Final-Day Game; Part-Three
Final-Day Game; Part-Three
He switched benches and rested for the ten minutes break with the Team Ming.
Ming stood from his seat and faced the members.
Ming: "Okay, about the starting five for the third quarter, we should let Antony rest for this one, and in the last quarter, I would step out and let you guys handle it."
Seeing no opposition from the team, Ming nodded and turned to Shun.
Ming: "Shun, you and I will be on passing duty for this quarter. Both you and I will be using every play we know to guide the other three.
Ivan can play from anywhere, Carlos will play from mid-range and inside that, and Roger will play in the post.
We have all the options we need. We simply need to make sure to make plays that will facilitate them properly."
Shun nodded and replied.
Shun: "Let's score some and then score some more."
-*-*-*-
Both teams walked back to the court, and the ball was once again with Team Leonal.
Leonal was playing as the point guard and just as he passed the half-court line, and took a few steps in. He was met by Shun, who was waiting to defend him.
Leonal and Shun watched each other. The sense of sight was the one thing that stimulated their reflexive action the most, so they watched each other waiting for the other to make a move.
Finally, the first one to move was Leonal, he did a small lean to the left, and immediately Shun reacted and got ready to defend against a drive.
But Leonal, who had leaned to the left, moved to the right. And, Shun's body reacted with a jolt as he moved to the right to cut off his path.
Leonal's reflexes also got to work as he immediately pulled back and threw the ball in an overhead pass to a player behind Shun.
Shun wasn't done just yet, as he jumped towards the ball with all his might.
Shun: "Not so easily!"
One of Shun's fingers touched the ball. And, the pass course that Leonal had intended for the ball to follow changed.
Carlos was the one to shout out.
Carlos: "Free ball!"
The moment Shun got to the ground, he turned and chased after the ball.
He reached the ball and had just touched the ball when Rafael lunged at the ball and tried to grab the ball.
Shun: "Huh?!"
Shun and Rafael grabbed the ball at the same time and tried to snatch the ball from the other.
Albert, who was the referee, blew his whistle and said out loud.
Albert: "Jump Ball!"
Rafael and Shun looked at Albert, and Rafael let go of the ball, and Shun passed the ball to Albert for the Jump Ball.
-*-*-*-
A jump ball was simply a tip-off. It was initiated mid-game when, for some reason, the possession of the ball couldn't be decided.
The participants of the jump ball were Shun and Rafael, as they were the ones who had tried to get the ball.
Both of them got into position with the other members surrounding them. Albert threw the ball up and let the two jump for it.
Rafael got to the ball first, but when he tipped the ball towards Leonal, Shun once again got a hand on the ball it changed its direction to Carlos, who caught it and ran to the basket.
Shun smiled when he saw the ball go to Carlos and shouted.
Shun: "Score!"
The surprise of the fast-break was almost immediately erased when Bruno caught up with Carlos at the top of the key.
Carlos had a small smile on his face. He kept an eye on Bruno, and the moment they stepped into the paint, Carlos dribbled the ball from his left to right hand, jumped at the same time, and hooked the ball into the basket in one single continuous movement.
The motion of the move so smooth that Bruno wasn't able to react to it. And, Carlos ended up scoring with the help of his excellent ball-handling skills.
-*-*-*-
In Team Ming's possession, Ming and Shun got to work as twin point guards, to move the ball around the defenses of Team Leonal.
Ming passed the ball from the outside, near the baseline to Carlos, who threw it away to the mid-range.
Shun, who was at the mid-range, caught the ball and dribbled inside.
Douglas came to guard Shun, but Shun threw him off balance with two jab-steps and immediately shot the ball with Douglas still off-balance.
Shun glanced at Douglas and smiled.
Shun: "Be careful, big man, or next time you just might fall."
Douglas grinned and replied.
Douglas: "You sure have a mouth on you, don't you?"
Shun shrugged with a smile and responded.
Shun: "What can I say, it is one of my charms."
-*-*-*-
Shun was near the top of the key, with Rafael staying close to him.
He wasn't able to move much with Rafael locking him down.
So, to get out of this situation, he scanned the court, and a smile emerged on his face.
Shun passed the ball to the left behind him in a no-look bounce pass, and the moment Rafael's eyes followed after the ball, Shun ducked under Rafael's arms and ran towards the basket.
Near the ball, Ming appeared to catch the no-look pass, and while running along the three-point arc, he passed the ball back to Shun, who was near the free-throw line.
Shun caught the ball, and from the free-throw line, he threw the ball at the basket.
Leonal, who looked at that, frowned.
Leonal: "Why didn't he shoot?"
He got his answer when the center of the Team Ming jumped for the ball.
Roger Mael caught the ball mid-air and slammed it into the basket in with an alley-oop.
Shun pumped his arms up and said loudly.
Shun: "Oh, yeah!"
Shun smiled as he thought.
Shun: 'He might play with a soft touch and post skills, but that doesn't mean he can't dunk.
He can dunk whenever he wants, and there is no one who wouldn't like to dunk.'
Shun stopped in his thoughts for a moment before continuing.
Shun: 'Midorima might be an exception.'
-*-*-*-
Gilbert Knight looked at the Team Ming scoring on his team one after another and piling up points, and he didn't like it one bit.
The games that Gilbert played in were all low score games.
Before the state championship level, Gilbert and his team would wrap up the other teams by restricting their scores to single digits.
Even at the National level, he was able to stop opponents under forty points.
But, know the point scored by Team Ming was already over fifty, and they still had a quarter and a half to go.
He took a deep breath and said to himself.
Gilbert: "I don't like this. These guys are scoring left and right, just because I am balancing myself between offense and defense.
I guess I just need to switch back to how I usually play."
Gilbert Knight was a defensive player, who made it his mission to cut the wings of the offense.
-*-*-*-
Shun had just got the ball from Ming and was at the mid-range, ready to shoot.
Suddenly, Gilbert entered his vision. Shun felt his reflexes tingle and thought.
Shun: 'He will block my shot if I shoot now.'
To remedy that Shun, did a single pump fake, surely Gilbert jumped and messed the chance to block Shun.
Shun smiled, and he once again raised his arms to shoot the ball.
Shun: "Here we go."
Shun released the ball, but his smile faded, his eyes widened when he saw a hand coming in front of the ball, grabbing it comfortably.
Shun shifted his eyes to see that Gilbert had taken a second jump.
Shun: 'He still can reach in time with a late jump?!'
Gilbert was 202 cm tall, and his vertical jump was huge, so it shouldn't be surprising that he would have a long reach, but seeing it like this really put things in perspective.
He held the ball in hands and threw it to Leonal, after passing the ball, he ran to the inner-post for a rebound or a pass.
-*-*-*-
Ming had just run into the three-point arc, he dodged Rafael with a back change, and while leaning close to the floor, he bounce-passed the ball to Ivan, who was now charging his way towards the basket.
Near the baseline, right to the basket, Gilbert and Douglas were locked up with each other.
Douglas immediately set up a screen to box-out Gilbert from interfering with Ivan, but his efforts were negated when Gilbert wrapped his leg to the front of Douglas and used a quick spin to get in front of him.
Douglas couldn't handle the quickness that Gilbert moved with.
Douglas: "What! So fast!"
Gilbert ran towards the basket, and the moment Ivan jumped for the dunk, Gilbert put force in his quads and leaped towards him.
Gilbert: "You. Will. Not. Score."
The ball in Ivan's hand was met with Gilbert's hand, and Gilbert dislodged the ball, took control of it, bought it down towards his other to stabilize his hold on the ball, and once again threw it to Leonal.
Leonal caught the ball, just for a second even his reflexes weren't able to react, and he just stared at the ball in his hands.
But, he snapped out of his stunned state and threw it to Bruno.
Bruno ran to the basket in a fast-break and scored with an easy dunk to the basket.
-*-*-*-
The third quarter ended with Team Ming's scoring rate reduced because of Gilbert Knight's defensive spree.
Ming and Shun's attempts to move the ball around were successful, they were able to bypass every other member of Team Leonal except Gilbert.
Gilbert was always there, closely following the ball, and he would pounce on it if it came close to him.
Shun had his eyes closed, going over the performance that he had just seen.
Shun: 'This is good stuff. To think he would be this aggressive when he plays sole defense.
And, he wasn't charging without thinking, he followed the ball and nothing else.'
Shun's heartbeat just a little faster seeing Gilbert's performance, he knew that he wouldn't be able to develop jumping ability equal to Gilbert.
Shun: 'But, if I just react faster than him, then I would be able to meet my mark earlier and at a lower point in height.'
Shun was indulging his thoughts and plans for future development when his eyes snapped open as he sensed a pressure near him.
He sat up straight and looked at Ivan, who was emitting an aura of seriousness.
Ivan stood up, looked at Shun, and spoke to him for the first time since the start of the game.
Ivan: "Gather the passes to me."
Shun only nodded in response, and the other also just watched Ivan in silence.
Shun watched Ivan walking to the court, and his current chain of thoughts was.
Shun: 'I will pass to you, so show me what you can do.
The more seriously you play, the more I would benefit.'
Shun looked at Gilbert and Ivan on the court, his final thought before entering the court himself was.
Shun: 'Irresistible Force Paradox.
The match between The Unbreakable Shield and The Unstoppable Spear, let's pit them against every opportunity I can to create some heat.
The more they clash, the more I will benefit.'
Shun looked forward to the fourth quarter, he wanted to see what the two best players on the court would show if he made them clash against each other.