Chapter 55: Chapter 55

“Well, that wasn’t a good ending to the first quarter.”

Coach said as much to the boys when he spoke to them but he wasn’t harsh, he simply encouraged them to do better since it was just the beginning. But he had things to say to Aaron and Andre. He finished with Aaron first and rushed him off to join the other boys getting refreshments in form of water. Our classmates and some of the other people there were encouraging them not to be discouraged and to play harder.

Meanwhile with Andre and Coach…

“Rios, you are only new to the team but you told me you used to play back home and you proved that by quickly becoming the star of the team in just two weeks. I understand that this is your first major but it’s also a first for all the other boys.”

“I understand that, Coach,” he responded.

“From what you told me you need this opportunity more than the other boys on the team and I have seen you work hard to prove that as well but what’s happening to you tonight?” Coach asked him. “You seem almost distracted. Are you alright?”

He nodded. “Yes, Coach.”

“Then let me see you act like it! It’s a tough competition but you are tougher, you are our strongest defense, and Aaron is the best shooter but it seems to me like you are trying to avoid him tonight. Work with him, alright?”

Andre heaved a sigh. “Yes, Coach.”

Coach patted his hand. “I want to see an improvement in the next 12 minutes. The scouts are watching don’t forget that.”

“I won’t, sir.”

“Good. Go join the other boys, son.”

Now you may be wondering how I know about this conversation. Because Andre told me about that conversation eventually and no, I won’t tell you why. Keep reading to find out why.

After the break the whistle was blown again and the boys ran into the court.

As they prepared to begin the game Siobhan was on her A game gathering the cheerleaders together.

“Okay, girls it’s our time to shine. Let’s show the boys what we can do.”

We took our formation on the seats with Eva, Siobhan and me in the front and the others forming rows of four, five, and six behind us, we got ready to cheer the boys to victory.

As soon as the second whistle was blown Edwin and Co.’s and St. Patrick’s cheerleaders were thrown into action. Our cheers almost collided but we were louder.

“Dave!” Siobhan yelled.

“Shoot the ball! Sho-Shoot the ball! Hey!”

He didn’t shoot. He passed.

“Ian! Shoot the ball. Sho-Shoot the ball! Hey!”

Ian took a shot and missed but Andre rebounded, caught the ball, and slammed it into the net.

A loud cheer reverberated through the court.

“Andre!”

“Gooooooo Champion!”

“EAC!”

“Hey! Hey! Goooo EAC!”

The boys had a short celebration before going back into the game. It was 3: 1 now. We didn’t let that discourage us, we continued to cheer them even when there were two fouls and two misses, we cheered and stamped our feet and clapped.

When Ian passed the ball to Andre and he made a three-pointer we changed our chants.

“Watcha looking for? We got watcha looking for!”

“Hey!”

“Watcha looking for? We got watcha looking for!”

“Hey!”

As we began to take formation for the leap on Dan, Gideon and Janet's shoulders, they yelled, “What?”

“Three kisses one champion!”

We made the leap successfully, raising our left legs in the air.

If the cheers and the smile from the boys was any indication then our cheer was successful. We continued to do our bit and the boys continued to do theirs. By the time the third quarter rolled around we had 35 points against St. Patrick’s 43.

8 points difference.

Even though our spirits were high we worried about making the 9 points in the last quarter. Even though the boys were still fired up it was obvious that they were too worried about making the lost points.

“You boys are doing your best. I know you’re giving it your all,” Coach encouraged them. “Winning is important but living and enjoying the game is even better. Don’t push yourself too hard but go past your limits. Do you understand me?”

It was kind of a contrasting statement but the boys nodded their agreement. I guess what he means is they can enjoy playing as a team but each one of them must go beyond their best individually.

As the whistle blew for the next round everyone took their position. The court was so full of spectators that it almost felt like the match of the year. It was an exciting feeling cheering in the presence of so many people.

We cheerleaders were tired but we did our best to stand up and continue regardless of the pain in our legs. Since it was the final quarter there was a great deal of shouting and celebration after every goal.

Unarguably Andre was the star of the team. He was a good defender slapping the ball out of opponents' hands when they tried to slam dunk the ball in our team’s net. Ian was good at stealing balls and passing them and Aaron was good for close-up goals and so far he contributed 10 games in the past quarters. Andre was in his best game aiming for three-pointers and so far he achieved two 3-pointers which put us at 42. Ian scored two shots which put us on par with St. Patrick’s.

That was all the encouragement we needed to cheer harder. Even St. Patrick’s wasn’t relenting. They played harder, sweat dripping on the floor, muscles straining as they tried to get past our strong defense. They got one goal against us and were aiming for another one when Andre slammed the ball out of their player’s hand. Aaron was there to catch it. He bounced the ball, running across the court to the opponent’s net when one of St. Patrick’s players caught him, holding his cloth tightly to prevent him from moving further.

The umpire blew the whistle and St. Patrick’s students groaned and roared. The umpire declared a Flagrant Foul against St. Patrick’s.

There was a great argument between the offending player and the umpire but when Aaron confirmed that the offending guy had held his jersey and was in fact pulling him, 2 penalty shots were awarded.

We celebrated the umpire’s decision but held our breath as we waited and prayed for Aaron to take the shots. As he collected the ball and took his position in front of the net his hands shook but one look at his teammates and he steadied his hands.

With just a few seconds to go, Aaron took the first shot. He missed.

The groan of defeat resounded in the court. Coach was ready to get Andre to take the next shot but Andre himself was clapping his hands and yelling encouraging words at Aaron.

“Dude, steady. You can do this.”

And Aaron took the second shot. We watched with abated breaths as the ball traveled in a curve and went through the net.

“Yessss!!!” everyone yelled.

And just then the siren went off and the game ended with Edwin and Co. winning the game with one point against St. Patrick’s.