Chapter 39: The Ace Steps In

Chiko is in the zone. His speed, power, reaction, and flexibility are currently at their peak. His motivation to not lose the 300 pesos bet was enough for him to bring out his real strength.

Glorio stood for a while in a daze. He could not comprehend what happened to his performance. He felt like he was so dumb despite knowing what to do.

His reactions were too dull and it feels as if the muscle memories he had ingrained into his body after countless years of playing sepak takraw has suddenly banished.

Meanwhile, the crowd that was surrounding them was not happy.

"Hey, Glorio! I am betting on your team! Do it properly man!"

"I think Glorio is just trying to add spice to the game by letting the opponent score some points."

"I hope so. But at least he should do it properly and not just stand there acting like dumb."

But despite their loud voices, Glorio could not hear them. His attention is fully aimed at Chiko alone and for some reason, he could feel an indescribable feeling of dominance from the newbie.

"Prrrt! Glorio! Stop staring and start the play!" the one-eyed referee called out with his whistle before covering his mouth from team Madtak's direction and whispered,

"Don't worry. I got this. Just remember your part of the deal."

Hearing the referee nearby, Glorio regained a bit of his confidence and tried his best to smile

"Alright. Let's do it!" he waved towards Noynoy as a sign to start the ball feed. Noynoy nodded and tossed the ball high.

"Calm down. Calm down. Everything is under control." Glorio chanted to himself while he locked his gaze at the incoming ball.

"I am not gonna lose to those Teletubies!" Glorio reminded himself as he swiped the ball with a powerful overhead spike kick.

WHAPAANG!~

The ball went towards the other side at a faster speed than his previous spike serves. However, it also cost him the height of his spike, risking the chance to hit the net instead.

"Your kick was too low!" Noynoy shouted and Glorio gritted his teeth.

PAH-SKSKSKSKT~

"Nice!" Mark celebrated with a fist as he watched the ball get stuck at the net close to him. Unfortunately, his celebration was too early.

The ball did hit the net but thanks to its forward momentum and gripping spin while being close to the top edge of the net, the ball somehow managed to cross the other side without incurring a fault. Glorio smiled triumphantly upon seeing this.

"Ooops!" fortunately, Mark managed to react quickly by saving the ball with an inside kick.

"Ferdy!" Chiko called out.

"I got it. Ready." Ferdy's figure blurred and followed up Mark's saving kick with a high setup toss for Chiko.

"Thanks!" Chiko's eyes are still blazing in determination. Unlike before, his presence was an eye-catcher as he moved flawlessly towards the net where the tossed ball was falling towards.

Time seemed to stop as Chiko's eyes were locked at the incoming ball. Glorio on the other hand felt an unexpected Chill as he watched Chiko's back preparing for the spike.

"Don't tell me..." he mumbled with large sweat crawling at the side of his face.

After finding the perfect timing, Chiko's body made a couple of steps from forward before leaping high while spinning in mid-air. His waist twisted at a 90-degree angle to bring some momentum flowing from his lower body. Next, his right leg followed up with a flashy swing, meeting the falling ball with the toe vamp of his shoe.

"A scissor kick!?" Glorio's eyes and the rest of his team almost popped out as they witnessed the ball getting slammed at the floor with a devastating force from Chiko's scissor kick.

PHAANG!~ PAAAHK!~

The ground trembled at the impact together with a loud crispy sound of an unstoppable score for team Madtaks. Glorio and Noynoy stood for a while as they watched the ball roll away after an intimidating spike from Chiko. For some reason, they could feel that their opponent is finally showing their real cards.

"Wow! That was a really strong scissor kick!"

"I can't believe those clowns actually know how to spike. Not only is their new tekong fast, but his moves are starting to intimidate me."

"You felt it too? That move was just really cool and powerful. The way he executed the spinning momentum from the ground and unleashing the power in the air - it was just truly refreshing."

"Naah. His moves don't matter. They will still lose anyway. After all, team Bagsik hasn't shown their trump card yet."

The spectators have mixed reactions to Chiko's performance. While others are in favor of Glorio and his team, there were some honest bunch who decided to go against the majority of the opinion.

"Glorio I am going to play now." Erap, the team Bagsik's spiker who rarely talk finally suggested.

There was a slight hesitation on Glorio's face the moment he saw Erap finally stepping out of his idle position.

"I-I think we can still fight." Glorio insisted.

"You can't even react properly to his movements. How are you gonna win this match?" Erap's cold and deep gaze sent chills at Glorio's back. Not to mention, he is right. Glorio is now having a hard time facing Chiko. It seems as if his normal performance has been sealed away.

"But..."

"No butts. Can you afford to lose to those newbies?" Erap didn't back down. Though he was not as influential as Glorio, he is still known as the best player of the street takraw. He went at Glorio's position and added,

"I am taking over the kill."

Seeing the cold chilling gaze of Erap, Glorio knew that it's finally his time to give way. In order to save their face and counter Chiko's dominant performance, it is time to show their best player.

"Honestly at this rate, we might just lose to those newbies Glorio. They have managed to close up the score with consistent performance on their side. We need his help." Noynoy suggested.

"Y-yeah. I-I hate to admit this but those Teletubies are a persistent bunch. You can go ahead and wreck their hopes Erap." Glorio finally conceded.

"Good choice." A confident and sinister smile came out of Eraps' normally bored face. He swapped position with Glorio as a tekong before the referee nodded in approval.

Meanwhile, the moment Erap was seen swapping positions with Glorio, the crowd started to go wild. Most of them are happily laughing with triumphant faces.

"Wow! Look! Erap is finally moving!"

"Now we are talking! The best player of Madridejos is finally moving. This game is basically over! hahaha!"

"Now that Erap is finally playing, I feel bad to those newbies."

As for team Madtaks, seeing the opposing team swapping players made their eyebrows raise.

"Wow. That guy must be really good since he is very famous with the crowd." Chiko innocently commented.

"You may not know this but that guy is called Erap. A veteran sepak takraw player who is known to have played at the Regional and Division level. I heard he is a monster spiker and Tekong." Ferdy replied with a wary gaze at the dominant aura of Erap.

"Regional and Division level huh. Well, my fist is at the international level. I wonder if his kick is stronger than my fist." the muscle head Mark Gantes added.

Unlike during the team Madtaks' swap, the referee gave ample time for team Bagsik and finally started the game when everything is settled.

"PRRRRT!~ Game start!" the referee called out loudly after blowing his whistle.

It was team Bagsik's second turn out of their three given service. The score is almost tied at 6 against 7 still in favor of team Bagsik.

Glorio felt a little relief now that their best player is finally in the mood. He watched with anticipation as Noynoy finally tossed the ball high towards the positioned Erap.

"Take this, Teletubies." Erap softly mocked as he whipped the ball with a forceful spike serve.

WHAPAAANG!~

The ball crossed the net safely at a speed that shocked Mark and Ferdy.

"Too fast!" Ferdy tried to react but realized he was too far.

"Strong kick indeed!" Mark mumbled as he watched the ball pass by.

Chiko on the other hand was prepared. After all, he even managed to react on the Legendary Santi's spike, how much more from a street player. His eyes were narrowed while his foot rapidly stepped in a certain direction.

PHANGG!~

Chiko checked the ball upwards with a perfect side sweep. Unfortunately, his save was not enough to secure the ball's landing spot.

"Ferdy!" Chiko hurriedly called.

"On it" Ferdy chased the ball that was about to land outside the border. His quick reflex and flexible body managed to position himself properly to send the ball back to the inside and at Mark's direction at that.

"Finally my turn to shine." Mark swiftly received the ball with a jumping head swipe. Using his head angle and perfectly timed shake of his head, he sent the ball downward at an incredible speed.

"Take my Super Head Crushing Thunder!" Mark beckoned loudly with confidence, but before he knew it, his eyes glowed in shock when he saw Erap's back near the net.

"This guy..."

WHAPAAANG!~

Mark's ridiculous heading shot was countered by an unexpected summersault kick from Erap.

It was an extremely powerful spike that managed to shake the ground and the team Madtak's confidence.