"-the match's starting soon," Jiyong observed, glancing away from the clock on the wall. He looked wearily around at his teammates, trying to calm to butterflies in his stomach.

In part he was nervous because it was an important game. Their team and the Falcons had again made the Top 4, meaning that them along with two other teams, were fighting for the two seats to be present in the Nationals.

Jiyong was confident that if they win today, securing one of the spots to the Nationals would be simple. But if they lost today they would be forced to go up against Wood Ridge again in a must-win game.

"Team huddle!" Jiyong called out from benchside. The rest of his teammates were quick to gather in a circle around him and the Coach as warm-ups ended.

Jiyong stood silent, pondering his words for a moment before speaking.

"We treat this one as a must-win, you guys got it? We are back at full force and give it your all and let's leave the fans up there with tears after we beat their team." Jiyong held his hand out expectantly, and in moments nine other hands all piled atop it.

The huddle broke up in an instant while their opponents were already waiting at the half-court line.

"Players line-up!" the referees announced again, one of the referees already making his way to the center with the game ball.

Back on the benches, Coach began readying his stats and roster sheets for both teams. Coach could only shake his head in displeasure. Falcon’s players possessed a major size advantage and were clearly more talented overall against his player’s current starting lineup. Furthermore, while Seungri was assigned to the power forward position in some cases for matchup purposes, Seungri’s true strengths were playing from the perimeter. As things were, they would stand no chance of winning.

He quickly redid the information, looking at the matchups of players that would be inserted into the game.

Just before the referee could throw the ball into the air, Seungri stepped into the half-court circle, ignoring the murmurs that went across the other players.

Jiyong and Taeyang shot each other looks as Seungri stepped into the semi-circle, giving the much taller opponent a challenging glare. He grinned down towards Seungri, seeming to enjoy the fact that Seungri was not afraid of him as the referee held the ball between the two players.

"You going to try and steal this from me, shorty?"

Seungri said nothing, instead bending low in preparation for the jump.

Seungri tapped the ball out of midair, just barely passing his opponent’s outstretched arm by millimeters. The ball went straight into Wooyoung’s hands, and left a stunned to his opponent.

How'd that brat jump so high?.

"Wooyoung, watch it!" Taeyang called.

Wooyoung turned in time to see Onew swipe the ball from him. Onew instantly drove downcourt, leaving the confused defense behind and laid the ball in, giving the Falcons the first two points of the game in under five seconds.

Taeyang held his temper. "Next time you get the ball, pass to me." Wooyoung nodded unhappily and went to guard his opponent.

"Let's just get those points back." Jiyong quickly tossed the ball to Taeyang. As soon as he passed, Jiyong regretted it. , I forgot about the massive size advantage for his opponent has…

Taeyang quickly jumped for a turnaround jump shot but his opponent slapped the ball right back into Onew’s hands.

"Damn!" Taeyang cursed, going upcourt to defend. However, it was once again too late as Onew raced through and laid the ball in again. 4-0.

Seungri was already cursing himself. He's so fast now… why couldn't I guard him?

Onew smiled. "Looks like I'm winning already, Seungri."

Seungri retorted. "It's just begun." He faked right, and quickly dribbled left. However, Onew had already predicted the move and stole the ball again. Seungri’s eyes widened as Onew drove right past him with the ball and dunked on the other side of the court, drawing cheers from the opponent’s supporting audience. 6-0 in less then a minute.

"Junho!" Onew called, motioning from the left corner. Junho threw the ball over Taeyang’s head and he jumped up to catch it. Taeyang immediately crouched into defensive position. "Just try and get past me, brat."

Onew smiled again. "I know how well you guard."Onew quickly leaped up and swished a jump shot. "…But I won't fall for any of your tricks."

Taeyang scowled as Onew went back to defend. 10-0, Falcon’s favor in under two minutes.

Daesung, on the other hand, was watching intently without a word. TOP rejoined him and sat down. "They aren't concentrating."

"Hm?" TOP looked at Daesung.

"They aren't concentrating," Daesung repeated, his hands clasped together in his lap. "They're losing because they aren't covering the fast breaks quickly enough. They're jogging back to defend, not running. I think it's the carryover from the game plans we always used before: save energy for offense rather than defense. Falcons is getting tons of easy shots up close."

Daesung looked at TOP. "Falcons is a strong team. Our pure offensive tactics won't work here. Great teams will realize our weakness and attack it mercilessly. We have to strike back soon." Daesung turned back to the game. "When we get in, let's show them our defensive power."

Coach looked over, a bit surprised. He knows more about the game than the others think…

TOP grinned. "I will steal every rebound! That will control the game for our team!" Daesung smiled in return, but his eyes never left the game.

Since the game had come to a stop, Jiyong’s team was allowed to use its timeout. Jiyong glanced at the scoreboard. 17-0, with 15:32 remaining. Falcons is in very good form today…

"Daesung, TOP, it is time for you to join the game. Wooyoung, Minho because you have two fouls, I will substitute you two. I want everyone to change their positions appropriately."

Coach patted Jiyong’s shoulder. "Direct the offense to TOP. Our opponent will not expect it, and TOP needs to readjust to the game."

The ball air-balled and came short of the rim. However, this time Daesung was there to steal the rebound and he quickly passed the ball right back to TOP. TOP saw he was wide open, and he shot the ball from under the basket, bouncing it off the backboard. The ball went through the net.

Seungri was left behind as Onew blew right past him. Onew spun around Taeyang, bounced the ball through Daesung’s legs, and went for the layup.

TOP jumped up to block him, but Onew switched hands in mid-air and laid the ball in with his left hand. 21-19. Jiyong watched in shock. He's done that move so many times on us…

Onew tossed the ball to Taeyang. "Don't expect to get the lead so early."

Taeyang caught the ball. Damn that guy…

Taeyang dribbled straight through Falcon’s defense, and waited for opponent defender to collapse on him too. He looked to the side and grinned.

The ball flew from out of the group of Falcons defenders into TOP's hands. TOP was once again unguarded, and shot the jump shot calmly again a few feet from the basket. It swished neatly through. 21-21.

Taeyang took the ball and passed to Onew. "Don't expect us to give up so early, either."

A smile spread across Onew’s face. "Interesting…"

Onew spun around Seungri again… but he didn't notice that Seungri had let him get past this time. Onew crossed over Taeyang and stopped at the side of the basket. He jumped up for the jump shot.

And suddenly realized the ball wasn't in his hands anymore, but floating in the air.

Onew watched in surprise as Daesung jumped up and caught the ball. It then dawned on Onew— Daesung had knocked the ball from Onew’s hands as he had gone up for the jump shot.

"Guys!" Daesung reared back and threw the ball down the length of the court when he scanned the floor and saw Taeyang and TOP open.

Taeyang caught it and without hesitation threw a behind the back pass to TOP. TOP dunked the ball right over, making the lead 23-21.

Taeyang took the ball and passed it to Seungri. Seungri slowly dribbled down the court, shaving off as much time as possible. Seungri circled around, considering all his options as the opponent’s defender slowly left their positions and began approaching him. Seungri looked at the clock, then abruptly exploded, driving to the basket while dodging past the two Falcons defenders.

Onew and the two defenders, leapt into the air as Seungri jumped. Seungri silently dropped the ball off behind him to Taeyang, who took the ball and drilled an unguarded jumper a few feet from the paint. 39-26 0:23 remaining.

Onew took the ball and raced downcourt, then pulled back as he prepared to take the last shot.

"Guard him, Seungri" Jiyong said, giving the forward a gentle nudge. Seungri watched as Onew carefully approached him.

Onew stared at Seungri, then smiled slightly. "You aren't guarding the right person."

And so half-time began, with the unexpected Jiyong’s team leading by 13 points over Falcons.

Jiyong raced downcourt and shot a pass off to Seungri. Seungri stared down Onew for a brief moment before making a convincing fake to the left. Onew hesitated, his muscles tightening for a second—and that was enough for Seungri to zip past him. Before any other player could react, he was already soaring through the air, arm outstretched, bringing the ball down in a thunderous dunk right over two Falcon’s defender.

The whistle blew, piercing through the crowd's collective gasp. "Shooting foul, blue #5!"

Seungri let go of the rim and gave Onew a challenging glare before walking to the free throw line. Onew could only shake his head, a smile on his face—he knew what Seungri was planning now.

Jiyong nudged the nearby Taeyang, a grin now on his face. "Ready for the final stretch?"

Seungri took the ball, dribbled it three times, spun it around in his hands, and shot. The ball swished through the net, making the scores 52-44.

Seungri faced Onew, and Onew crouched into defensive position. "You won't get past again."

Seungri pump faked slightly, and then faked a pass back to Taeyang before trying to drive left. Onew didn't fall for any of the fakes and reached in to steal. Seungri quickly pulled the ball back. …

"Seungri, what the hell are you doing?!" Daesung realized that Seungri couldn't get back to defend and quickly raced over to cover for him. Onew smoothly shot a jumper, and Daesung accidentally touched Onew’s elbow as the ball released.

The whistle blew just as the ball went right through the net.

"Basket counts! Shooting foul, white #5!"

Daesung sighed in disappointment as the crowd burst into cheers.

Jiyong looked at the scoreboard. 0:09 remaining, and the score was 75-75. Jiyong looked back at TOP. It's down to you, TOP… I don't think we can win if we go to overtime…

"Falcons calls time-out!" the referee announced.

The referee's whistle indicated the end of the timeout, and the players all gathered back onto the court.

The whistle rang again, and the final nine seconds began.

Onew took a dribble to the right, then burst left. The two players quickly followed, guarding him closely. Onew had managed to push the ball to Jiyong’s territory, and Jiyong quickly went over to help the other two. The clock read 0:05.

Onew paused his dribble, then rushed forward, cutting across the court. He was now on the other side of the court, and Taeyang was next to come help the players.

Onew ran back around in a tight semicircle, with 3 seconds remaining. He glided into the air, with eight arms reaching to block.

The ball flew gracefully through the air, barely avoiding the outstretched fingertips of the defenders. It began to make its slow descent towards the rim.

The ball swished through the net, with one second still on the clock.

Jiyong’s old anger flared dangerously, and he slammed the ball onto the floor with all his might, completely enraged. "NO!"

The final whistle rang through the air. They had lost, 77-76.