basketball diaries (part 3, semis game against in-tech)

31 may, semifinals, we are matched up against the number 4 team, in-tech, whom we already beat once during the eliminations:

the atmosphere is electric. the in-tech team from phase 6 has always had a big following but this time around word leaked out that almost all of the basketball loving people from that area will be watching the game and will be cheering their team. we countered with a rather sizeable crowd behind us also, mostly the basketball-playing guys from our area.

the game started with one noticeable guy being part of our opponent's starting line-up. this guy was not on the line-up when we beat this team during the eliminations. we immediately thought this was one guy that might be their surprise package!

on their first possession, it was made clear... he asked for the ball and immediately drove to the heart of our defense. its a good thing our defense has made strides in improvement during the tournament and we were able to not let him score. several more successive times during the 1st quarter, he demanded the ball and tried to make his move. we stopped him from scoring until one putback from an offensive rebound saw him score his first points.

that got him on his groove and he would continue on to score more until the first half ended. we were leading but not by much.

during halftime, a teammate told me he now recalled who this surprise package is. he was a player for the inter-barangay in Cainta. although several years removed from being such, he is still productive as a player and has the basketball acumen of a player who has been through wars.

the 3rd quarter started and we started to make our moves. our leading scorer (and shooting guard) and our point-guard started their lethal fast breaks while our power forwards was ascerting himself inside. by the middle of the 4th quarter, we are leading by 15 and we are all jumping and cheering each other.

but the inevitable came and the surprise package started a run with a 3-point play opportunity that eventually razed our once mighty lead down to 1 with about 2 mins left. we let our guard down and was celebrating early that our opponents are now breathing down our necks.

the next possession was key as our opponent has currently an 8-0 run. then the defining moment for me in the tournament. as the defense loaded on one side where our leading scorer had the ball, he flung it back to our point guard in the middle, who immediately passed it to me in the left wing. with a bit of an opening, i dribbled once before shooting a jumper just beyond the foul-line. the opponent's center had to extend fully to try and block my shot and i had to release the ball a bit higher (my youngest brother, after the game, told me he saw me release the ball much like rasheed wallace's jumper) just to elude the block attempt.

it was a very long split-second as the ball traveled from my hands to the ring and when it swished through, the gym erupted in a roar as i, in a unexpected display of emotion, pumped my fist while running down back on defense.

that shot seemingly started the downfall of our opponent as their next possession was a hurried 3-point attempt (no doubt was meant to try and silence the crowd after the shot i made), several drives to the basket without setting up their offense first, and some silly fouls that led to free throws that we made when it mattered.

i had my fifth foul with less than 1 minute left and fouled-out. as i went to the bench, i was still upbeat as we knew then that this game was all over.

after the game, we were told by one of the committee members that a person from our opponent's team wanted to have a side bet on the game, pretty much sure that they will win it. we just smiled and said its a good thing they didn't go through with it as not only could they have lost the game, they would have lost money also! hahaha.

we are in the finals! our opponent is the defending champions. their team has been champions except for one time wherein a team that includes 3 NCAA players from san beda beat them on a close game even.

they are the champions and our most hated rivals... lots of history on the line!