Chapter 55 The State Championship 3
So the time passed and the day of the third game arrived, Jake spent the whole week thinking of another solution to win this game by using the strength of his teammates, but could not think of anything, even if the others received the ball and passed quickly someone would have to give the shot, and that would be the one to receive the lack.
Of course, it would not be the whole game that the other team would miss, only when they wanted to get past the scoreboard, but Jake did not know when that time would come so he could only trust his teammates who knew how to shoot.
The opposing team was called Snakes, probably by coincidence they used this tactic, they were an average team with no players to be taken into special consideration, most of them were efficient, they made the layups to be wrong and also the 2-point shots, they did not usually lose attacks.
Their defense was not very special, they did not steal the ball and also could not disrupt the attacks very much, only with the tactic of stopping the game with fouls they got so far, of course, that they had the skills needed to win the regional competition.
The game started and the ball was in possession of Jake, as he knew his team could lose if he played as always he talked to his teammates that he would spend less the ball in that game, it was necessary, more, if the opponent's defense scored double in it, would openings.
So Jake reached the three-point line and did his signs as always, to see that the opponent was planning to start with a foul, so he passed the ball to Owen and when his marker became distracted he left the mark and ran to the key , so Owen returned the ball to Jake who alone did the layup and scored the first two points.
That caught the Snakes by surprise, so they missed the chance to get ahead in that game, when they went to the attack, Jake and his teammates were scoring higher than usual, yet they managed to tie the game in a 2-shot from the opponent's SF.
They did some research on Jake's team and found out that Aiden and Lucas were defensive faults, but with tight marking like that would be difficult for them to attack all without making a mistake.
So Jake always told the team to at least know how to put pressure, because with the pressure and then the fatigue the aim of the opposing team would fall, and Jake told Owen to try a block if he saw an opportunity.
The game continued like this and used his teammates and his speed to score points and avoid the fouls, he was not afraid of fouls, but he wanted to show the other team that his tactics did not work against him and his team.
The team of Snakes, on the other hand, had lost hurts attacks because of tight marking, and so Jake's team finished the first period 6 points ahead, although Jake had run quite a bit was not at all tired and he had scored 8 points only in the first period.
The Snakes' team was missing out on what to do on defense, he who was known to do many fouls had failed to do any, and when they tried to double-marking Jake he would pass the ball and his teammate would score the free basket.
So the Snakes realized that they would lose the game sooner than they thought, the team already knew that by doing what they did and also without skilled players they would not win, nor did they think they would lose in the third round either.
But Jake is a player who can break the balance of a match on his own, even if he were to get tired in the third period it would be too late to narrow the gap, and it's not like when Jake leaves the court his teammates could not score points.
So the game continued like this until the end of the second period, the game was already 40 to 28 for Jake's team, Jake had made 22 points, and the PG who was trading him was now exhausted and Jake still full of energy, so everyone players are either Jake's team or opponents, including fans, reporters and scouts from other teams underestimated much that Jake could do.
Everyone thought that Jake was hiding his skills but no one thought that much, he was a PG and he was always the third on the points list, behind Aiden and Lucas, and how he had played so well in defense in some games, they, however, he could not move due to his tying movements, and the players did not seem to sleep a bit.
Jake in that game proved his potential as SF or SG, no one thought he should be the one who gave the passes, it was a waste of potential, of course, Jake knew what they thought, more was as he had said in the interview.
A good PG is like a quarterback in the NFL, no teammates who stand out and score points after receiving the balls would be of no use so he believed that in the future when playing with high-level players he could show all his skills.
In the third period, the team of Snakes knew that they had lost the game and relaxed in the marking, so Jake also returned to play as in the other games just distributing the plays, and thus the game was calming and the difference in the score even diminished.
So it was 70 to 60, and everyone was happy after seeing this game, Eric was right on the stand that his decision had been right to think Jake was a star, and in addition, now he did a favor for that player, either say that maybe in the future he can do exclusive interviews with him.
He was still preparing the questions and wanted to do after the next game that would be the semifinal so he would take the opportunity to ask what he thought of the final game that would most likely be against the Lions.
The coaches from other teams who attended this game were now worried that they might face this team, and for all of them they became favorites along with the Lions, Jake's team were also excited about being champions of the state and their dream and coach Roy as well.
They were not jealous because they were lucky enough to have Jake on their team, and they also knew that Jake was thinking about them and so he spent so much money and he always had few points in other games, now more than ever Jake was the captain in their hearts.
...
In the stands, sitting in the corner were two illustrious presences that would not normally come in school games, these women were Clara and her friend, Clara, as Jake thought, was the same shareholder with the largest number of shares in the sportswear company, she had 21 percent of the total shares of your company.
Her father had 10 percent, her husband had 10 percent as well and the woman on her side had the other 10 percent, Clara is only 25 years old this year, and her husband is 30 after marrying for having been betrothed by her father, Clara who was only 18 years old did not want to stay at home and went to do university of administration.
At the university she met her friend who was also from a wealthy family like her and they had met briefly at some social parties, so at university they found they had common tastes and became friends, and when she was 20 she had an idea and decided to go in the sports materials market and so tried to raise funds, in just 3 years the company started to succeed and now was starting to earn enough to reward who invested in it.
Her friend's name was Tiffany and she also decided to open a company when Clara opened hers, her company was a natural sports drink called Sports Natural.
Tiffany also invested in 10 percent of Clara's company and her company was starting to be successful too, Clara called Tiffany to watch the game of Jake who was the company's new advertising boy, Tiffany did not like her decision because Jake was very new, and she thought a high school player was better and would have more visibility for the young audience.
More after seeing the game tonight, Tiffany had nothing more to say and had to endure seeing the arrogant smile on Clara's face, her friend said that it was a good idea to have a younger and more talented player, besides having been recommended by Matthew.
Clara had pointed out several things, first, that was the recommendation of a friend, if they accepted they would have done a favor, according to he was young, then his sponsorship would be lower in value in the beginning, third he was very talented and would add value to the mark.
Fourth would be great to have a talented young player who over the years he would develop and look better and could even get to the NBA, so the company could be said a little responsible for it has succeeded.
Tiffany thought the idea was good, but Jake might not be so capable, but after today she had to accept that she was wrong and that her friend's vision was better than hers.