Chapter 52: King of the Court
I checked the ball and took my time in making a play. A jab step to the right and that got Damian backing up a little which is enough space for me to drive 2 quick steps to the left and pause as Damian is giving me more space so I took a jump shot right there and Damian could not react fast enough.
1-3
The ball went inside the basket and the crowd is on my side cheering after the made basket.
After checking the ball for the next possession, I did the same jab step to the right but this time Damian is not falling for it. What he did not expect is that I exploded to drive through the right and he was left a little behind me and there was nothing he could do with me scoring for the layup.
2-3
One-on-one is about reading your opponent's slight movements and creating the best play that will leave him at least a step behind.
With the ball in my hand, I jab-stepped to the right and to the left since he's more focused on defense now that I'm finding it hard to figure out the best play. After a few seconds of deliberating, I finally decided to pull up a jump shot right where I checked the ball.
Damian didn't even expect I would pull up just like that, but I did and it went in.
3-3
And just like that, it's a tie game. I'm still feeling it and I think I can make 2 or more consecutive points.
Check ball, and we're back to one-on-one. The crowd surrounding the court is getting louder and louder, so something came to my mind that could make this crowd even louder.
After a few seconds of not making a move yet, I made a shooting motion to bait Damian and he reacted a little bit which is enough for me. So I quickly got the ball down and dribbled to the right, but after 2 steps, I paused with a dribble behind my back which made Damian pause abruptly to get in front of me quickly before I make a shot.
I didn't shoot but instead, I stepped back to the left and made a fadeaway. The crowd was shouting and making exaggerated reactions looking incredibly amazed. Not because of what I did, but what I made Damian do.
My series of pauses and instant moves in different directions made Damian fall from his feet getting entangled. He fell after trying to block my shot, but it was too far and his feet were in an awkward position which made him almost kiss the floor.
4-3
Of course, I got that shot inside, it would be a travesty if I miss such an amazing shot.
Damian is now getting pressured from my consecutive points, with some that are effortless.
I took advantage of his wavering mental strength to break through his defense and drive through to make a tough layup.
5-3
It's still my possession, and I'm thinking of a different play to score. I jab-stepped to the left with one dribble and made a spin move to the right to make a fadeaway jump shot. This was a tough one and I'm not confident it will go in, and I was right.
I finally broke my run to 5 consecutive points.
Damian is now back to checking the ball and he backed away behind the 3-point line. I know he can make that shot so I was wary enough to follow him tightly. But I soon figured out that it was a mistake because he exploded to the right and quickly drove through the basket.
I tried very hard to catch up to him but he still put up his shot and it went in.
5-4
A lot of people betting on Damian are now going wild.
Damian checked the ball again and backed away behind the 3-point line. This time I'm being very careful, but Damian quickly pulled up for a jump shot and I contested it, but it was not enough because the ball went in.
5-6
He's now back in the lead, he's taking a long time this time and finally goes to the right in a hurry and then paused by dribbling behind the back and making a fadeaway jump shot. I still could not block his shot but I still made it harder for him to score this one.
The ball hit the rim and it missed.
Now it's back to me on the offensive. I started by backing up behind the 3-point line and shot from there without hesitation. Damian somewhat expected this because he was very close to blocking my shot. But the ball still went up and it fell inside the basket.
7-6
The lead is mine, just like that.
Damian is now getting a lot more pressure than usual. I still backed away behind the 3-point line and see if I could get a chance, and I saw one. Damian tried to poke the ball on my dribble, but I reacted quickly and dodge his attempt to steal.
With him now breaking his defensive stance, I capitalized on this and took a side step to the right and shoot it from there. Now, why did I not simply drive through? Well, I just felt like I'm having a good feeling about my 3-point shot this day and I was right.
The ball went high up and fell down inside the basket.
9-6
I now have a major scoring advantage.
After I checked the ball, Damian immediately hounded me with his fierce defense. He knows that if I make a basket on this possession, it'll highly likely be that the game is over.
He tried going for a steal without ruining his defense so I had to back away more. I saw a chance and so I went through his left, but he is still sticking to me.
I then paused to make a huge side step to the left and positioned myself behind the 3-point line. I finally got a separation, so I shoot the step-back 3-pointer high up in the air.
Damian panicked when he saw me getting away from his defense so he quickly reacted and jump high to contest my shot. He was already too late, and all he could do was to watch the ball following a wide arc and finally going inside the basket.
Game and match.
3 straight 3-pointers to end the game and the crowd is crazy wild right now.
I could hear Andrea shouting loudly congratulating me from the sidelines.
"Hey man, that was some good shooting you got there. I've never seen anyone in my life shoot the lights out like what you did." Damian approached me and was a good sport for taking the loss like that.
"You were great too man, you were dancing with that basketball and I couldn't even make a clean block. I just thanked God that you were missing a few shots." I said to him while shaking his hand and bumping our shoulders.
"Damn, you two were putting on a show right there. I thought I was watching a real tournament. The intensity was so high, and Quin was being a sniper on the long-range." Logan and the rest approached us to congratulate us both.
I and my friends talked with Damian and both his friends for a while before I went to my family who are still waiting for me.
My mom gave me a huge hug and also congratulated me, as well as Andrea and Anne.
Anne was a bit shy about showing such intimate actions with me in front of my family, but no one minded so she felt relieved.
We went back to the lakehouse to have dinner and maybe go to some evening events nearby to not waste Anne's last day with us before her parents pick her up tomorrow.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
zQuinC
zQuinC One chapter only for today. And it sucked that the dubs lost today to the Celtics, but it was a great game. Hope they'll come back and win game 2. Enjoy the chapter y'all!
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