Tough Matchup?

"Alright guys, let's take things slow and adjust some of our strategies. Bradley, I want you to double-team Quin whenever he receives the ball. And as you do that, I want everybody to expect a pass coming from him to escape the pressure of our double team. The main point here is to put more defensive pressure on Quin. You guys hear me?" Damien's head coach told his players in the huddle.

"Yes, coach."

"Alright, get yourselves together 'cause we'll be expecting a very tough game ahead boys. Now go out there and show them what you got."

The whistle blew signaling the end of the time out and Damien inbounded the ball full court.

Bradley observed the current layout and is trying to assess the best play to call. He then decided to pass the ball to Jimmy who is ready to receive a pass while posting on Ikenna.

The pass was high and easy, and the moment he got possession of the ball, Jimmy began to play a little harder than last time. Ikenna was getting slowly pushed back and just couldn't get a proper defensive stance.

Jimmy immediately saw an opportunity and made a fake to the left which Ikenna mistakenly committed and quickly turns to the right for an easy floater. The ball goes in the basket and they quickly got back to defense.

7-4

Isaac advanced the ball and as he passed the half-court line, he immediately crossed over Bradley and successfully got past him. As he got to the free-throw line, there was no more defender so he decisively made a pull-up jump shot and scored.

9-4

Isaac has always been the reliable type who makes only the necessary plays every time with the fewest errors.

The crowd celebrated the shot but we didn't even mind about it, we got back to a defensive formation as nothing happened and stayed focused on stopping their score.

This time, Bradley was not advancing the ball but it was their SG, Jacob.

They do this sometimes to let Bradley make plays off the ball which he is also good at.

Jacob dribbled on his spot at the top of the 3-point line and signaled for the play.

As he does that, Bradley made a screen for their SF, Kaleb, on the right to escape from my defense which he did as my path was blocked by Bradley's screen when I tried catching up to Kaleb.

Jacob passed the ball to Kaleb who was wide open for a 3-point shot and he makes it.

Isaac should've been the one blocking that shot but Kaleb is just too tall to even reach his wrist in that play.

9-7

Isaac was not bothered by that play and we quickly got back to scoring.

What follows are a series of back-and-forth offensive and defensive plays.

"So Fran, what do you think of the kid?" Barry Melrose, my dad's client, and the Training Camp organizer asked the person standing next to him at the corner of the gym.

"21 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. On top of that, he is only playing for 15 minutes and is also 8/11 shooting on the field and 3/4 from the 3-point line. This kid is sensational. He has no turnovers made and is efficient on both offensive and defensive ends." Fran Fraschilla has been friends with Barry for a long time. He is also a sports journalist for ESPN, covering College Basketball.

"I really have to thank you for making me come with you to watch this game. I seriously thought it would just be a boring game since it's only a practice match. But I'm convinced, the kid's really good for his young age which shows how high his potential could be." Fran quickly said a lot of things from what he observed in the game.

"At first, when my lawyer told me his son is a very good basketball player with so much joy on his face, I was intrigued. And since he was a well-known lawyer here in California, I thought of letting his son get into our summer program as a favor." Barry knew that getting favors from a well-reputed law firm's senior partner like Christian is not something you can easily get.

"But out of curiosity and some rumors flying around, I decided I'd watch a game and see how it goes. I only planned of watching a quarter but then you suddenly called me that you arrived here in San Francisco so I asked if you'd watch with me. And from what I'm seeing so far, I think I made the right choice." Barry smiled at Fran victoriously as if he won the lottery.

"Alright, I admit you did a good job but I doubt this kid's gonna keep staying unknown from his potential and mesmerizing plays. His team is really solid and I think they have a good chance in the nationals.

I have only been covering college basketball right now, but I'll recommend him to a friend of mine who is writing for high school basketball. If nothing goes wrong, his story in the future will be a sought-after topic and this will be a very good chance while he's still very young." Fran made a high evaluation of Quin and his possible future.

"It's still only one game though, I might not watch every one of their game, but I'll make sure to keep updated on this team," Fran said as the whistle blows indicating the end of the first half.

The score is now 37-34.

Lincoln High is leading with 3 points.

The story of the first half is all about Quin and his 21 points, 2 of that came from a strong 2-handed slam dunk that was rewarded by Isaac's terrific steal from the opponent's hand leading to the fastbreak.

On the Damien High bench, the players are not discouraged at all. The mood is still the same, focused and determined. Although they're down by 3 points, they still think that they could win this.

"Alright guys, let's turn things up in the second half. Quin is a serious issue now, despite being double-teamed, he's still the leading scorer and led them to a favorable position. For now, all I want to ask from you guys is to tighten our defense. Learn from the first half by playing with them and get familiar with their style of play."

"Kaleb, I'm pretty sure you can handle Quin from now on, can you?" Damien's head coach asked Kaleb.

"Yes coach, I got the hang of it now. At first, I had a lot of trouble 'cause I did not expect he can make a score even at long range. So now, I'll be tightening my perimeter defense and stick to him like glue." Kaleb responded to his coach's concern.

"Alright, I'll be counting on you on that one, Bradley will help you double-team him when the opportunity arrives so hold him off as much as possible. He's the key to them beating us so if we slow him down, we have a good chance of winning."

At the Lincoln High's bench, I could be seen just looking calm and composed.

'I don't know if I even broke a sweat out there.' I thought to myself.

To be honest, I expected a very tough game since my defender is a lot taller than me. But he always gives me space when I back up a certain range and underestimated my shooting threat. So I punished him and made a lot of jump shots in the first half.

I actually think I could've widened our lead from them if I got the ball at every possession and decided the plays to whether pass it or just score for myself since there are a lot of holes in their defensive formation's that Isaac did not see.

I think I could be a great point guard myself but we're still at an advantage so I'll just step up when I needed to.