The first quarter had come to an end with both teams resting on their respective sides of the court, recovering as quickly as possible to be able to return to the hardwood.
24-21 was the current score.
As soon as Aaron entered the court, the Royals team took a complete 360-degree turn, managing to cut the disadvantage to only 3 points, something with which Coach Arbitello was immensely relieved.
His gaze could not help but rest on the player who was at that moment sitting and drinking water calmly, still with his eyes on the court as if he were weighing options or envisioning a new play in the game.
"Reed," the coach suddenly said, breaking the silence they were in and drawing the attention of the player in question. "How is your wrist?" the coach asked, wanting to know if Aaron was okay and paying special attention to any expression on his face, looking for a hint of discomfort.
"All good, Coach," Aaron told him in a relaxed tone, lifting the wrist in question which had suffered the sprain yesterday, and [indicating] that everything was fine at that moment.
"Alright, keep it up," Coach Arbitello responded without saying another word, letting the players continue to catch their breath.
On the contrary, on the bench where the Kangaroos were, the situation was not as relaxed as the Royals', with the team coach frantically drawing lines on his board, explaining them to his players.
"We must not allow number 15 to keep shooting that way," was the coach's first order upon seeing how the original 7-point lead had been reduced to only a 3-point basket.
"I need you two to pay attention to the perimeter and prevent him from shooting easily," were the instructions the coach gave to the team's small forward and point guard, who were the ones with the best defense on the team.
"But coach, won't that leave me more exposed?" a doubtful voice inquired from the edge of the circle, at which the coach could not help but let out a slight sigh of annoyance.
"You'll still have Colon to set timely screens for you, White; that's all I'll give you for now, our priority is to prevent the Royals from continuing with their triple strategy," the coach responded curtly, slightly tired of the problems his player gave him.
Jerry could be a great shooter and have one of the best scoring averages of the tournament with 21, but his reluctance toward physical confrontation also caused the coach headaches, having to adjust his tactics accordingly.
Against the Kentucky Cardinals and the Maryland Falcons there was no major problem since they did not know about that issue, and the team gave Jerry enough time to shoot calmly.
But with a Royals team they play often in their conference, that tactic was already exposed, so the Kangaroos' coach could only force more shots, trusting in Jerry's abilities, which seemed to have yielded results quickly.
But what he didn't count on, or rather what no one expected, was for Coach Arbitello to put Aaron Reed in to play; after all, the news that he had to leave the game against the Bulldogs yesterday due to injury was not a secret, so he didn't consider the possibility of seeing him play.
And it must be said that if he defends like that while being limited to a single arm, he didn't want to imagine the pressure he would generate on his players if he were completely healthy in this game; and while thinking that, a bitter smile also appeared on his face imagining having to deal with a monster like that back in New York.
"That's a problem for later," the coach thought quickly, deciding to concentrate on the most important thing at this moment, which was the game.
"Peep!" the sound of the referee's whistle broke the conversations on both sides, indicating that the rest time had come to an end and it was time for the players to return to the court for the second quarter.
This time the Royals had the ball possession, with Roland being the one in charge of the sideline throw-in, which he quickly passed to Maurice, who received the ball quickly and prepared to drive with it, passing it between his legs in an attempt to confuse the player in front of him, who hesitated for a few brief seconds which [Maurice] did not waste to break away and move up with the ball.
But unfortunately, he could not manage to penetrate the Kangaroos' paint since the players had fallen back, making the space very limited; so without thinking much, Maurice attempted a long-distance shot which unfortunately ended up bouncing off the rim and being captured quickly by Colon, the team's center, to start the counterattack.
"And there we see Maurice Barrows wasting an opportunity for the Royals to even the score," Jerry's voice was heard over the gym speakers, who couldn't help but make a face at that.
"It must be said, Jerry, Maurice can be a great player and all, but he must work on his shot from outside the free-throw line," Logan added quickly, sharing his thoughts with all the public sitting in the stands.
"If I had been him, I wouldn't have hesitated for a single second to hand the ball to Aaron, who was in the right corner ready to basket another shot," Jerry continued. "And it seems that Reed thought the same because he had clearly gotten unmarked, waiting for Maurice's assistance, ready to tie the score," Logan said quickly, remembering the sequence of the play.
After that, both presenters set about reviewing Aaron's shooting data in the minutes he played in the first quarter, showing great efficiency with 2/3 shots; though not many considering he only played 2 minutes, that amount was justified, and besides, his aim was almost at the level of Jerry White.
Returning to the situation occurring on the court, the Kangaroos team wasted no time and initiated their counterattack, moving the ball up quickly, causing the Royals to also start retreating to defend their basket, with Aaron being the most concentrated on defense as he immediately set out to mark Jerry, who was the leader of the Kangaroos' offense and their main scorer.
But before Aaron could get close enough to him for a man-to-man marking, his path was interrupted by Colon, who immediately interposed himself between him and Jerry, seeking for Jerry to move up without problems and add more points for his team.
Aaron, seeing that, immediately began to make feints to unmark himself from Colon, who could not keep up with Aaron's rhythm and could only see him out of the corner of his eye pass by his side in the direction toward Jerry; but despite his best efforts, he was not fast enough to prevent Jerry from releasing the ball toward the hoop.
Aaron, despite that, jumped with all his strength in an attempt to touch the ball and change its trajectory, but despite his best efforts, he could only see how the ball crossed the net again along with the sound of the buzzer, indicating that the Kangaroos team had scored again.
27-21 current score.
As soon as Aaron's feet touched the ground again and he turned, he couldn't help but notice the gazes of his teammates, who seemed to be in a state of lethargy, as if they were about to throw in the towel at that precise moment.
Instinctively, Aaron's gaze went toward Maurice, hoping the captain would give some words of encouragement and raise the team's morale; but seeing that Maurice simply had his head down just like his teammates, he knew he couldn't count on him at that moment.
Clapping loudly, Aaron caught the attention of all his teammates. "Come on guys, this isn't over yet!!" he roared at his teammates, waiting for them to react. "Just pass me the ball and I'll do the rest!!" Aaron kept shouting, provoking different reactions from his teammates, who simply nodded in his direction while the game resumed quickly.
Without wasting time, Corey passed the ball toward Aaron, who without wasting time moved up with the ball, giving quick bounces with his gaze fixed on the Kangaroos' basket; but they wouldn't let him pass so easily, as the Kangaroos had retreated quickly forming a compact defensive unit.
So Aaron, knowing that he could not pass them easily, passed the ball toward his right side, where Omar was accompanying him, and as soon as he received the ball, he didn't hesitate and began to drive, cutting through the center quickly, releasing Aaron slightly from the defensive pressure so he could go toward the corner; but even so, he attracted the attention of the two players who had the task of defending him.
Undeterred by that, Aaron still managed to unmark himself enough to be able to receive the ball back and look to drive toward the hoop, but the players in charge of marking him wouldn't make it so easy for him.
"Not so fast," said one, placing himself in front of him with his teammate at his side, wary of Aaron attempting a jump shot at that precise instant.
But Aaron, simply in response to that, performed a step-back, suddenly generating enough space to jump along with the two players in front of him, releasing the ball at the highest point of his jump while making contact in the air with the player in front of him.
As soon as the ball crossed the hoop, the referee's whistle didn't take long to sound, indicating a foul and granting an additional free throw to the Royals team.
27-24 current score.
The reaction of the players from the Kangaroos was not long in coming at that, with the penalized player being the first to arrive in front of the referee, ready to object. "I didn't even touch him," he said frantically toward the referee.
"That's not what I saw," said the referee curtly, staying firm in the decision he had taken despite the best attempts of the player in question to defend himself.
Before he could even say another word, he was dragged back by his teammates, not wanting the situation to escalate more than it already had.
Calmly, the referee took the ball and passed it to Aaron, who was already in position at the free-throw line, ready to shoot, while his teammates placed themselves on the perimeter ready to fight for the rebound in case Aaron missed the shot in question.
But Aaron stayed calm; giving slight bounces to the ball, he got into position, setting aside the stadium noise and the gazes that all the people on the court were giving him, and shot the ball with a movement he had performed hundreds of times, causing the ball in question to pass cleanly through the hoop.
27-25 current score.
"And Aaron Reed manages to reduce the disadvantage to only 2 points," Jerry said quickly; but what people paid more attention to was on the court, since the Kangaroos team didn't waste time and began their counterattack quickly.
However, perhaps it was Aaron's words, but this time the Royals team defended with more intensity than in the whole game, making the situation difficult for the other team, and at a given moment, Corey managed to steal the ball from the opposing point guard. "Counter!" Corey shouted quickly, moving up with the ball in his hands.
Without wasting time, Corey ran with the ball, passing it to Roland, who ended up passing it toward Omar, who passed it toward Maurice, completing a long passing sequence that left most of the Kangaroos' players bewildered.
Maurice, with the ball, thought about shooting toward the hoop, but a moment of hesitation ran through his gaze imagining himself missing the shot, a moment which the Kangaroos did not waste and headed quickly toward him with the objective of surrounding him and taking the ball from him.
"Here!!" a voice suddenly shouted, instinctively raising his hand upward, drawing the attention of all the players.
Maurice, although somewhat reluctant, passed the ball to the player who at that moment was asking for the ball and was slightly free because most players had focused on Maurice and on the ball in his hand, which allowed Aaron to unmark himself and, like a ghost, end up in the other corner.
With the ball in hand, Aaron didn't waste time and with the strength of his legs rose as high as he could to shoot the ball and then turn around, since he didn't need to see to know that the ball had entered through the net, and the sound of "Swish" simply confirmed it for him.
27-28 current score, Royals in the lead by one.
Authors thought's
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If you're wondering when the timeskip happens, it starts from Chapter 66 onwards.
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