Now, we’re inside the basketball court. Nakasandal kami sa railings sa second floor dahil pinapanood namin sa baba ang boys. Lahat sila ay nakapalibot kay Brice na nagsasalita.
First quarter pa lang pero I can already feel the intensity of the game. Loud cheers from the audiences, hype commentators and the players are glaring at each other.
Want to know more? Si Keith ang nagbabantay kay Niccolo!
I can see that Keith is guarding him heavily. Trying to stop the passes going to Niccolo kaso nga lang hindi na rin ganon nakakashoot si Keith.
“Ge pre ipasok niyo!” Sigaw nila Claud sa baba.
“Kaya yan Ayer!” Sigaw ni Blanca habang hinahampas ang mga bote.
“Ivo!” Iris shouted his name.
Napalingon ako and I saw that someone’s missing. “Where’s Rave?” Tanong ko sa kanila.
“Nasa labas, may nakasalubong na fling niya.” Sagot sakin ni Iris.
I just nodded at sumigaw na muli ako ng pangalan nila.
Aldo is dribbling pero hindi ito pinapakawalan ng kalaban niya. Nakita ko naman si Keith na umalis sa harapan ni Niccolo at pumwesto sa likod ng kalaban ni Aldo.
Aldo rushed again at hindi nakasunod sa kanya ang bantay niya dahil tumama siya kay Keith.
“What a screen!” Sigaw ng commentator.
Aldo shot the ball. Thank God naka shoot kami.
We’re now only 4 points behind. Yes, lamang ang Alpha. I don’t know why pero kanina pa sumasablay ang tres ni Earl.
“Pucha Earl! Ako na dyan!” Claud shouted dahil hindi na naman pumasok ang tira niya.
Brice called the attention of the staff, telling them that they will change players. Claud went in at kinausap kaagad ang boys.
Their positions changed. Si Ayer na ang nakabantay kay Niccolo habang si Keith naman ang madalas nasa labas o taas kung tatawagin. Si Claud naman ang kasama ni Ivo sa ilalim ng ring habang si Aldo ang paikot ikot.
“Aiby, si Earl lingon ng lingon.” Asra whispered to me. Tama nga ako, hindi lang ako ang nakapansin.
“Do you know why?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Try asking him.”
I nodded at tinignan si Earl na nakalingon na sa court. After 3 seconds ay lumingon na naman siya.
“Earl!” I shouted his name.
He looked at me and opened his mouth.
“Do you need something?” Tanong ko sa kanya.
He stood up at lalong lumapit samin. “Where’s Rave?” Tanong niya habang sinisilip ang mga girls.
Uh, should I tell him?
“N-Nasa labas may hinahanap daw.” Yan na lang ang nasagot ko sa kanya.
He only nodded and went back to his seat. Naramdaman ko ang pagsiko sakin ni Asra.
“Why?” Tanong ko.
“Why didn't you tell him?” She asked.
“Uh, I don’t know.” Nagkibit balikat na lang ako dahil hindi ko alam kung dapat bang malaman ni Earl.
Earl has flings and Rave also have his boys pero Earl and Rave always have their own little world.
We heard a whistle as a sign that the first quarter ended.
Nakatingin lang kami sa kanila habang naka upo sila sa bench. Nakita ko rin na lahat sila ay nakatingin kay Brice na nagsasalita.
“Kinareer na ni Brice pagiging coach noh?” Ely suddenly talked.
Asra nodded. “Yeah, yan nga daw ang sports niya diba?” She said then laughed.
Bigla nalang napalingon samin si Claud. “Bakit kayo nakatingin lahat?” Sigaw niya kaya napalingon rin samin ang iba.
Natawa ako nang makita ang pwesto namin. Nakahilera kaming nakadungaw sa kanila.
“Eh ikaw, bat ka nakatingin?” Deborah questioned him back. Nag high five naman silang dalawa ni Ely.
2nd quarter na at si Claud pa rin ang nag lalaro. Earl is even looking more impatient sa baba. Kanina pa siya panay lingon ditoat umiiling.
“Go Echo!” We shouted.
We tied the game pero I can see na hirap ang boys para dire diretso maka puntos. Dumoble na ang pagod ni Ayer dahil sa galing ni Niccolo.
“Ayer! Kaya yan!” Sigaw namin sabay sabay,
“Ano nga uli yung cheer natin?” Ely asked us.
“Hindi ata pwede yun. Pang volleyball yun eh.” Sagot sa kanya ni Blanca.
“Why not change the words?” Twilla asked us.
“Oo nga naman.” Tumango tango si Deborah.
“It’s Kaya yan! Hampasin niyo! Itodo niyo! Kabogin niyo! Right?” We nodded to Twilla.
“Hmm.” She looked up while holding her chin. “But we cheered for Brice without changing, right?”
“Hala, oo nga.” Biglang sabi ko dahil yun din ang sinigaw namin sa laban ni Brice kanina.
“Edi para fair, yan din ang isigaw natin sa boys.” Sabi ni Asra and we all agreed.
We counted 1 2 …3
“Kaya yan! Hampasin niyo! Itodo niyo! Kabogin niyo!” Sabay sabay naming sigaw.
We laughed when we saw Ayer and Claud na masama ang tingin samin. They wiped their faces and stood up straight.
2nd quarter ended at nakatingin na naman kami sa kanila. Sakto namang dumating na si Rave na may katabing lalake.
“Hey!” Tawag niya samin. “We bought bottled water for everyone.” Lumingon kami sa bitbit na plastic na dala ng lalake.
Inabot iyon samin ng lalake. We accepted it and drank. Nag paalam naman ang kasama niyang lalake na aalis na daw siya.
“Rave, saan ka galing?” I asked her bago siya tumabi sakin.
She flipped her hair. “Hinarang ako eh kaya kinausap ko muna. We talked in the cafeteria tapos sabi ko bilhan niya ng tubig tayong lahat.”
Tinuro niya ang boteng iniinom namin. “So, drink them para magamit natin pang cheer sa boys.”
Bumalik ang tingin namin sa court at sakto namang naka tres si Earl.
“Hoo, go Earl.” Sigaw namin.
Kalaban na nila ang may hawak ng bola at si Aldo ang katapat. His opponent tried to dribble to pass Aldo. Aldo stepped sideways, blocking his opponent’s tracks. Ilang hakbang pa ang ginawa ni Aldo but still, his enemy won.
Keith backed him up at siya ang humabol sa kalaban. He let the opponent drive past him and he turned around to poke the ball on his opponent’s hand.
“Alinston inagaw ang bola!!” Sigaw ng commentator while the audience are going crazy.
Keith immediately passes the ball to Ayer. Tumakbo kaagad si Ayer para ishoot ang bola.
66-60 ang score na ngayon. Kami ang lamang dahil bumalik na sa mood si Earl. His three point shots help a lot.
The teams took a break before the 4th quarter starts. Nakipag asaran ang boys samin habang nag papahinga sila. Before the game starts, lumapit si Earl sa banda namin.
“Shout for my name, Rave!” Sigaw ni Earl habang nakatingala kay Rave.
Rave scoffed. “Ang dami mo ng fans!”
“Pero, I want your voice.” Malambing na sabi ni Earl.
“Fine fine, umalis ka na.” Pag tataboy ni Rave.
“Oh gosh, these two.” Twilla was shocked by what kind of drama she’s seeing.
Earl ran to the court dahil siya na lang ang kulang sa Echo. The game started at rinig na rinig mo na ang sigaw ng bawat isa.
Well, I know that this is the most awaited game.
“Donovan binabantayan si Satosa. Satosa tumira. Nasupalpal ni Donovan!!” Rinig naming sigaw mula sa commentator.
Ramdam ko ang pag wawala ng lahat dahil sa ginawa ni Ivo.
Hindi kami malamangan ng Alpha and I could already see their furrowed eyebrows. The tempo of their play is much faster. They’re getting desperate lalo na’t last quarter na.
Earl wiped his jaw with the hem of his jersey. The audiences went crazy because of him. Rinig na rinig kung paano isigaw ng babae ang pangalan niya.
“Landi!” Sigaw sa kanya ni Rave kaya natawa kami.
Keith became the shooting machine in this game. Just like how I saw him shoot in the arcade, walang mintis lahat pasok.
Even Aldo became aggressive because of their opposing team. Masyado ng pisikal ang nagiging laro. Si Ayer ay minsan na lang nakakapag lay up dahil todo bantay sa kanya kaya umiba muna siya ng tira.
Niccolo has the ball. Sumama ang mukha ko dahil sa kanya. If Keith is a shooting machine, almost 80% of Alpha’s scores are made by Niccolo.
Niccolo is dribbling the ball gently. He dribbled it sideways and between his legs. Nasa tapat naman niya ay si Ayer na pagod na.
Ayer is hanging in there at kumikilos pa ng maayos at mabilis. But by the looks of it, siya ang unang madradrain.
Kahit anong dribble ni Niccolo ay hindi niya maiwan si Ayer. Lagi siyang nahahabol at nababantayan ni Ayer.
“Ayer, ang galing mo!” Sigaw namin para sa kanya.
“Go Ayer, kaya mo yan.” Sigaw naman ng ibang fans niya.
It looks like Niccolo is already annoyed at pinasa niya na ito sa kateam niya. They failed to score pero nakuha pa rin nila ang rebound.
They passed it to Niccolo once again. Mas hinigpitan ni Ayer ang pag bantay niya. Mas naging mabilis at malakas naman ang dribble ni Niccolo.
“ Niccolo Lim, drini dribble. Drini drible. Drini drible pero hindi makalagpas!” Sigaw ng commentator at malakas nag hiyawan ang mga tao.
“Ang angas mo Ayer!” Sigaw nila Ely.
“Go Ayer!!” Nangibabaw naman ang sigaw ni Blanca habang nakapikit.
Niccolo ran to the right side and bumped into Ayer. No, more like he deliberately bumped himself to Ayer.
My eyes widened when we saw Ayer kneeled while holding his mouth.
“Ayer!!” napapikit ako sa lakas ng sigaw ni Blanca sa tabi ko.
The referee whistled and checked Ayer. Nakita ko naman si Earl na agad na naglakad palapit kila Niccolo. Aldo blocked his way at kinausap habang magkadikit sila. Si Keith ang lumapit kay Ayer at tinayo ito.
While holding Ayer’s arms, Keith gave a death glare to Niccolo. Hindi niya ito inalis kaagad at tumalikod para makabalik sila sa bench.
Pag upo ni Ayer sa bench ay tinanggal na niya ang kamay sa bibig niya. Even from here, I can see blood on his hands.
Iris stepped backward at nagtatago sa likuran ni Rave.
Ayer looked at us. “Wala to, nakagat ko lang labi ko.” He waved his hand and smiled.
Binalik niya ang tingin kila Keith na seryosong nakatingin sa kanya.
Blanca shook my arms. “A-Aiby, diba may foul dito? Foul ba yun? May dugo oh!”
Umiling ako. “Alam kong may foul pero hindi ko alam ang kailangan para matawag na foul.”
Nagpapadyak naman siya habang galit na nakatingin sa sahig. “I’ll study all those fvcking rules basketball has next time.”
A medic arrived and the referee talked to them. Lahat sila ay nag gather na sa court at nagulat kami nang makitang si Fabian ang maglalaro.
Now, si Asra naman ang nag aalog sakin. “F-Fabian knows how to play?!” Hindi makapaniwalang tanong niya sakin.
It’s like you’re throwing a newly born cub.
Nagkibit balikat na lang ako at nanood sa laro. Alpha is becoming desperate kaya naghahabol nila kami. Mas naging aggressive naman ang play nila Aldo.
Our score is 81-81. We’re now tied with 30 seconds left.
“Niccolo hawak ang bola.” Sabi ng commentator.
Oh my, please no.
“Tinira!” Sigaw ng commentator.
No, please.
“Pasok!!” Nagwawalang sigaw ng commentator.
The audiences are going wild.
Shouting Niccolo’s name.
Alpha stood up while clapping.
But I saw hope when I saw Keith dribble past behind them. Leaving them all. It made everyone nervous, silencing them all.
“Kinuha ni Alinston ang bola!” The commentator shouted.
He turned around avoiding Niccolo. He took a step back and jumped.
With a 5 seconds left
The ball didn’t went in.
Silence enveloped the gymnasium, shocked by what happened. After the silence, the Alpha team, Alpha class and their fans rejoiced.
Alpha is the champion for basketball.