The moment the game ended, the North Carolina players were incredibly disheartened. This was the cruelty of a single-elimination game; there was no time to adjust. No matter how excellent they had been before, the championship no longer belonged to them.
Hansbrough couldn't suppress the surging emotions in his heart and silently shed tears on the bench. He loved the atmosphere of college basketball and wanted his college basketball career to be more perfect.
But tonight, victory didn't belong to him. Watching the UCLA players celebrate wildly nearby while he could only silently leave, he felt even sadder.
Ellington had been fantasizing about winning the championship and then the MOP before this game, but in the second half, under Kayce's tight defense, he achieved nothing and was completely shut down.
How did they lose? He stared blankly at the opposing team, feeling particularly upset.
Lawson and Danny Green, however, were quite calm. The former, though regretful, had his thoughts already on the draft, while the latter was numb from being beaten down. The second half was simply his nightmare.
In his matchup against Kayce, he was completely outplayed. No matter how he defended, it was useless. Even at the sound of the final buzzer, Danny Green actually felt a sense of relief.
Kayce finally left his ecstatic teammates and began to embrace his opponents, after all, even 'superficial brothers' needed comfort. Seeing the North Carolina players looking so dejected, he felt a tiny bit of sympathy.
Losing last year had also made him sad for a while, so this year, he was determined to win it back.
Coach Ben began to call everyone back to the locker room. They had to change into their championship T-shirts and hats, waiting for the awards ceremony.
Coach Ben had been on tenterhooks throughout this game. From being underestimated to winning the championship, their emotions were truly like a rollercoaster. Only now could they completely relax.
Coach Ben was having a blast with everyone in the locker room. This was his happiest moment. The team's staff were also recording these beautiful moments, which would become part of the school's history!
"Alright, lads, change your clothes, put on your hats, and let's go get our trophy!" Coach Ben reminded them loudly.
"How do you feel, Kayce? I bet I won't be able to sleep tonight from excitement again!" Holiday asked Kayce with a happy expression.
"I feel like a long-held obsession has been released. You know, we lost last year and were questioned. With this championship this year, I feel my college basketball career is completely fulfilled."
Kayce answered Holiday's question while changing into his championship T-shirt.
"It seems I'm quite lucky; I haven't experienced too many failures, haha. My whole family is here today, don't forget to come over for a photo later!"
Holiday truly was a winner in life, with a feeling of peaking right from the start.
Once everyone had changed into their T-shirts, they excitedly walked out of the player's tunnel. The awards stage was already set up, and a huge cheer erupted from the UCLA fans inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
They had personally witnessed their home team win the championship in this game, and now it was time for everyone to celebrate.
The players' friends and family were also waiting near the awards stage, anticipating the moment the team would lift the trophy.
The host invited everyone from UCLA onto the stage and began the usual routine interviews.
Basically, school leaders started recounting glorious history, and led Coach Ben in describing the championship journey, first with tears of hardship, then with cheers and applause.
Kayce watched all of this from the stage, feeling a strange sense of familiarity, like a dream of the opening ceremony!
After everyone recalled the arduous championship journey, the NCAA athletic association officially began to present awards to the team, bringing out the championship trophy to immense cheers.
"The 2009 NCAA Championship belongs to UCLA!" President Gerald shouted loudly.
The moment Coach Ben led everyone in lifting the championship trophy, blue and white ribbons fluttered inside Lucas Oil Stadium, and the UCLA fans once again let out deafening cheers!
"Next, we will present the MOP award. Please welcome our President once again." After everyone had cheered enough, the host spoke again.
"The player receiving the MOP is, Kayce Lee!" President Gerald shouted again.
Hearing the cheers from the audience and receiving the trophy symbolizing the MOP, Kayce was extremely excited, and at the same time, he felt a jolt in his mind.
Maintaining a facade of calm, Kayce began his acceptance speech, first thanking the NCAA, then the school, then his family-like teammates, and finally his family and friends.
"Thank you for the support of my family. I know you can see this. Thank you, Li and Joanna, for raising me healthy. Thank you, Roy, Jamie, and Beth, for taking care of me. Thank you, Anne and Britney, for always being by my side!"
"Finally, I once again express my gratitude to the fans here today. Thank you for your support; this championship belongs to you!"
Britney was foolishly shedding tears at this moment. Anne, seeing her cry continuously, had to pull out her trump card.
"We're going to take a group photo later, and your makeup is all messed up from crying!" Anne knew this girl's weakness and went straight for the kill.
"Oh no, I need to fix my makeup! Why didn't you remind me sooner!" Britney immediately stopped crying and began to revert to her true nature.
"Alright, Anne was just teasing you. You're the prettiest today, let's go!" Beth quickly pulled the unreliable blonde sweetie away.
At this moment, Lucas Oil Stadium had turned into a temporary party venue. Everyone was excitedly shouting, and also taking photos to commemorate and record this beautiful moment.
Kayce saw the three beautiful girls walking over and quickly stepped forward to protect them, as there were too many people!
"Britney, why are your eyes red? Wow, you haven't been crying, have you!" Kayce said playfully.
"Who's crying? Quick, give me the trophy; I want to take a few more photos with it." Britney called out, embarrassed.
Among the three girls, she was the most prone to tears. This silly girl could cry buckets even watching a movie.
"Kayce, you did it! Congratulations on winning the championship!" Anne smiled and offered her blessings.
"Hehe, why so formal? Don't forget our agreement." Kayce gave her a 'you know what I mean' look, which resulted in Anne twisting his arm twice, both amused and annoyed.
"Alright, kids, let's take a group photo together; the photographer is getting impatient." The understanding Beth pulled the group over. She wanted to get the photos home early.
And so, with Anne on his left, Beth on his right, and Britney holding the MOP trophy leaning against Kayce, the four happily posed for a photo. This was Kayce's most beautiful memory at 19 years old.
By the time Kayce returned to the hotel, it was almost midnight. Everyone had gone wild tonight. If it weren't for age restrictions, they probably would have partied until they dropped.
After a quick shower, Kayce lay on the big bed, full of anticipation. After all, this was the first championship he had won, and he wondered what kind of badge it would produce.
Just past midnight, Kayce entered the dream space and called up the holographic projection of the control panel. Sure enough, there was a new notification in the achievement room.
Eagerly entering the achievement room, Kayce immediately saw a colorful badge. The entire badge emitted a faint glow. He quickly reached out and touched it, and seeing the attribute description before him, his heart was startled.
Achievement Badge [NCAA Champion]: Combinable.
The glory of the champion, all player attributes increased by one percent.
A badge that boosted physical attributes had appeared, and it was in the form of a percentage increase! This championship badge brought Kayce a huge surprise!
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