The next day Kilik, Maxi, and Yunsung were in their class together and they saw Xianghua, Setsuka, and Cassandra head to their desks, as they winked at them.
"Can anyone tell me what year the civil war ended"? asked the history teacher. Setsuka raised her hand as if she was going to answer it. "Maybe Maxi can" Setsuka said as she let out a giggle. "Very well, Maxi" said the history teacher. Maxi just pointed to himself giving the teacher a look of surprise. "Uh…1865" he said unsurely as he shrugged his shoulders. "Correct" said the history teacher. Maxi let out a sigh of relief when the bell rang. "I thought I was never going to answer that question" said Maxi as he, Kilik, and Yunsung headed for the door.
"Wait up" said Cassandra. "We hear tonight you guys got a game" said Xianghua. "We're going to let you guys off…for now" said Cassandra. The three girls giggled as they made their way out of the classroom. "I think they're beginning to like us" said Yunsung as he adjusted the collar on his white casual jacket. "You think the coach is going to have our butts for this" Maxi asked as he combed his hair. "There's a good chance he is" said Kilik.
"Where are those three" said Siegfried. "They could be making out with their tutors" Raphael said. "Here they come" Rock pointed. Kilik, Maxi, and Yunsung met up with their teammates. "We got a big game tonight" Siegfried said. "Also, the coach is going to bench you guys for not showing up to practice" Mitsurugi added. "Thanks for the heads up" said Maxi.
When school let out, the players headed for the gym, and there was no Edgemaster. "Where is he this time" Li Long said. "There was no one around when I came" said a voice. The team turned their attention to the voice and saw that it was Edgemaster. "You got to stop doing that" said Li Long. "I don't have to stop nothing other than saying to the principal that I quit as a basketball coach and move on" said Edgemaster. "Kilik, Maxi, Yunsung, I'll speak with the three of you later". Said Edgemaster. The teammates turned their attention to Kilik, Maxi, and Yunsung.
An hour later, the Soul High School basketball team took to the court minus Kilik, Maxi, and Yunsung. The trio was inside the locker room with Edgemaster.
"The three of you must know that it's just more than being a winner on the court but being a winner off the court" said Edgemaster. "But coach we" before Kilik could even finish what he was saying, Edgemaster had cut him off. "I don't want to hear excuses from you, I know about the whole situation with the three of you and don't think that I don't know about you and those girls that are tutoring you boys" Edgemaster said. Kilik, Maxi, and Yunsung were in shock. "I'll let you boys play the second half but remember what I said" said Edgemaster as he headed for the court.
The starting five for the team was Siegfried Schautffen at center, Heishiro Mitsurugi at power forward, Hwang Sung Kyung at small forward, Raphael Sorel at shooting guard, and Li Long at Point Guard. The game was on and Raphael was dangerous at the three-point line. Hwang, like Raphael was also hot in three-point line area. It seemed like that was the main objective, allow Raphael and Hwang to just hit threes. A timeout was called as the team headed to sit down.
Cassandra, Setsuka, and Xianghua waved at Kilik, Maxi, and Yunsung. "Pay attention, you three" said Edgemaster. The buzzer sounded as Siegfried, Raphael, Mitsurugi, Hwang, and Li Long headed back out on the court.
Mitsurugi inbound the ball to where Li Long was for a three-point shot that missed. 5 minutes into the game, the opposition came right back in thanks to their defense. Edgemaster was furious. The end of the first quarter was 24-18.
"Don't let them dominate you on the court, get physical with them" said Edgemaster. The team was doing the exact opposite, Raphael had his shot blocked, Hwang got tripped up, and Siegfried was being manhandled by the imposing center. At halftime, the score was 44-28. Edgemaster, at this point was livid.
"DID YOU TRY TO EVEN ATTEMPT TO RUN ANY PLAYS THAT WE WENT OVER" Edgemaster yelled. Kilik was shaking his head in disbelief; Maxi and Yunsung were looking down on the floor. "GET WITH YOU GUYS, IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO BLOCK A SHOT, OR EVEN RUN AN OFFENSIVE PLAY" said Edgemaster. "Now, second half we have Zasalamel, Rock, Kilik, Maxi, and Yunsung" said Edgemaster. "Get out and play like you're motivated about something" Edgemaster added.
The team headed out on the court looking for retribution. The second half kicked off with a series of Kilik and Yunsung assists to Maxi and Rock for lay-ups, and Zasalamel's defense. Kilik was about to make a three-point shot, when he passed it to Maxi, who passed it to Yunsung for the shot. The team was beginning to find its momentum and at the end of the third quarter, the score was 68-67. "We're down by one but we can do it" said Edgemaster. "GET MOTIVATED" Yelled Edgemaster.
The fourth quarter started as a toggle between the teams for the lead. It then came down to the wire with 0.5 seconds left on the clock and the opposition leading 98-97. Kilik threw the inbound pass to Maxi, who quickly passed it to Yunsung for a three-point shot only for him to get fouled before the buzzer could sound.
Yunsung was now at the free-throw line, a place he didn't want to be. "Focus, Yunsung" said Kilik. Yunsung sighed and missed the first shot. Yunsung sighed again and missed the second shot. Sweat was beginning to drip down the faces of the soul basketball team, Cassandra was biting her nails, and Xianghua and Setsuka were on the end of their seats in the bleachers, as Yunsung was about to attempt another free-throw shot. Yunsung missed but when the buzzer sounded… Kilik tipped in the shot as Maxi, Zasalamel, and Rock watched helplessly. The ball bounced off the back of the rim and in the basket. Soul High School had won their second game.