Final-Day Game; Pre-Game

The last day of the camp had arrived, and there was only one thing on that day's menu, and that was one full game between the Division-One members.

Meaning in the absence of the physical workout session, Shun would have sufficient stamina for the game.

Shun was ready to play for the full game with these players.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Shun and the other players gathered in the gym. All of them were waiting for the coaches to arrive and start the day.

Carlos had his legs spread on the floor and was leaning back with his hands supporting his body.

Carlos: "So, what do you guys think the teams would be like?"

Ming was sitting with his legs crossed responded.

Ming: "Who knows, but I think they will be balanced."

Shun chimed in and spoke.

Shun: "Maybe it will be defensive versus offensive teams."

Antony's ears perked up, and he said.

Antony: "Oh, that would be nice."

Douglas laughed and spoke.

Douglas: "That sounds a good idea!"

At that moment, the coaches entered the gym and walked towards the players.

The players didn't get up as the coaches had told them to be relaxed, but they did greet them.

All: "Good Morning."

Albert smiled and greeted them back.

Albert: "Good Morning to you as well."

Sarah nodded back and greeted.

Sarah: "Morning."

Albert looked at the players and spoke.

Albert: "Today is the final day of the camp. These past days have been quite fun for me.

And, they were productive as much as they were fun.

It was a refreshing feeling to work with you guys from all around the globe, and I am happy to see the talent that is growing around the world.

I hope that you guys liked the time you spent here and didn't regret it.

All of the elven players nodded, and some of them smiled.

Albert: "Now, as we discussed yesterday, for today, we would be playing a full game."

Shun raised his hands and asked.

Shun: "What is the distribution of the teams?"

Sarah stepped forwards and replied.

Sarah: "We have decided that you guys will be the one to decide the teams."

Ming looked surprised and asked.

Ming: "What do you mean?"

Sarah looked at the players and called.

Sarah: "Ming, Leonal, and Shun stand up and come here."

Three of them looked at each other and followed the orders. They stood up and walked to the coaches.

Sarah: "Shun, stand at the side."

Shun went and stood near Albert, and Sarah continued.

Sarah: "Now, if we exclude Shun, we have exactly ten people. Shun would be playing for both teams.

He will switch after half-time. So, he will play the full game, but for both teams."

Shun nodded, and he was absolutely fine with the arrangement.

She turned to look at Ming and Leonal and addressed them.

Sarah: "Ming and Leonal will be the team captains. They will choose the teams."

Shun understood the reasoning behind choosing those two as captains.

Shun: 'Ming and Leonal are smart. Gilbert isn't that much of a leader, and Ivan doesn't talk at all. The only alternative I can think of is Roger and maybe Bruno.'

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Ming was the first one to choose.

Ming: "I choose Ivan."

Ivan stood up and walked to Ming.

Shun: 'An all-rounded offensive player would interest a point guard like him.'

Leonal went next.

Leonal: "Gilbert."

Shun looked at Gilbert and thought.

Shun: 'Well, that was to expected.'

Next turn, Ming choose the slow master.

Ming: "Carlos."

Shun: 'Disrupting pace. Ming would use that to his advantage.'

Leonal: "Rafael."

Shun: 'The defensive beast. Leonal is thinking about the attack power that Ming is accumulating.'

Ming: "Roger."

Shun: 'A defensive player, but he still chose Roger over Douglas for his offensive capabilities.'

Leonal: "Douglas."

Shun: 'Center to match another center.'

Ming: "Antony."

Shun: 'Hmm... Carlos's slow tempo and Antony's fast tempo are going to be a problem.'

Leonal: 'Bruno.'

Shun: 'And, there goes another power player to Leonal.'

Shun looked at both teams.

Team Ming: Ming, Ivan, Carlos, Antony, and Roger.

Team Leonal: Leonal, Gilbert, Bruno, Rafael, and Douglas.

Shun spoke his thoughts.

Shun: "Huh, a defensive team versus an offensive team."

Albert heard Shun and chuckled.

Albert: "Now that you say that. They sure look like that."

Shun watched both teams and said.

Shun: "It is literally Spears versus Sheilds with the Unbreakable Sheild and Unstoppable Spear among them."

An excited smile emerged on Shun's face as he said.

Shun: "This is going to be fun."

Albert looked at the youngest member and asked.

Albert: "Are you going to play copying them?"

Shun glanced at the coach and shook his head.

Shun: "No, my usual style is much more suited to me than the copies. And, this is going to be an all-out brawl between the guys here.

At my current level, I can't match them.

So, I have to at least make sure to pull my own weight."

-*-*-*-

Sarah looked at the gathered teams and asked.

Sarah: "So, which team is talking Shun for the first half?"

Leonal's hand raised almost immediately. He spoke.

Leonal: "We will take him for the first half."

Ming shrugged, so Shun walked to Team Leonal, and both teams huddled separately to discuss their strategies.

-*-*

At the Team Leonal's huddle, Leonal looked at Shun and said.

Leonal: "You would be replacing me for the first quarter, and will play as the point guard."

He looked at the rest of the team, stayed silent for a moment, and said.

Leonal: "In the second quarter, I will switch in for Rafael to give him some rest time.

Any questions about this?"

All of them shook their head, so Leonal nodded and assigned roles.

Leonal: "Gilbert would defend Ivan,

Douglas take care of Roger,

Bruno make sure Carlos doesn't get the ball,

Rafael, please bind Antony,

And, Shun and I would cover Ming."

He looked at Rafael and said.

Leonal: "Rafael, for the first half, please maintain the guard on a single person rather than taking on multiple players.

I will need that from you in the second half."

Rafael nodded in acknowledgment.

Leonal faced Shun and said.

Leonal: "Our team doesn't have outside shooting, so you would've to take care of that. When the opportunity presents itself, I need you to take shots from the outside.

The rest of us will screen for you, so shoot without pressure."

Gilbert ruffled Shun's hair and added.

Gilbert: "You don't have to worry about missing. I will be below the basket and get all the rebounds."

Shun's eyes widened just a little bit as he saw the team smiling at him.

Shun smiled as he responded.

Shun: "Yes, I would do that."

Leonal nodded and continued.

Leonal: "About preferences-."

Shun cut-off Leonal and spoke.

Shun: "You don't have to worry about those. I know all of them."

He turned his eyes to look at all of his teammates and recited.

Shun: "Gilbert likes the ball just outside the paint, for a drive.

Douglas prefers the pass to either side of the basket, near the baseline.

Bruno likes to charge in from the front, so he prefers the ball near the free-throw line, or directly under the basket.

Rafael doesn't have preferences, but I think he works better when he has a run-up.

Leonal prefers the pass just inside the three-point arc, so he can make space and shoot from the mid-range and perimeter."

With a ponderous look on his face, Shun finished listing their preference and ended with.

Shun: "I have seen you guys play enough to know what you guys prefer."

All of them stared at Shun for a while, before Leonal spoke.

Leonal: "Alright, then it is settled. The other team lacks in strength, but we have plenty of it, so let's defend against them and then score points with force."

Gilbert extended his to the center of the group and said.

Gilbert: "Bring it in."

Everyone gathered their hands in the center.

Gilbert looked at them and spoke.

Gilbert: "Let's win this, YEAH?"

Everybody spoke loudly.

Team Leonal: "YEAH!"

The final-day game for the Division-One was about to start, and some of the best players from all around the world were about to showcase their skills.