50-59, current score.
The game was in the last quarter, and the Royals team was leading by 9 points entering the final minutes of the tournament.
"And it seems, Jerry, that in a few minutes the Royals team will become champions in this edition of the STOP-DWI Holiday Classic," Logan said, already taking for granted that the Royals team would take the victory.
"I'd like to say otherwise, Logan, but being honest, I see it as difficult for the Kangaroos to cut the difference, especially with how Jerry White has been playing in the second half," Jerry said while making a grimace, remembering the last few minutes.
Now that the coach had changed the team's strategy and he didn't have the protection he counted on in the first half, his shooting percentage had decreased quite a bit, missing several of his last shots.
While he said that, the Kangaroos were in possession of the ball, with Brooks being the one in possession, moving it up toward the other side of the court while the Royals team was already in defensive positions, with Dominykas located under the paint.
Seeing that Dominykas was immovable, Brooks immediately passed the ball to his teammate, who, seeing that the paint was full and he couldn't penetrate the hoop easily, passed the ball to Jerry, who was on the perimeter next to Maurice, who was attentive to the ball.
Jerry, seeing the signs his teammate made, understood and immediately began to run, being followed immediately by Maurice, who was unwilling to give him any free space; therefore, when Jerry had the ball in his hands, he also felt Maurice behind him.
"Move," Jerry muttered, pushing with all his might, trying to get Maurice out from in front of him; but seeing that he couldn't and with the possession clock time running out, he turned his body to attempt a fadeaway toward the hoop.
But perhaps it was due to the haste or Maurice's interference, the ball traced an arc in the air and ended up hitting the backboard, causing Dominykas to jump with force, taking the rebound for his team.
"We have it won," Artie said, standing from the sideline next to Coach Arbitello, who simply nodded at that. "It seems so, my friend," he said with a smile.
Seeing that the game was practically won, he had taken out Aaron and Omar in the initial minutes of the [fourth] quarter, giving the team's substitutes the opportunity to play alongside Dominykas so he could protect the low post.
"This is boring, friend," Omar said, watching the match sitting in front of the court. "Look on the bright side, we're in the front row of the game," Aaron responded while bringing the Gatorade bottle to his mouth and rehydrating.
"You know, basketball becomes boring if you're not the one on the court," was Omar's next comment as he watched how the game developed.
"I'll give you that," was Aaron's response, agreeing with his friend, who seemed to be concentrated on something else.
"But not everything seems to be so bad," Omar said, with his gaze fixed toward the back where the stands were and two girls were smiling in his direction, to which he responded with a smile and a mischievous wink while making signs toward Aaron.
Aaron, turning as well, saw that his friend in question was looking attentively at two girls, one brunette and the other blonde, who seemed to be their age or only a few years older, and who were giving them smiles.
"The brunette is mine," Omar said, having already decided which of the two was the one that interested him, to which Aaron simply rolled his eyes, not being interested in either of them. "Do what you want," he said, returning his gaze to the court without giving the girls in question a second look.
"Come on, friend, help me," Omar said, hoping his friend would help him with the girl in question. "Today for me, tomorrow for you," was the next phrase he said, practically begging Aaron, bringing both hands in front of him in a sign of prayer.
Faced with that blatant plea, Aaron fixed his gaze again on the two girls in question, paying more attention to the blonde who, upon feeling his gaze on her, winked at him while waving her hand.
Without being able to help it, Aaron couldn't help but think of Hannah, comparing her slight features with the girl in the stands—for example, that Hannah's hair tone is lighter and she has more defined features compared to her.
On the other hand, Omar thought that Aaron had become interested in the girl in question since he hadn't looked away from her for a good while, which is why he smiled, thinking he would have his help; so he simply gave him a few friendly pats on his back, leaving Aaron confused, not knowing the mess he had gotten into.
Returning to the court, the game was already in the final stretch with the ball in possession of the Royals team, who sought to burn as much time as possible to avoid any error, even if that meant burning the entire possession clock, which happened.
"PEEP!" the referee blew the whistle, putting the game on pause while going toward Corey, asking for the ball, and handing it to the closest Kangaroos player for the sideline throw-in.
At that moment, both the coach and the Kangaroos players already knew that defeat was inevitable, since with only a few seconds on the clock and a 9-point disadvantage, it was practically impossible for the team to come back even if Michael Jordan were with them.
"No!!" a voice shouted, pulling the Kangaroos players out of their trance, focusing on the player who had let out that shout: it was Jerry, who held the ball between his hands and directed a significant look at all his teammates.
"I know we might lose, but at least we'll leave with our heads held high, right?" Jerry roared loudly toward all his teammates, who were attentive to the next words he would say. "One more basket, just one more, no matter what, but at least we'll leave by narrowing the lead they have," he continued with his speech while pointing toward the Royals players, who were also attentive to the words Jerry was saying.
"One more, just one more basket, and we'll get out of here with dignity," Jerry finished saying while his chest heaved slightly after completely venting all his frustration in this match.
"He's right," Ralph said, agreeing with what Jerry said. "One more basket is what we need," he said, motivating his teammates even more than Jerry had.
"Let's do it," the team's point guard roared. "Let's go Kangaroos," the small forward roared while his team's bench was not left behind. "Come on guys, you can do it," said one of the substitutes.
"KANGAROOS! KANGAROOS!" the whole team shouted, sending their support to the players, who looked fiercely at the Royals team and the hoop that was behind them.
"It seems the Kangaroos are going to play it all in these few seconds that remain, Logan," Jerry said, paying attention to the entire bench where the Kangaroos players had stood up and were supporting their team.
"I believe so, Jerry, and that is exactly what I like about basketball—that it can unite people and generate surprises like this one," said Logan, who, like the spectators, was attentive to the final play the Kangaroos would make.
Once the sideline throw-in was made, the ball fell into the hands of the team's point guard, who, with the last strength he had left, began to run in the direction toward the other team's hoop while the Royals players were already in position, ready to defend.
With quick and concise dribbles, he managed to break free from Roland's marking to then pass the ball quickly to his teammate, who tried to penetrate the hoop; but seeing himself stopped by Dominykas and Maurice, he passed the ball behind him to the spot where Jerry had placed himself in position and was preparing to shoot.
Seeing that, Corey wasted no time and went straight toward him, seeking to alter his shot; but before he reached him, Ralph interposed himself, setting a screen between him and Jerry, giving the latter the valuable seconds to take his shot while the game-ending bell rang throughout the stadium.
While the bell rang, everyone's attention was fixed on the ball and the trajectory it was following in the direction toward the hoop, with everyone holding their breath, not wanting to miss anything.
The ball began to descend toward the hoop under the watchful eyes of everyone, ending up bouncing against the shooting square and then bouncing on the edges of the rim like a sword of Damocles.
But it seems that luck did not accompany the Kangaroos this time, as the ball ended up falling outside the rim, ending the match with a final score of:
61-52.
"And the match has come to an end, ladies and gentlemen! The Christ the King Royals are the champions!!" Jerry's voice shouted while all the spectators in the audience stood up and celebrated, and the Royals players burst onto the court celebrating.
"We are the champions!" Omar shouted, running all over the court.
"Well done," Artie said, shaking Coach Arbitello's hand. "We did it, my friend," Arbitello said, sharing the same ear-to-ear smile as his friend.
But while the Royals team celebrated in a frenzy, the Kangaroos team was lying on the ground with their heads down.
Jerry was the most affected by this, as he was responsible for missing his team's last shot and blamed himself for it, believing he had let his team down. "You played well," Jerry heard someone say who was in front of him, the only clue being the pair of black shoes his eyes saw.
Looking up, he fixed his eyes on the player who had been a headache for his entire team, who was extending his hand, which he shook so he could be helped up. "You guys played better," Jerry said bitterly.
"You had a good streak of triples in the first half," Aaron continued, giving him another compliment, which was not a lie since in the entire tournament, Jerry is probably the player with the best streak of 3-point shots.
"Next time, I'll win," Jerry said, then headed toward where the rest of his team was and little by little helped them stand up and gave them words of encouragement.
While that happened, the organizers began to set up a small podium for the delivery of trophies and individual awards.
After that, what followed were some words from the organizers for the Kangaroos team to go up and receive their silver medals around their necks, only to take them off immediately after they came down, as if those medals were radioactive.
"And finally, the champions of the STOP-DWI Holiday Classic All-Star Teams, the Christ the King High School Royals of New York!" shouted one of the organizers while the players went up one by one receiving their medals, so that Maurice would go up last and receive the trophy, which he lifted immediately, celebrating along with the team while a camera captured the moment.
"To finish, the prize that most of you are waiting for, the MVP award," the presenter said while being handed an envelope in which the winner's name was found.
"The winner of the 2009 MVP is..." opening the envelope, "Aaron Reed of Christ the King!" the presenter said, provoking the uproar once again from the Royals team.
Aaron was immediately surrounded by his teammates in a sign of celebration, while the coach who was at his side also gave him pats in a sign of recognition as he approached the podium once more and took the MVP trophy that one of the event organizers handed him.
Returning with his teammates, they all surrounded him once again, admiring the MVP award in Aaron's hands, who before he could say a thing, was soaked.
"Splash" was the sound of the Gatorade bucket that was poured over Aaron by Omar, who had a goofy smile on his face at that.
"You little..." Aaron said, forgetting what he was going to say as he chased his friend, who wouldn't stop laughing, just like the rest of the people who saw the scene.
At one point, Melissa along with Paola and Hector went down to the court and were surprised to see Aaron all soaked, chasing Omar.
"Aaron," Melissa said, causing the latter to stop and smile excitedly, heading toward them, forgetting for a moment about Omar.
"Look, Mom," Aaron said excitedly like a child, showing his mother his new trophy.
"I see it, honey," Melissa said, giving her son a maternal smile and admiring the trophy he held in his hands.
"Let's have a photo," Paola said quickly, passing her phone to Hector and placing herself on Aaron's left side while Melissa occupied the right side with the MVP trophy in the center.
"Okay, ready?" Hector asked, pointing the phone in their direction while taking several photos.
And so, an important moment ended up framed in a photo, with a soaked Aaron but with an enormous smile while holding the first of several trophies he would receive.
Authors thought's
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