Their Days of Nights

32 : Overtime

Benjamin

The referee blows the whistle to end the third quarter.

We manage to cut the opponent's lead down to nine.

Joshua stares at me, stunned that he scores at the buzzer.

He unconsciously tipped the ball to the basket while Lee attempted to block the shot. That's picturesque.

I approach Joshua, pat his back, and shake him up a bit. Then we go back to our bench.

Diego, who looked exhausted earlier, is now pumped-up. He calls everyone to make a huddle.

"This is our last chance," he says. "The momentum shifts to our side. We can't let this opportunity pass."

Dominic agrees. "We should do the same play. Full-court press. Pressure them early on, especially Nick."

I shake my head. "No," I add, "every full-court press is tiresome. We might run out of gas late in the final quarter."

Diego nods. "We can probably do this play two to three times. Then back to half-court defense."

Joshua speaks up, "please don't make me shoot again." He drops his shoulders. "I can do rebounds and run, but not shooting the ball."

Everyone shakes their heads.

"If anyone is open," I tell them, "especially near the basket, shoot it. We'll just manage to get the rebounds."

"That reminds me," Diego says. "Who's our primary scorer?"

No one answers.

He sighs. "I can take care of the fast breaks. Dom and Benjie," he points at us, "you take care of our offense. Nick will definitely worry about whom to guard first. Both of you were on fire last quarter."

I nod.

"We need to bring the lead closer if we want to win the game," Diego continues, "or at least take it into overtime."

Everyone nods.

I glance up for a second and see Kim and Kristina talking to each other on the bleachers. I focus back on what my teammates are suggesting; on how we can outwit Nick and his team.

I can feel the excitement rushing through my veins, and I somehow believe we can win the game.

There goes the buzzer again. The fourth quarter begins.

Basket after basket. Misses there, one after the other. Back and forth running. Out of bounds, steals, and blocks.

We didn't expect the other team to bring the pace of the game to the highest. But, here they are. And so are we. Everyone is giving their all. I even hear the small crowd cheering, shouting, and screaming on every shot attempt.

Nick, as usual, goes wild after he dunks the ball from a fast break.

Time-out.

I can feel the team breathe in and out.

I rehydrate.

The scores were forty-five and thirty-six when we entered the final quarter, now it's fifty-two against forty-eight.

We're back on the court.

I've never run this much when playing tennis. There are more variables to consider here, unlike in doubles matches where we only need to cover our spots. This is different. This is tenser.

I shake my head, slap my cheeks twice, and exhale. "Wooh!" I release some of the tension. And I can only think of two things, shoot at will and stop Nick.