The opposing team members labels are SP1, SP2, SP3, SP4, and SP5. (I was too lazy to get names for them, sorry about that *chuckle*)


Ash's team is the Jefferson Knights; the opposing team is the Saint Paul Strikers.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Said the announcer, excited for today's championships in basketball.

Spectators came all around the country, from different schools and neighborhoods. Dawn takes a seat on the bleachers with May and Misty. The gymnasium was almost full, nearly all of the spots in the bleachers are under occupation. The basketball match is immense today.

"RIGHT HERE, ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE COURT, WE HAVE THE JEFFERSON KNIGHTS!" The spectators started cheering like crazy. Ash felt the intense pressure of the audience. He never expected the gymnasium to be this full of people.

"ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE COURT, WE HAVE THE SAINT PAUL STRIKERS!" The audience roared, the gym already felt intense even when the basketball game has not started yet. Ash is now determined to win the championships.

"All rules of basketball apply, there are four quarters, 10 minutes each!"

The practice timer is set to 15 minutes. Both teams start practicing formations.

"Ash, we better not lose this," Gary said.

"I hope we don't," Ash replied

"We are confident we will win this," Drew said.

The Jefferson Knights had Ash, Gary, Drew, Barry, and Buck.

They started practicing three-pointers, inside shots, slam dunks which made the audience roar like crazy each time they do a slam dunk.

Ash decided to show off his skills by doing a two-handed slam dunk and then holding the net. The audience cheered for him. He can hear his name mentioned a lot of times by the public; he felt some encouragement.

The team started practicing two vs. three scenario's, quick set up plays and passing drills.

The other team was doing shots and layups, Gary was trash talking about the Saint Paul Strikers the whole time, he could easily get a technical foul for trash talking.

"Pfft, look at them, they barely have any tall guys; we got this right on the hook buddy!" Gary said, hitting Ash softly on the back.

Practice time was over. Both teams were ready in position. Ash was sent to do the tip off, but still felt depressed after yesterday, he decided to look at the audience and then to his surprise, he spotted Dawn. Since he was distracted by Dawn, he instantly looks back, and the tip-off has already started, Ash attempts to get the tip off, but SP1 knocked the ball into one of his teammates.

Ash felt embarrassed and stupid for looking at Dawn at a horrible time.

The Jefferson Knights are in defensive formation, Ash was covering SP1, Gary was covering SP3, Barry; SP4, Drew; SP2 and Buck; SP5.

To Ash's surprise, SP1 starts dribbling, and his speed was incredibly fast that he crossed over Ash and scored a SLAM DUNK. The audience roared. Score: 2-0.

Crap, Ash thought. I got to FOCUS on the game. Ash shakes his body.

Ash receives the ball by Gary and starts dribbling. Already fronted with defensive pressure, Ash is tightly covered by SP1, he was struggling to cross over this guy. So he decided to pass to Barry, he shoots the inside three-point shot and barely lands it in. The audience cheered. Score: 2-2

SP2 starts dribbling up to the basket; Drew is covering him, preventing him from getting closer to the basket. SP2 passes to SP5, but the pass got denied by Buck and gave to it to Gary.

Gary started to dribble towards the basket, crosses over SP4 and does a slam dunk. The audience roared. Score: 4-2.

"Wow, this game is pretty intense and somewhat fun to watch!" Misty squealed.

"I'm so anxious to see who will win this game!" May shouted.

"Yeah and I'm not interested," Dawn said, in a very low sad tone, barely heard.

May and Misty had a worried expression on their face; they decided to let it go and kept watching the game.

Period 1 in the basketball game has passed. The score is 31-28.

SP5 has begun dribbling towards the basket; he commits a foul by charging towards Ash. The referee gave the ball to Ash, and then he passed it to Drew.

Drew was running fast and direct towards the basket, he does a fake play and passes to Ash, he dribbles inside the key and passes to Barry, he dribbles outside of the key and passes to Gary, he couldn't shoot because he was covered, he passed behind him the wide-open Drew and he shoots a three-pointer and missed. The team encouraged him that it is fine.

SP2 passes to SP4, then he passes to SP5, Buck failed to intercept the pass leaving SP5 wide open for a three-point shot which he takes, and lands in perfectly. The score is 31-31.

Ash's team is feeling the real pressure now, they are sweating like crazy, they couldn't afford to lose this game.

Barry receives the ball, then passes to the point guard which is Ash. He starts to dribble up to half court and hands over the ball to Buck. He decides to pass to Gary, immediately crossing over SP2 and doing a layup. Score: 33-31.

The audience is going crazy from all sides; they were extremely interested in this huge match.

SP3 passes to SP1; he immediately starts dribbling fast and furiously to the basket. Ash was ready; SP1 was about to cross him over until Ash touched his ball and caught it. He starts to dribble wide openly to the net and then does a SLAM DUNK. Score: 35-31

SP4 passes to SP1, he passes to SP3, which he jumps and shoots but then gets fouled by Gary hitting him on the arm. SP3 gets two free-throws.

Both teams line up, SP3 shoots one free-throw and lands it in. His teammates head towards him and gives him a quick high five of encouragement. Score: 35-32.

SP3 shoots the last free-throw and lands it in. Score: 35-33.

Period two is over. The score is resulting in 51-43. Apparently the Jefferson Knights were feeling more confident.

It was half time, where teams could practice for a bit.

The coach of the Jefferson Knights had something to say.

"HEY GUYS, MOVE THE BALL, DON'T STICK WITH IT. MAKE PLAYS, PASSES, DO PICKS AND ROLLS, STOP BEING STUPID! NOW GET READY TO PRACTICE!" The coach shouted.

Ash was practicing layups, two-point shots, and fade-away shots.

Barry was practicing layups and crazy three-point shots.

Gary was practicing slam dunks, moves, excessive dribbling and fade-away shots.

Drew was practicing three-pointers, sophisticated dribbling, and fade-away shots.

Buck was practicing quick layups, two-point shots, and screens.

"BRING IT IN TEAM, GET READY TO CHEER!" The coach shouted.

"1, 2, 3, JEFFERSON KNIGHTS!" The Jefferson Knights team cheered, Ash cheered at his loudest.

"1,2,3, SAINT PAUL STRIKERS!" The Saint Paul Strikers cheered louder, which gave the Jefferson Knights some cold shivers.

Period 3 has started.

SP4 receives the ball and crosses over Barry, Ash and Gary that were on defense had to collapse on him, then he passed to the wide open SP1, and he does a SLAM DUNK. Score: 51-45.

Ash gets the ball and starts dribbling towards the net, confronted by SP1. He passed to Gary and then passed back to Ash, he does a fade-away shot; SP1 failed to block the shot and Ash's ball bounces off the backboard and lands in the net. Score: 53-45.

SP5 receives the ball and passes to SP1, he began to dribble up to the basket, SP1 crosses over Ash and had two defenders collapse on him, Drew stole SP1's ball and passed to Buck. He begins to dribble fast towards the net, then passes to Barry. He shoots the two-point shot and lands it in. Score: 55-45.

SP2 passes to SP3; he dribbles to half court; a screen gets set on Drew blocking him from moving to the left, meaning he has to go back which costs a bit more time. SP3 crosses over Drew easily by the screen and scores a layup. Score: 55-47.

Gary gets the ball and passes to Drew; he passes to Ash. Now they are on the other side of the court, they are confronted by defensive pressure once again, Ash's ball gets stolen right after he was going to pass. The Jefferson Knights struggle to get back on defense, SP4 scores a slam dunk. Score: 55-47.

Ash passes the ball to Barry; he passes back to Ash. Drew sets up a screen on SP1; he crosses over SP1 due to the screen, but SP2 is now covering Ash. He passes to Drew, he is wide open for a three-point shot and takes it. Fortunately, it lands in. Score: 58-47.

SP3 gets the ball and dribbles to half court, he passes to SP2, then passes to SP5 and does a quick three-point shot which gets blocked by Barry. But SP5 recovers the ball and moves the ball to SP4. Gary attempts to steal SP4's ball but fails; Gary remains tight in defense. SP4 passes to SP3; SP5 runs into the key, making him wide open. SP3 gives the ball to the wide open SP5 that has jumped in mid-air and scored a slam dunk. Score: 58-49

Ash dribbles to half court and passes the ball to Buck. Unfortunately, his ball gets stolen by SP3. Now the team is getting nervous; they went back on defense. A wide open SP2 got passed to and took a three-point shot; he lands it in. Score: 58-52.

Period 3 has ended, the score resulting in 58-66. Saint Paul Strikers are now in the lead.

The Jefferson Knights decided to have a quick time out on their bench.

"Oh damn, the Saint Paul Strikers are in the lead now," Misty said, worriedly.

"I know right? COME ON JEFFERSON KNIGHTS!" May cheers in an attempt to encourage them. Dawn, as usual, says nothing.

The Jefferson Knights in the bench.

"SPACING, GET OPEN! DON'T BE SELFISH, PROTECT THE FREAKING BASKET! THE BASKET IS YOUR GOD DAMN LIFE,' The coach yelled.

"Boys, you got to treat this game like you were going to die today, the basket is your life, each time the opposing team scores on the basket, it's like a portion of your body is removed, and when they score more times on us, it's going to reach the point where your entire body disappears. YOU GOT TO STAY ACTIVE; YOU GOT TO STOP SHOWING THEM YOU ARE WEAK, YOU ARE STRONG, YOU ARE THE ONLY ONES IN THIS ENTIRE UNIVERSE TO BE IN SUCH A GAME, YOU ARE LUCKY TO BE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, YOU ARE fortunate to BE THIS SKILLED. WE ARE A TEAM, YOU HOLD EACH OTHER LIKE MAGNETS, SO MAKE THE MOST OF IT! DON'T LET THE OPPOSING TEAM BREAK YOU UP INTO PIECES. YOU ALL ARE ONE BIG MACHINE THAT WILL TEAR DOWN EVERYTHING IN THEIR PATH BECAUSE THAT IS WHO WE ARE!"

The team starts cheering slowly with an angry tone.

"BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IN EACH OTHER, NOTHING CAN STOP US IF WE WORK TOGETHER, EVERY BASKET IN THIS GAME COUNTS, EVERY POSITION COUNTS, EVERY SINGLE STUPID MOVE YOU DO COUNTS, EVERY STEP COUNTS. EVERY SHOT IS NECCESARY. IF YOU CAN'T DRIBBLE OR DO THE SHOT, JUST F- DO IT! NOBODY CAN STOP YOU, YOU GOT TO THINK IN YOURSELF A GOAL, I WISH I MADE 10 SICK THREE-POINTERS IN THIS GAME AND WIN IT; YOU GOT TO BELIEVE HARD IN THAT GOAL; YOU CAME HERE TO WIN, NOT TO LOSE! MAYBE THIS WILL HELP, THINK YOURSELF A GOAL THAT IF YOU WIN THIS GAME, YOU GET A GOD DAMN GIRLFRIEND. WHO ARE WE?!" The coach shouted.

"JEFFERSON KNIGHTS!" The team yelled.

"LOUDER!"

"JEFFERSON KNIGHTS!"

"LOUDER!"

"JEFFERSON KNIGHTS!"

"NOW LET'S GO, BOYS, GO AND WIN THIS GAME LIKE IT WAS THE DAY THAT YOU WERE GOING TO DIE IN!"

"YEAH, LET'S GO!" Gary said, shouting along with the team.

The entire audience was roaring; the intensity of the game became three times bigger than before. The audience was cheering very loudly; May can't hear Misty talking to her.

"MISTY, SPEAK A BIT LOUDER PLEASE," May yelled.

"THEY SEEM SO PUMPED UP. I BET THE JEFFERSON KNIGHTS HAD THEIR COACH DO A MOTIVATION SPEECH!" Misty yelled.

Period 4 has started; this is the last session of the basketball championships. The score is at blazing 58-66, the Saint Paul Strikers are in the lead.

Ash receives the ball and heads straight to the three-point line. He calls for a screen; Buck sets up a pick, he passes SP1 and then is covered by SP3, due to screen switch. Ash sees nobody open; he then decides to go for the net, luckily he crossed over SP3 and did a quick layup. Score: 60-66.

SP4 gets the ball and passes to SP1. A quick screen was set up on Ash and SP1 moves past Ash and shoots a two-point shot which lands in. What a smart play. Score: 60-68.

Mr. Norman was yelling at the Jefferson Knights to try harder.

Gary gets the ball and starts dribbling. He passes to Barry, who is going to be rushed. He quickly gave the ball to Buck; Ash moved into the paint open, Buck bounced the ball to Ash, he goes to do the layup but then gets blocked by SP1. The ball got launched to Drew. He quickly does a two-point fade away, and it lands perfectly on the net. Score: 62-70.

SP4 gets the ball and passes to SP1; then he passes to SP2. He goes to shoot the three-point shot but then gets blocked by Drew and sends the ball flying half court. Ash is running so fast to the ball, he grabs it and starts dribbling almost instantly. He scores a wide open slam dunk; the audience is going crazy. Score: 64-70.

SP1 receives the ball and passes to SP2, Gary rushes and successfully steals the ball after all his failed attempts, he gives the ball to Buck, who was wide open, decides to do a three-pointer, and it GOES IN! Score: 67-70. The audience is getting more intense.

20 minutes into the period, the score is 80-80.

Ash dribbles like LeBron James, he crosses over SP1 and SP3 and does a one-handed slam dunk. Score: 82-80

SP2 gets the ball and passes to SP5, then he passes to SP4, they do a passing play, putting as much pressure on the defense. SP4 throws the ball to the wide-open SP3 that has moved to the other side of the three-point line and shoots a clean three-point basket. Score: 82-83.

Barry gets the ball and passes to Ash. He looks at the time and sees that there are two minutes left, they got to settle this fast. Ash attempts to dribble through the defense but fails and passes to Drew, he tries to dribble but fails; his ball almost got stolen. They can't afford to lose control of the ball; Drew makes a quick throw to Gary. Ash and Buck are moving around trying to get wide open, but the defense was too tight. Suddenly, SP2 rushes to Gary and steals his ball; he is rushing to the wide-open net, the offense that now became defense is now running to prevent SP2 from scoring but it was too late, he scores a layup. The score: 82-85.

There is one minute left on the clock.

Ash gets the ball and passes to Barry, he passes to Gary, then passes to Drew. Gary sets up a screen on SP2 that was busy covering Drew, but SP1 was there to switch, Drew throws the ball to Barry, who was wide-open by moving across the court, he shoots the three-point shot but misses. Out of nowhere, Gary grabs the rebound and slams the ball into the net. The score is 84-85.

The Jefferson Knights were surprised, the opposing team immediately began to rush to their basket right after they scored, SP5 dribbles and crosses over Barry and scores a layup. Score: 84-87.

Drew receives the ball, he passes to the wide open Ash on the side but then gets fouled by SP1 pushing him. Ash gets two free-throws. Ash shoots the first free-throw, and it fails to get in. His team high-five him for encouragement. He shoots the last free-throw, and it goes in. Score: 85-87.

SP4 passes to SP1. They begin to stall the game by passing to each other a lot; the team had to prevent them from stalling the game. Ash quickly stole SP1's ball and with precise movement, gives the ball to Barry but then the ball got sent out of bounds by SP2. THERE WERE 3 SECONDS ON THE CLOCK!

Barry was looking to pass to someone; he spots Ash running wide openly, he quickly lobs the ball to Ash. THERE WAS 1 SECOND ON THE CLOCK. Ash had the ball in his hands; he was busy thinking if he should shoot until he heard a familiar voice and it sounded like Dawn. "ASH! GO FOR THE THREE-POINTER, WIN THIS GAME FOR OUR SCHOOL!" Ash smiled.

ASH SHOOTS THE GAME WINNING BUZZER BEATER THREE-POINTER.

Everyone watches in shock, as the ball slowly bounces off the backboard and… GOES IN! THE SCORE: 88-87. EVERYONE STARTED ROARING LIKE TWO FOOTBALL FIELDS MERGED. THE JEFFERSON KNIGHTS! Gary, Drew, Barry, and Buck all fell on Ash in happiness.

"WOOOOOOOOO," Gary yelled.

"YES, WE WON!" Drew was yelling along with him.

"ASH YOU ARE OUR MAN!" The coach yelling in the distance.

The team was so happy that some of them were even crying. They lifted Ash into the air. Everyone was yelling Jefferson Knights all the way.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the champions of today's basketball season are none other than the all mighty, JEFFERSON KNIGHTS!" The announcer gives Ash a golden basketball trophy, he admired it and almost cried. The audience was roaring.

After the game had ended, Ash went to meet the girls.

"Great job Ash, you did spectacular! You got the game winning shot!" Misty said.

"Thanks!" That game was intense as hell. Ash spotted Dawn smiling, he somewhat blushed and smiled too. Dawn noticed this but turned her face away to prevent Ash from seeing the massive redness on her cheeks.

The school day was not over, there were only two more classes to finish, Ash was expecting upon entry into a class, they would roar for him, and he would have a lot of fangirls.