1 Failed Hope
" We're only seven points behind, let's push! " The team leader said to its crew.
As the captain dribbles the ball with solitude, he crossed one of the defender.
His team then ran alongside as they start pushing deeper into the enemy side.
Everyone was giving their very best up to this point, considering that it's a slot for a tournament.
As the captain finally crossed the halfcourt, his group focused on their captain.
There are many possibilities of what can happen in this game.
" Daiki, here! " one of the player called.
It's the ace of that team, a sharpshooter from three.
He was more than ready as the captain found him and made a pass.
The pass went smoothly and it went into the ace hand.
asking for a ball as he was open for a split second.
The ace hand starts to rise along with the ball.
As the ball leave the ace hand, it slowly spins in the air as everyone looked at where it's going.
Swish!
A well executed assist.
They gave themselves a high five for their connection as the crowd goes wild.
However, the ball from the enemy side dribbles.
That one guy made everyone looked back as fast as they could.
But they're too late, way too late.
They got too confident, as that person was the ace of the enemy team.
He passed the captain and the ace like they're just some obstacles, he very well maybe a panther.
His speed is unnatural.
" Chase after him! " The captain shouted.
To their attempt of stealing the ball from him, not only that they failed to do so.
They also got humiliated badly.
A crossover after crossover.
A between the legs for the first defender.
A behind the back and hesitation on the other two.
Because of his arsenal he manages to reach the end by himself.
Once he reached the end, he decided to finish it with style.
A dunk, an artistic finish with a bang.
However, as he was in a slam dunk motion there was a guy who manages to catch up to him.
In fact, he was glued to him from the very start.
" Hiroshi. " the enemy ace smiled.
Unfortunately, even though Hiroshi's stubborn.
He was simply overpowered as he got posterized.
Hiroshi falls into the ground as the enemy ace stand before him.
The look down of the enemy ace sends shivers into Hiroshi.
If it couldn't go any worse, it did.
As once they made the contact, the referee blew the whistle.
" A foul? " Hiroshi looked at the referee.
It was an unbelievable sight for everyone, as one rises to the top while the other falls into the pit.
The enemy ace easily knocked the free throw and went back on defending.
The captain of Hiroshi's team went ahead and tried to encourage him.
" Hiroshi, that's good hustle. Don't beat– " the captain's eyes widened and his mouth was shut.
What he saw was hatred from Hiroshi's eyes.
The burning hatred, the rage in his eyes.
" Can you feel it, captain? " Hiroshi looked at his captain while grasping his chest.
The captain couldn't help but to gulp.
The possession now is on Hiroshi's team and they started pushing once again.
As the captain tries to find the easiest way to score, a guy passed him at insane speed.
He was making a cut through the enemy defense.
That person looked back at the captain and as they made contact, those eyes tell only one thing.
" Give the ball to me. "
The captain immediately passed the ball through overhead pass.
Hiroshi caught the ball one hand and started dribbling the ball as he enters the perimeter.
Suddenly, three guys blocked his path.
He proceeds to crossed one guy and another.
For his last defender, he did a behind the back and hesitation.
Everyone was shocked by his display.
Now, the enemy ace started to man him.
" I don't know how you did it, but you're fucking amazing. " the enemy ace smiled as his eyes was locked on Hiroshi.
A killer between the legs was performed on the last defender but being the enemy ace and a skilled dribbler he easily manage to follow.
But it was a trap, it looked like Hiroshi was about to drive from the left so the enemy ace moved to the left.
Hiroshi's eyes wasn't even looking at the enemy, he was solely focused on the rim.
He killed the drive to the left and did a behind the back towards right.
The enemy ace was left chasing from nothing as Hiroshi ran past him.
" Go, score! " his captain shouted.
He was let go of the ball with a move called layup.
As the ball goes into the ring, it slowly rolls on top.
The ball continues to roll until it rolls out.
The game continues and the enemy grabbed the ball.
" Solemn Eagles manages to grab the rebound as Hiroshi failed to deliver! " the commentators screamed in excitement as the Solemn Eagles ran past everyone else and easily scored once again.
Timeout was called on Hiroshi's team and the coach gathered everyone.
" Hustle, everyone, hustle! " the coach tried to encourage everyone to fight back but the team was dreadful.
" What's the point coach, it's already over. " the team's ace scoffed.
" What are you talking about? We can still fight back. " Hiroshi answered.
" Fight back? Yeah right, I couldn't even do it so how could you? " those words hit Hiroshi like a bullet and things went down south.
Hiroshi rushed up into their ace and grabbed his collar.
" Yamasaki, you arrogant bastard! " everyone seperated the two as the tension rises.
" Calm down, let's just try our best. " the captain tried to sugarcoat it.
It was the enemy's turn to fight back, their ace Ichirou was holding the ball.
The team decided to double team Ichirou who confidently dribbles the ball.
He wasn't even looking at the defender, no not at all.
He was far ahead, a lob through his team inside and an easy basket.
Everyone was too slow to catch up what Ichirou thinks and sees.
Hiroshi ran past everyone and decides to counter the momentum of the fight by doing a fast break.
The captain saw this play and throw the ball towards Hiroshi.
It was a very risky play and it punished them.
As Ichirou intercepted the high pass by jumping and grabbing the ball.
" Fastbreak. " Ichirou took a sharp hesitation to the left and turn the ball to the right making a fool out of his defender for trying to steal it.
He then sprinted towards their defense like its another day and pull up from the perimeter.
At this point, you can consider this as a one-sided fight.
Ichirou, Solemn Eagles ace was devouring his enemy by himself.
Hiroshi was standing still on the enemy side, he looked back at his team who's beyond recovery at this point.
The Solemn Eagles series of attack led to Hiroshi's team being down by a lot.
The final whistle blew and Hiroshi who tried to fight back ended up failing miserably.
The game ends afterwards and the crowd clapped their hands for everyone's performance.
57-83 was the final score between Solemn Eagles and Tenacious Beetles.
Solemn Eagles being the winner with Tanimoto Ichirou as the MVP with 32 points.
There was a huge difference in scoring as they were overwhelmed by the enemy team.
The main key on their offense was their godly ace.
The dream of reaching finals and having a cup.
It was a mere dream.
A complete delusion for this team.
They're not meant for greatness but a mere stepping stone for the others.
Both team captains shaked their hands as a sign of sportsmanship.
Ichirou approached Hiroshi who was still frozen in place, his head was locked on looking up at the scoreboard.
" That's a good game. " Ichirou asked for a handshake.
Hiroshi who's demoralized by the result looked at Ichirou's hand.
He then swatted Ichirou's hand and leave.
" Oh, roughy. " Ichirou rubs his hand.
The Solemn Eagles celebrated their victory.
For the others, they left with a devastating lost.
Tears starts flowing down the losers and they'll remember this defeat onwards their journey.
It was a big loss.
The Tenacious Beetles coach gathered everyone outside the stadium.
" It was a nice attempt, I'm proud of you guys. I'm sorry. " he bowed to them.
As the coach apologized to everyone, Hiroshi eyes lost their will to withstand the emotions.
It's their final attempt, since everyone playing for this team is about to enter a new path in their life.
" Don't be afraid. Take this defeat as a lesson become a great player someday. " it was the coach and everyone hugged it out.
The burning sensation was still in Hiroshi's heart, he wished it didn't end this way.
He thought it was enough, but it wasn't.
But that was a year ago.
Solemn Eagles led by Ichirou soon became the champions of the district.
They were a legacy at locals, even some big universities recognizes the ace shaked the local basketball.
Tanimoto Ichirou, he was now playing for the Ichihara Nishi High School.
Hiroshi now stands before the school he picked.
Youji High School, it was that place.
The school where his grandfather left his legacy.
A place where basketball was well loved.
It's where his grandfather begin his journey, will it be his too?
Hiroshi gripped his fist tight.
" I'm finally here, grandpa. "
