Three On Three by Eric Walters Page A

wasn’t that good a rebounder, but it looked like the other team was afraid to go under the net against him.
    â€œLet’s go,” Mr. Roberts bellowed. “We have to get the next game started.”
    There were a few cheers from the kids gathered on the stage to watch. Mrs. Orr was standing off to the side munching on an apple.
    Walking onto the court, I sized up our opponents. Of course, like all the otherteams in the playoffs, they were older. There were two guys, Bojan and Dustin, and a girl, Sandra. We hadn’t played them before, but I’d watched them in a couple of games. The one boy, Bojan, was a great dribbler and Dustin had a good outside shot, but the best player on the team was Sandra. She could shoot, pass and rebound. She was two years older than Kia and a better player, though I hated to admit it.
    â€œWho won the coin toss?” Mr. Roberts asked.
    â€œWe did,” I answered, raising my hand.
    He tossed the ball to me and I walked over to the side to pass it in. I bounced the ball once and saw Marcus break for the hoop.
    â€œMarcus!” I yelled.
    All three members of the other team ran to cover him. I softly tossed the ball to Kia, who was completely alone. She turned, aimed and tossed the ball for the net. A perfect swoosh!
    Two–nothing.
    Mr. Roberts took the ball and gave it toDustin, who walked it out of bounds. The three of us dropped back to a zone around the key. I played at the top, farthest away from the basket. It made sense for the other two to be in close — Marcus had more muscle than me and Kia had more height.
    Dustin passed it in to Bojan. I moved out to him, but before I could get close, he put up a long shot. It missed the rim completely, hitting the backboard and then bouncing right to Marcus. He turned and fed it out to me. I was standing just beyond the three-point line. Without hesitating I shot. It was short! It hit the front of the rim. Marcus grabbed it, but was immediately surrounded by all three players. He fed it back out to me.
    â€œShoot it! Shoot it!” he screamed.
    I thought for a split second and then launched it. It hit the rim, rolled around, and dropped!
    Five–nothing.
    A roar went up behind me from the stage. Kia rushed over and gave me a low five.
    â€œCelebrate after the game!” Marcus barked.
    I rushed back to the top of the key and waited for them to put it into play. I knew the game had a long way to go, but I also knew it was already over.
    * * *
    The whistle blew to signal the end of the game. Marcus offered us a quiet congratulations. We’d all agreed it wasn’t ‘cool’ to rub it in. We shook hands with the other team. It hadn’t been close, but it had been a clean game. I sat down to change shoes and catch my breath. Kia and Marcus plopped down beside me.
    â€œGood game,” Kingsley said, offering his hand to each of us.
    â€œThanks.”
    â€œI should have figured you three weren’t giving it your all before so we couldn’t scout you,” he said.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Marcus asked.
    â€œDon’t go and try jiving me anymore. You were just fooling around in those firstfive games … saving your best until the playoffs.”
    â€œSo you think we’re better now?” I asked, although the answer was pretty clear.
    â€œFor sure,” he said. “It’s going to be a good game after school. I’m looking forward to it.”
    â€œLooking forward to it because you think you’re going to win?” Kia asked.
    Kingsley smiled. “I hope we’re going to win, but I don’t know. Either way, it’ll be a good game. See you after school.”
    We watched him walk through the doors, leaving us alone in the gym.
    â€œDo you think we can take them?” Kia asked.
    â€œThey’re good,” Marcus said.
    â€œYeah, but do you think we can take them?”
    â€œI’ve seen every game they’ve played. Dean