Attack on Titan (A basketball Au)

Chapter 5 : The trial game pt.2

Eren and Armin stood looking at him with only one goal in mind. To beat him! They both said....

After the outburst that Finn made, Armin and Eren were determined more than ever to win this game no matter what it took even if it was just a trial match.
The ball was currently in Marco's possession. He looked to the left and passed to Finn who was being marked by Eren.
"I don't know where that confidence came from but you're not gonna win", Eren said.
"Who said anything about confidence?", Finn replied.
And that's when it started. Finn rushed at Eren with a crossover to the right, in between his legs to the left and passed it to his other hand from behind, faked moving to the left and broke past Eren from the right. It was so fast that Eren didn't have time to react.
"Shit! Bertholt, Jean", Eren shouted as Finn made his way to the basket.
The both of them blocked Finn's path to the basket but Finn didn't stop running. He avoided them, ran towards the outside and jumped out of the line behind the basket.
"Yes, we stopped him", Connie shouted.
"Not quite", Finn whispered as he was still in the air, he threw the ball from behind himself , behind the hoop and entered the basket.
"Amazing!!", "He threw it from behind!!", "He's a monster!!", series of cries went up from the audience.

Hmm, Erwin thought.

"Good grief", Finn said looking up at Anna who smiled cheekily towards him.
"Guys , this is insane", Connie said.
"It's not over yet. We can still do this, we have 3 more minutes to equalize so get your shit together and let's win this!", Eren shouted.
"Who said anything about giving up", Jean said, "The four of you pass the ball to me and leave Finn to me. Eren, you should focus on Reiner because according to what Berholt said he is yet to show us what he can do and you're the only one who can curtail him".
Eren ticked off by Jean telling him what to do still agreed and committed fully with the plan.
"Armin", Eren said, "I leave the rest to you".

The match continued.

The game was so intense that even Levi broke a tiny sweat as to how the match would end.
The ball is currently in Connie's possession.
"Jean", Connie said then passed to him.
As Jean and Finn stood one on one, Finn couldn't help but notice how Jean seemed different from before.
So he's finally doing it, Marco thought.
Then Jean moved. He rushed at Finn with a crossover to the right, in between his legs to the left and passed it to his other hand from behind him, faked moving to the left and broke past Finn from the right.
"W-What?", both Reiner and Thomas exclaimed.
T-that's Finn's move, Armin thought.
As Jean made his way to the basket, he was blocked by Finn who had an amused expression on his face. But Jean didn't stop, he made his way towards the outside. All of a sudden a hand came from behind and hit the ball out of his hand. There was a look of shock on his face as the one who intercepted him was Marco.
"Sorry Jean but we're on opposite sides", Marco said then passed the ball to Reiner.
As Reiner got the ball he immediately went into action. He moved past Eren using his height and strength to maneuver his way around him and started towards the basket but he failed to see Armin coming from the front and reacted too late making Armin to effectively collect the ball and give a splendid pass to Bertholt who shot another three into the basket.
"Yes!", Connie exclaimed, "we can do it".

The score is 16-21.

"Marlowe, Thomas, keep your eyes open and look out for Armin", Finn said.
"Easier said than done", Marlowe replied.
"Reiner, switch your mark to Jean. Don't play too hard or he'll use it against you."
"Alright", nodded Reiner.
"Marco, stay on Connie and watch out for distractions."
"And me, I'll take on Eren", Finn concludes.

After they had all gotten to their respective marks, Eren, Armin and Connie shared a look and proceeded to carry out their own plan.
Marlowe is currently with the ball. He ran forward with it and passed it to Marco who observed and passed it to Reiner. Reiner stared at Jean closely who had a mask of indifference on his face. Reiner then dribbled to the left before adjusting his weight to match his speed then faked a crossover to his right using his height advantage to go past Jean but Jean was agile and blocked Reiner, collecting the ball and running towards the opposing side. As he was running he suddenly stopped, took a step back and shot a three right into the basket from the middle line exactly as Bertholt did.
"Alright keep at it", Eren shouted.
(1 minute to go. Score : 19-21)
This is the final stand. This is the point that determines who will lose and who will win this game.
The ball is currently in Finn's possession. Eren came at him and smirked "so much for winning Ryder".
"Ohhh", Finn smiles, "then give me a good show Eren".
Finn dribbled in front of Eren moving at that insane speed he has and went through him but Eren caught up and hit the ball from his hand. As the ball went from his hand Eren made a grab for it but before he could reach it Finn spun around and took the ball from the air passing it between his legs and running forward. Eren quickly caught his bearings and moved towards the same path as Finn. He's fast, Eren thought. As Finn was running he was confronted by Connie and Bertholt, "You're slow!!", Finn said then moved past them easily faking left, right, right, left again and broke through them from their front as they were overwhelmed by his skill and speed.
As he jumped to make the dunk Eren showed up and jumped with him blocking Finn from making the dunk.
He jumped higher than me despite me leaving the ground before him. He's going to block it, Finn thought.
"This is the end Finn!!", Eren shouted.
"Really?"
Finn didn't make the dunk, he held the ball in the air as he was falling almost parallel to the ground. In that moment he shot the ball.
"What the hell?!!!", "what kind of shot was that?!!!", "it had no form!!!!", different uproars were heard from the audience. Even Mikasa and Annie had a look of surprise and disbelief on their faces.
"W-What just happened?", Eren said.
"You're amazing Eren. You made me to make a shot like that, You're really talented but as I said, the only one that can beat me is me. So Eren what will you do", Finn said.
"Don't give up Eren. We still have 20 seconds left. We can do this!!", Armin shouted.
"Listen to him Eren. You have to win. Don't lose hope!!", a shout was heard from the audience.
"A-Anna", Eren said.
"Listen Eren, if you don't win I will never kiss you again and I swear I'll take your allowance for a year!!", Mikasa shouted smiling.
"Mi-Mikasa".
"Team 3, team 3, team 3, team 3!!!", chants were being shouted from the audience.
"Oi Yeager, I hate you but don't just stand there. Get a move already", Jean said.
"You're right. What was I thinking", Eren said, "let's go!!!".
Reiner couldn't help but be impressed by Armin's will to go on and win.

The ball is currently in Bertholt's possession. He passed to Jean who gave a back pass to Armin. As Armin was running with the ball, Reiner came to stop him but was blocked by Connie
Shit a screen, Reiner thought, "Thomas, Marlowe, stop him!", but it was too late.
"W-where is he?"
Armin appeared in front of Finn which caught him unawares.
"Checkmate", Armin said then passed the ball in the air towards the basket with Eren already jumping to catch the ball.
Finn's eyes widened upon realization and shouted "Reiner don't!!", but it seemed like Reiner didn't hear him as he jumped from behind Eren in an attempt to get the ball but missed as Eren was higher which resulted in him hitting Eren from his back although it didn't stop Eren from making the shot into the basket.
"Foul!, black ball, 2 free throws, basket counts", the referee shouted.
A cry of joy went up from Eren's team as the score was now 21-23.
When Eren was in place he breathed in and out calmly and remembered Armin's plan. So he made the first shot and it entered. As he was about to take the second shot he hesitated, looked at Finn's face, then threw the ball towards the basket.
"Rebound", Connie shouted.
Reiner and Eren lunged for the ball but Eren got to it first and was about to dunk it when Finn rushed up and stopped him. Eren's eyes widened in shock but continued to press down the ball to enter the basket. But Finn increased the pressure on his hand and pushed Eren's hand from the basket ultimately stopping Eren's dunk.
It ran in slow motion as Eren fell to the ground and the buzzer went off.
"Score 22-23, team 4 wins!!", the referee shouted.

There was a silence that passed through the entire court for almost 30 seconds. Then there was clapping, and standing. Everyone in the audience stood up and clapped for the players on the court, cheering for them and congratulating them. Mikasa and Anna stood up with the crowd but Annie sat on her seat and flashed a small smile towards Armin who blushed a bit and nodded his head as appreciation towards her. Finn made his way to Eren and stretched out his hand to him.
"C'mon Eren, don't beat yourself up. We will definitely play against each other again without holding back", Finn said as he smiled towards him.
"Yeah we will", Eren responded as he took Finn's hand and was hurled onto his feet.

"Both teams bow!", said the referee.
The two teams bowed towards each other and left the court talking amongst themselves, some feeling relief, others feeling determined.
When they got out of the court, they were met with Erwin and Levi who looked at them with a satisfied expression.
"Not bad brats. Not bad at all", Levi said.

Another chapter done ✅. Thank you for reading this chapter and as always you can leave a review. Criticism is also appreciated so feel free to state your opinion. I didn't want Eren to win this match because it would seem a bit off considering it's his first match and also that he would come to terms with the fact that there are better players than himself. This defeat will make him to strive to become better than he was.
Can anyone guess who Bertholt and Jean are? I believe I dropped some hints *me smirking 😏*.
That is all for now and I'll see you all in the next chapter. Bye 👋
(Next chapter : 2nd of May).