Like all good things, even En*on must come to an end

“Welcome, everyone, to the Inner High Grand Finals!” The loudspeaker echoed all around the jam-packed arena. I couldn’t see a single seat unfilled in the stadium. “We have two amazing teams competing for the right to call themselves the best team in all of Japan!”

I gripped my jersey. The fact that I was here still felt unreal.

“You got this,” Maria, my girlfriend, rubbed my shoulders.

“In the left corner, coming all the way from Aichi, is Osai Gakukou!”

“Let’s go!” We ran onto the stage as the spotlights flashed on us.

“While they came into the tournament on a two game loosing stream, they have defied the odds, blowing out all their opponents one by one. Led by their starting point guard and power forward, they will overwhelm you with offence before you have the chance to blink.”

I took a seat on the sidelines as my heart beat a million miles an hour. “Does it feel real to you yet, Maria?”

“Not really,” she said. “But I think I prefer it that way. I’ll play better if the shock hasn’t hit yet.”

I chuckled. “Let’s hope it doesn't."

The announcement continued on. “And in the right corner, coming from the center of Tokyo, is the overall number one seed, Fukui High!”

Unlike us, Fukui calmly walked onto the wooden court, led by the same player Felix had pointed out a few days ago, Mei.

“They came into this tournament undefeated, and have not disappointed, winning every tournament game by at least forty points. Led by their starting shooting guard, their balanced approach is tricky enough to leave any team second-guessing their approach, and getting left in the dust.”

The lights all blared to life as we both walked onto the court. “Remember your game plan, girls! Attack hard and don’t give them room to breathe.”

“Yes, Coach!” I took a deep breath as Shiori walked toward the half-court line.

Let the game begin.

The ref threw the ball into the air, and the game clock started to tick.

“Don’t give them space!” Their center won the opening toss, letting Fukui’s point guard bring up the ball.

At first glance, she didn’t strike me as someone special, the definition of a pass-first, score-fifth kind of point guard. She’ll get rid of the ball the second I apply a bit of pressure.

I ran forward, boxing her between me and the half-court line. Knew it.

Exactly like I guessed, she immediately threw it across the court to their star, Mei. And immediately, the difference in their ball handling skills became apparent.

Unlike their point guard, Mei carefully brought the ball forward while giving herself more than enough room to break away if the opportunity presented itself.

I took a step back. She wanted to be aggressive. I need to cage her in.

She took a step forward in turn, wearing a scowl on her face. “Not bad.”

“I try my best.” I took the chance to run towards her for the steal.

Instant failure. She dodged my swipe, immediately pulling up a midrange jump.

SWISH

“Damn…” I cursed under my breath. That was our first time being down this entire tournament.

                                                                                       ⬢ ⬢ ⬢

The game continued going back and forth.

Every time we found a break in their defence, Mei found a way to rally back up, leaving the game in a massive state of limbo. The highest we had been up was five, the highest they had been up was five, and with fifty seconds on the clock, the score was tied seventy to seventy.

“Catch!” Maria wrapped up the ball midair for the layup. It rolled around the rim before falling in.

“Get back!” Coach shouted the second the ball fell in.

The shot clock ticked down more, from forty-five seconds to thirty-five by the time we got back on defence.

One look made it clear they weren’t planning to waste that time.

Mei brought up the ball, shooing her teammates away as the ran circles around the court. She dashed forward, moving right back as Hana and I blocked her path.

“Get the three!” I shouted. They don’t have enough time for two attempts, and from the way Fukui plays, I can tell they’re not playing for the tie.

The game clock passed thirty seconds.

Their coach shouted something from the sidelines, causing Mei to pass the ball to their center in the middle of the lane.

She’s wide open for the jump shot! I dashed forward out of position to block the shot.

Their center proceeded to pass the ball back toward the logo, where Mei stood wide open, way out of range to make a three-pointer.

Yet, she calmly leaped into the air and shot the ball.

It bounced off the backboard and plopped into the basket.

“Go go go!” I screamed as the shot clock reached fifteen.

Shiori passed the ball in, and I ran down the court. Fifteen seconds left, were down by one. Any score wins it for us.

Fukui immediately started a full-court press. I spun past their point guard and made it past halfcourt.

We were a mess. Ichika and Shiori were both stuffed in the right corner, Hana was doing her best to give me a lane, but they were doing an even better job of blocking my path.

Now! But in the hustle with seven seconds to go, a path opened up toward the basket.

I immediately took the lane. The clock ticked down. Six… Five… Four… Three…

Woah! Out of nowhere, Mei seemed to appear right out of thin air in my path. She took her ground and raised her hands. I was screwed.

If I went for it, I’d get a foul, if I slowed down she would get the easy block. I’m not losing like this!

I looked around, frantic.

“Aiko!”

From the corner, I heard Maria’s voice. Somehow, she had been able in the skirmish to get herself an open spot at the three line.

I thought back to our game against Seisa High. Back then, I’d chosen to take the final shot myself and single-handedly lost the game due to my selfishness. I wasn’t about to let that happen again.

“Let’s win this thing!” I passed the ball to Maria.

The shot clock reached two as she caught the ball. Maria leaped into the air and, with a single breath, let the ball fly.

I watched it perfectly arc through the air.

SWISH

I fell to the ground as the buzzer rang.

“We did it!”

Somehow, despite all odds, despite Maria and me fighting every second we touched a court for the past month, we had just achieved the impossible. Achieved what even my brother couldn’t do.

We had just won the Inner High!