"Tigbas Bola!" Yang shouted as he kicked the ball hard downward over the net. His feet smashed the ball downward with incredible power and force that one could see some tiny's parts from the rattan ball jumping out from the pressure!
"I Won!" Yang celebrated but soon realized something is wrong. Chiko is not actually far as he expected but was in front of him! Yang did not hear the sound of the ball hit from the opponent's court. It landed behind him instead!
Yang was too preoccupied with his winning thoughts when he realized the ball has actually disappeared in front of him and was actually behind him rolling in the floor.
"What happened?" Yang was confused. "Did I hallucinate that time? I was pretty sure I sent it down with a hard tapping kick!"
"Score is now two against two. One more and I win!" Chiko has smiles all over his face.
The spectator witnessed everything that happened and they saw exactly how Chiko got the score.
Chiko actually stopped in the middle of his advance and has also predicted Yang's fake attacking-pose.
Chiko countered the sneaky attack with his left knee and follow-swiped it downward a quick. It all happened so fast that the ball landed right after Yang did.
"Impossible!" Yang was in disbelief. He was pretty confident in his sepak takraw skills that he was even confident he can fight against Santi and possibly make a score. He clenched his hand and prepared for Chiko's next serve.
Chiko took a deep breath. He focused his eyes on the ball as he stood motionlessly inside the service ring.
"Ready? This will be the deciding match." Chiko confirmed while looking at Yang.
"Whatever let's just finish this," Yang replied.
"Play!" Chiko launched the ball over his head. Recalling the move again, his lower body stretched as he performed a horse kick spike serve! This time, the power was not as strong as before and Chiko has a pained expression. The ball traveled a little off and almost did not reach over the net's height.
"It is finally kicking in!" Beethoven exclaimed as if he was expecting something out from Chiko.
Chiko was also surprised by the sudden drop in his performance. Despite his effort, his body is not responding very well.
"My body is not responding well. My thighs and hamstring hurt a lot!" Chiko almost dropped on his knees due to the pain.
"You might have exceptional copying ability but your muscles are not yet toned to such sudden flex and exertions. Now you know why practice and stretching are very important." Santi seems to have been expecting Chiko's unusual performance and knew immediately the source of the trouble.
Even to professional athletes, injuries are usually present and are like rituals to become a better player. No one can become a pro right away without paying its due to the law of perseverance and hard training!