped to conclusions. She patted him on the head as she apologized.

"Oh nothin baby. Momma just misheard you is all. That fusion whatever sounds good. Why don't we give it a try?"

She hurriedly tried to change the topic so that she wouldn't have to have an awkward talk with her son.

Jason and the rest of the guys on the team joined Ms. Yuller as they got on the minivan that the school had prepared for them.

They followed the parents to the restaurant that Kyle was talking about. Since they weren't in Riverside everyone had been expecting a quiet night.

However that was a miscalculation on their part. They had underestimated the level of Jason's popularity.

As they stood outside of the building waiting for the restaurant to get the tables ready for their large party random people began walking up to them asking for pictures and autographs from Jason.

Jason had already been on the rise thanks to his appearances on the TV show Through the Hoops. 

But because of all the coverage that he had gotten from the county championship game against Nashton Academy Jason was even more popular and recognizable than he had thought.

Before he knew it there was a small crowd gathered around him. They all had their phones out taking pictures of him.

Some people asked if he could wait so that they could buy a basketball or a shirt for him to sign.

Jason ended up spending over thirty minutes taking pictures and signing random things for people.

Jason had just managed to appease the crowd when one of the workers from the restaurant had stepped outside "Mr. and Mrs. Yang your table is ready."

Jason had turned around and had started walking to the door of the restaurant when a car that had been parked at the side slid its windows down.

"Fuck you chink!" Jason turned his head after hearing someone shouting out. He was about to curse them out for yelling something so blatantly racist when he saw the shadow of a couple objects flying toward him.

'Oh shit.' Jason didn't have the time to react as he stood there defenselessly.