Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Coach Li stood from the bench, his hand instantly covering his mouth. He had heard of this player—Kai Guo. He also knew he was good, but not to this extent.

Even Guanyu couldn't believe his eyes. What had happened to Kai Guo, and why had he improved so much? It was impossible for someone so young to improve that much in just a span of months!

Kai's feet touched down, and for a split second, he couldn't believe it himself. He had jumped that high.

Above a seven-foot wall. Above everything that stood in his way.

The crowd was stunned and silent for a beat before erupting with gasps and cheers.

Even his teammates stared wide-eyed in disbelief. How could Kai—at 6'3—jump like that?

Yuze, standing near them, blinked in amazement.

"What the," he muttered.

How high could Kai go? Was there a limit to his skill? The thought buzzed in Yuze's mind, but there wasn't time to think about it now.

"Seven feet…" Kai muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing as he stared down the court. His defender was breathing heavily now, maybe feeling a crack in the confidence that came from towering over everyone else. But Kai? He was just getting started. He had felt it—he could surpass the height.

Maybe even more.

Yuze, watching closely, saw the determination in Kai's eyes. Then, he nodded to himself.

If anyone could do it, it was him. The pass was quick, clean, and straight into Kai's hands.

"Seven foot one," Kai whispered, setting his stance on Andy's guard, who appeared a little bit taller than his.

Ming Yao, watching from the post, began moving in, too. He wasn't about to let Kai turn this into his game. Not with all that size that the Giants carried on the court. Kai would need more than just skill to outplay him.

But Kai knew something Ming Yao didn't.

Another quick dribble, a crossover, and Kai moved toward the basket. Andy's defender jumped this time, reading the play—but Kai hesitated for just a moment, letting his man fall before launching himself into the air once more.

"Seven foot two," he whispered, this time feeling the intense pressure of both his defender and Jinping's coming up behind him. Wong's massive hand reached for the ball just as Kai released it.

However, Kai still wasn't done with his jump. With that, he continued his trajectory, placing the ball into the ring with ease.

8-8.

The score was now tied, and the Giants began to feel desperate.

"Seven foot three," he smirked. That was his last obstacle.

Ming Yao silently followed through with his challenge. As Kai dribbled the ball, surpassing Wong with his speed, Ming Yao stood in front of the ring, acting like a formidable wall.

Then, Kai jumped even higher than before. As expected, he was once again able to overcome their height difference. The people gasped in shock, wondering how high up Kai could go.

Just as the ball left his fingers, Kai felt a hard shove on his back. The foul was blatant. Kai fell hard, hitting the court with a sharp thud. The whistle blew immediately, but the sound barely registered as he lay there for a moment, the shock of the fall settling in.

The crowd winced, some audibly gasping. Ming Yao stood over him, looking down.

'That's enough,' he seemed to be saying with his eyes.

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Lina gasped, covering her mouth. She stood from the bench and felt something tug at her heart. She knew that the Giants were notorious for their aggressive fouls. She also knew that Kai had a pretty hard body, one that wouldn't get hurt so easily, but this was the Giants they were talking about!

Yet, Kai pushed himself up with a grunt, shaking off the pain that was starting to pulse through his body.

Ming Yao frowned as he watched him shake his body.

'Was he made of steel?' he wondered, watching Kai from where he was at. No one else would've gotten up that fast from a fall like that.

"Timeout!" Lina's voice cut through the commotion. She was already rushing to the court, waving the others over. Kai was walking off slowly, but he didn't limp or flinch.

He wiped the sweat from his face, glancing at his teammates. They looked worried, their expressions betraying the fear creeping in.

The referee granted the request, and the boys went to their respective benches.

"Kai, are you okay?" Coach Muchen asked, grabbing a towel and handing it to him.

Kai sat down on the bench, catching his breath. "Yeah," he said, his voice steady. "I'm fine."

Lina crouched down beside him, her eyes scanning for any sign of injury. "Are you sure? That was a hard hit."@@novelbin@@

Kai nodded, his jaw set. "I'm good. We're not done yet."

The team gathered around, uncertainty still seen on their faces. The height and the size were intimidating. No one was saying it, but they all felt it.

Kai saw it in their eyes.

"I think it's really possible," he said, capturing their attention.

"Height's a gift. You can be born with it; maybe work on it a little. But not much has changed the fact that some people are just born taller, stronger, and bigger. You know that. I know that."

He paused, looking around at the faces of his teammates, all locked on him now.

'I've had to deal with it my whole life,' he thought, remembering the times when he was bound by his wheelchair.

He straightened up, his gaze hardening

Kai's words sank in, everyone leaning in just a little closer.

"Height is just one factor in the game. It's not the whole game. What they have in height, we make up for with skill. What we've got, they can't match. Our speed. Our precision.

Our teamwork. They feel like this huge wall, right?" He paused, looking at each of them. "But it's an empty wall. We can bring them down."

Andy nodded slowly, gripping the towel in his hands.

Kai continued. "We're scared, sure. They're big, but that's it. They're just big. We've been playing with fear in our heads, letting them get in. But I'm telling you right now, we're better than them.

If we stop playing scared, we can beat them. I don't care how tall they are. I don't care how much they can block. They're not unbeatable. Not even close.".

"We're not playing to out-jump them, we're playing to outsmart them. Skill can surpass height any day of the week. But you have to believe that. You have to see it."