Bogues was only one 1.6 meters tall,     1     made him the shortest player ever in the NBA. Guess what? Paul was only 1.6 meters tall, too! Paul knew that     2     shorter than other players meant that he had to practice more. During all those hours of doing jumps shots on his own, he used Bogues as his     3    , Paul once said, “If Bogues could make it, why not me?”

Our coach was not so sure. Paul had to     4     many times just for making the team. He was still usually on the bench, being just a replacement, which was really tough on him. Everyone knew Paul had real skills, and was someone who worked really hard and had a strong    5     to play for the team. This week, The lions were playing our main competitors. The Bears, a team whose record this season had been perfect. They hadn’t lost a single game.