Part-224

  Mili grinned, her eyes lighting up. "Yeah! The matches are so intense. I just had to see if it’s anything like that in real life."

  James he idea growing on him. "Alright, fair enough. Let’s see what happens."

  They found a seat he front, where they had a good view of the court. The game was already underway, and the crowd was alive with excitement. As they settled in, James noticed something surprising—one of the teams pying was from Banani High School, their school.

  He nudged Mili. "Hey, check it out. That’s our school team down there," he said, pointing to the pyers in blue jerseys.

  Mili leaned forward, eyes widening. "No way. What are the odds?"

  The game was in full swing, but it didn’t take long for James to notiething odd. While the pyers from Banani High were giving it their all, they were clearly outmatched. Their oppos, a team from Saint Abraham School, were dominating the court. Every shot from Saint Abraham recise, their passes crisp, and their defense imperable. In trast, Banani’s pyers seemed to be struggling just to keep up.

  "Man," James muttered, wing as one of Banani’s pyers missed a shot. "We’re getting crushed out there."

  Mili, who had been watg with rapt attention, nodded. "Yeah, it’s kind of sad. Saint Abraham is on another level."

  The scoreboard reflected the brutal disparity: *Saint Abraham 78, Banani High 45*. The gap betweewo teams was widening with every passing minute. Banani’s pyers looked exhausted, their movements sluggish pared to the high-energy offense of Saint Abraham.

  James sighed. "I knew our school team wasn’t the best, but this is rough."

  Mili, despite her usual tough-girl attitude, looked genuinely sympathetic. "Yeah, it’s hard to watch. Makes you wonder how much time these guys put into training. They’re probably out there every day, grinding, and still getting stomped."

  James nodded, his mind wandering back to his own training. Watg the basketball game reminded him of how hard it was to push past your limits, eve felt like the odds were stacked against you. He thought about the match with Goni earlier, how he’d barely been able to keep up despite all his effort.

  "It’s tough, but that’s how it goes," James said. "You train and train, and sometimes it still isn’t enough. But that doesn’t mean you give up."

  Mili g him, raising an eyebrow. "Since when did you get all philosophical?"

  James grinned. "Just something I’ve been thinking about tely. You keep pushing, even when you know you’re outmatched. That’s the only way to get better."

  Mili didn’t respond for a moment, then she nodded, her expression softening. "You’re right. Guess that’s true for more than just basketball, huh?"

  The rest of the game pyed out much as they expected. Saint Abraham tiheir relentless assault, and by the time the final buzzer rang, they had won by a staggering margin. Banani’s pyers walked off the court, heads hanging low, but there was a faint sense of respe the crowd. They had fought hard, even if the results weren’t in their favor.