The event lead—Ellis—seated the three young people in Ryan's row. Sloan took the seat on Ryan's right; the girl with the dog sat on his left.
Out at center court, the emcee lifted his mic, his voice slamming through the speakers and filling the whole place. "Alright, alright—everybody in? Thirty-two teams, better part of two weeks, and it comes down to these last two! This afternoon, right here on this floor, we crown the champions of the Vantix Youth Basketball Open, U18 Ceris Regional!"
A wave of hollering and whistles rolled through the stands.
"First team out—two four-star recruits anchoring this squad, nobody's had an answer for 'em all tournament—the Ceris Ballers!"
A team came trotting in from the side of the court. That half of the stands surged to its feet, signs thrust overhead, one wave of noise rolling over the next. Ryan ran his eyes across it—clearly the bigger crowd on this side, drowning out the other end by a good margin.
