Finals

Two teams remaining for the tournament and what was the 'underdog' of the tournament is now the front runner to win it all.

The second game was won by Oak Hill Academy, it was a really close game but Oak Hill's offense triumphed against St. Benedict's solid defense. St. Benedict put up a lot of fights and they made a lot of special defensive plays like game-tying steals and blocks.

St. Benedict just could not execute their shots down the stretch, Oak Hill was impressive to stay calm and collected despite the close and pressured game. It was not a perfect game for both teams, mistakes happen here and there but the better team will eventually win.

This time, Oak Hill is the mentally prepared and better team.

We are now warming up to face Oak Hill for the Finals of the tournament. A lot of hype has been built up and once again, the gym is full of reporters, journalists, scouts, and basketball fans overall crowding the once spacious gym.

I looked around the crowd and after a while, I can see my family on the bleachers waving at me as they noticed me looking for them. Andrea looks very excited to finally watch me play after a frustrating few days of not coming to watch my previous games.

Cameras are scattered around the basketball court which gave a feeling of nervousness from possibly making a mistake in front of the camera. But aside from a few nerves, I'm feeling a lot more excited as a matter of fact.

I like the attention, the pressure of a big game, the cheers as well as the boos. This is what makes basketball a great game to play, it is the thought of people, from all walks of life, to acknowledge your hard-earned efforts of making it to where I am and where I will be.

This is the first time I felt this and I already gotten addicted.

"Alright guys, listen up!" Coach Alford wants to give us a couple of more words before this game starts.

"All I wanted to say is that whatever happens in this game, you've earned the right to be here. I witnessed a lot of you sacrificing your bodies just getting those loose balls even during practice. I know that to some of you, this will be your last chance to get to this stage at this level. Some of you might not even want to play after you graduate but that doesn't matter. Because right now, you've made me proud, you've made our school proud, heck you've made San Francisco proud. So I want you guys to play this game with your heads up high and do what you always do best and that is to win this. Because I believe no high school team can beat you and I doubt even some college teams could have a hard time. So get out there and dominate this game and prove to everybody in the country that this is the best basketball team in high school!"

I thought the coach is only gonna give a few sentences, I never thought he'd memorized a whole script. But that was good because, from the looks of it, my teammates are all fired up. I pity our opponents a little bit because they're about to get smashed through.

Oak Hill is formed by mostly seniors and juniors so they definitely got the experience to back up their plays. The only problem for them is how will they stop me.

Oakhill's greatest weapon is a junior guard named Doron Lamb 6'4, who is averaging 20 points this year and made the clutch shot against St. Benedict's in their previous game.

Another possible threat is a smaller senior guard, Lamont Jones 6'0. He may be the shortest but I think he packs the biggest punch as he actually made 40 points in one of his games this year. He only averages 18 points but once he gets his rhythm, he'll be a problem.

And I guess the last one we had to keep a close eye on is senior forward Keith Gallon 6'9. Ikenna will have a lot of trouble stopping him, mainly because he weighs 320 pounds and is athletic for his size.

I don't believe Keith will have enough stamina to play the whole game so we will let them have their shots and we will take ours. It only boils down to who makes the fewer mistakes. And I believe my team is mentally strong right now.

The game is now about to start as players of both teams are positioned inside the court. The opposing center who is jumping for the tip-off stands at 6'10 so this should not be a problem for Jerrold but it doesn't matter much who gets first possession. We'll play our best on both ends of the game.

Tip-off started and Oak Hill actually got the first possession. Doron looks to be their point guard who is dribbling the ball at the top of the post. He was a little wary of our defense because he might've been paying a lot of attention to our previous games. And our defense is nothing to scoff about if you don't take us seriously.

So Doron took a while before deciding to ask for a screen from his left and allowed him to go to the basket, but Tyrus was sticking to him after switching from the screen play. Doron is having second thoughts and decided to pass the ball to Keith who is defended by Ikenna close to the baseline.

Keith just used his huge body to power through Ikenna and is obviously losing, so Jerrold tried to help and Kith is double-teamed. However big and powerful Keith is, he is still afraid of tough defensive pressure and Jerrold allowed just that.

Keith couldn't find a chance to make an easy shot so he held the ball until only 5 seconds is left on the shot clock, he passed the ball to Lamont across the other side of the court and Lamont shot a rushed 3-pointer. Fortunately for us, he missed, but Oak Hill's center grabbed the rebound and made a follow-up shot.

0-2

Our defense on that play was really good but this Keith guy is really a problem. We need to make him work more in getting his shots so that down the stretch, he'll be depleted and we'll regain a lot more advantage.

As we proceed to our offensive formation, a guy is already defending me after I passed the half-court line. They really did their homework and I'm honored by this gesture but I might have to spoil their plan because I got the ball from Isaac and am now isolated with Doron on the right wing.

Those who saw a lot of my games, already know that I am a guy who loves to make moves on the right. Although I have equal shooting percentages on any area of the court from what Lucy told me but I just felt a lot more comfortable on the right.

I faked left and right to confuse Doron a little bit to make him hesitate by even just a little bit because if he does, he's done for.

I decided to make a quick drive to the left but stopped suddenly and dribbled again behind the back and made a step back. Doron was caught off guard by my smooth yet deadly movements and was 2 or 3 steps late.

After my step-back, I had all the space in the world to make a 3-point shot and I did. The ball went high up in the air and everybody already expected where it was going, inside the basket.

3-2

I looked to the bleachers and Andrea as well as my parents were cheering vigorously from that play. Andrea was screeching so loud to out-cheer the others not to be outdone.

I smiled at this and it warmed up my heart a lot. I finally get to let my parents see the fruits of my daily tough efforts which they all know but only kept to themselves.

We got back to defense and prepare for a tough game ahead.