And in the final preseason game, A. Nikola joked to Akur:
"You're not going to score zero again, are you?"
Akur just shrugged and said to A. Nikola in somewhat broken English:
"I'll bet you a hundred dollars I score more than ten points this game!"
A. Nikola perked up. "You're on!"
It wasn't just A. Nikola. Dauding and Baturu also made bets with Akur.
As it turned out, Akur sank a three-pointer right at the start of the game, then kept up that hot three-point shooting into the second quarter.
He made three of his four three-point attempts in the first half.
He also grabbed an offensive rebound and dunked it in once.
So he hit his target before halftime.
As soon as he came off the court, he eagerly held out his hand to A. Nikola, Baturu, and Dauding for the money.
They were all veterans on the team, but losing a hundred bucks to a rookie was a little embarrassing. One of them even tried to welch.
But Wang Yi said, "A bet's a bet. You lost, so pay up!"
The three had no choice but to hand over a hundred dollars each.
Wang Yi liked betting, too. He grinned and joked to Akur:
"You make more money betting than you do playing."
Akur said gratefully, "Thanks, boss!"
Akur had been a fan of Wang Yi's for a long time. His barely contained excitement when he first met Wang Yi made it clear just how much he admired him.
Now the boss had stood up for him, too, and Akur was even more grateful. It looked like he'd picked the right person to root for.
Akur made six three-pointers in the game and scored 20 points.
The Raptors also beat the Heat by ten points.
After two