Alaric, he raised his hand. Patting each teammate on the shoulder. "Hey. Lift your heads. We lost, yeah. But that doesn't mean we're bad. Our opponents were just better today."
"The important thing is, we showed that we can compete at their level. We know it's not easy. We were just a little short this time. From here on out, we need more briefings, more practice together. So our communication is sharper. Next time, we'll make sure our campus comes out on top."
Alaric raised his hand, saluting the fans. The mood in the arena slowly lightened. Elliot, feeling guilty for missing the final shot, gave a faint smile. Alaric patted him on the back and said, "You played like crazy. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have even made it this far."
