51 Merry Christmas You Filthy Animals
*Sound Effects*
**Language**
'Thoughts'
"Dialogue"
(Point of View)
| Setting |
[System]
| Location: SBC Center, San Antonio, Texas |
| Date: Sunday December 25, 2005 12:10pm |
(1st Person - Javi)
I sat impatiently on the bench, waiting to be called in for the game. We were getting absolutely stumped, the score sitting at 8-14. However, all our points had come from Tony so far, so I wasn't subbed in.
Thankfully, my time finally came as I entered along with Timmy, Bowen, Brent, and Finley who we had gotten recently just before the trade deadline in hopes to help our firepower. It seemed as though Pop's understood that the team barely squeaked by against the pistons and was hoping to upgrade our perimeter to help compliment Timmy, and Manu who collapsed the defense.
I guess they didn't trust me to be that spark, as I was still a rookie who lacked experience; Fearing that I may not show out when it comes to the playoffs and the even more intense finals.
However, I knew that I'd be ready and I knew that we'd win as well.
As I walked onto the court, I received many cheers as I waved around the arena, to the chant of more fans.
'I love this feeling' I thought as I looked at the sea of people.
"Ready?" Timmy asked me briefly, I gave a confident smile as I nodded. He nodded back as we got ready to turn this game around. The score now sit at 8-18 coming into the 2nd.
I heard the whistle as I got the inbound from Timmy, I knew that we needed to turn things around and quickly so I smiled as I activated 'Penny's Scoring Surge'. This was the first time I'd use this with my new skill and I had a good feeling that I'd be able to better utilize Penny's stats with my newfound physique.
I dribble the ball up the court with little rush, I saw as I was picked up by their point guard, Chauncey Billups who had been going on a tear so far. I smiled as I sized him up, I saw a screen coming from the left by Tim, which was the play that Pop had drawn up.
However, I went against the play as instead of taking the screen, faked toward the left before crossing over quickly to the right and blowing by Chauncey. In a rush I had never felt before, I easily glided past Chauncey as he had no chance to recover. I saw as their Power Forward, Antonio McDyess stepped up. I zoomed towards him as he barely put his hand up, not seeming to want to jump, not wanting to bite on a possible fake to a layup.
However, I used this to my advantage as I smirked getting ready for the big moment.
I exploded upward as he also jumped a second late. I reached over his outstretched hands. I saw the rim just through his stretched out fingers as I slammed the ball down past his hands. I felt the rim as I flushed the ball down the rim. I then landed just a second after as all sounds seemed to cease.
I looked around at the shocked looks of countless fans as well as my teammates, even Tim, who was known to not make faces had a look of shock on his face.
After a moment later, the entire arena erupted in screams and shouts as I felt the court rumble from the vibrations that the fans were making. I then heard a quick timeout from the Pistons as I made my way to the bench, I was immediately jumped on by my teammates asking when I could dunk.
I even saw Manu, who was sitting out for today's game, running over as we made it to the bench.
I heard pop say "not bad kid" before he went over a play as the timeout soon ended.
It was clear, that I had been able to wake the fans up from the slumber as the arena was now buzzing, quickly turning the arena around.
Out of the timeout, I still had a little over 2 minutes on my skill, unfortunately timeouts still used up some of the time.
I got on defense, now with the crowd chanting "Go Spurs Go!!!" with intensity, the pistons found it much harder to continue scoring as we turned around the game. I led the game as I had gotten 12 points with 26 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. Thankfully, pop's let me stay in as well as I continued to hack apart the defense, drawing attention and getting Finley open shots on the perimeter and Timmy open looks close to the basket.
The pistons in bounded the ball, we had brought the score to 33-24 with our 25-6 run this quarter. Chauncey had gotten ball and made his way across the court, I could tell by him slowing down the tempo that they planned drain the shot clock entirely to only give us a few seconds to try to score. Seeing this, I pressed up, hoping to get him to make a mistake.
However, he used his body to guard against any steals, I could see across the court that the shot clock was now at 15 seconds, as Chauncey attempted to make his move, however I made a gamble. I pulled the chair out he attempted to drive, despite this he was able to keep hold of the ball.
However, I had already made my way around his back as I poked the ball lose toward Brent. Seeing the ball headed towards Timmy, I immediately took off.
I sprinted as I looked back to see the pass coming from Timmy. I got the pass just above half court as I made my way toward the basket, I saw that the clock was at 10 seconds left as I sprinted as fast as I could.
I reached the 3 point line at 8 seconds, the free throw at 6 seconds, I then exploded as I threw the ball off the backboard and slammed it down with force, trying to bring the rim down as I threw it. I could hear the crowd yell in amazement as I had just beat the clock, which now had 1.5 seconds left.
The pistons attempted to inbound the ball and get a shot, however it fell short completely. I made my way to the bench as I was again greeted by a flurry of different words I couldn't even comprehend with how loud it was. However I knew what they were saying.
I smiled as I wiped my brow from sweat and made my way to the back for halftime.
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(3rd Person)
"Come on babe, let's just grab some drinks really quick." stated a girl that appeared around her early twenties. She was talking to her boyfriend appeared to be around the same age as her and who was sitting just next to her, he seemed hesitant so she continued.
"Come on, 1st quarter just ended and were down 10, we won't miss much" she convinced him.
He eventually resigned as they headed towards a drink and snack booth and picked what they wanted.
The boyfriend was clearly anxious as he glanced back toward the arena, seeing that the 2nd was just about to start.
"Don't worry, we'll be out in a second" she stated.
The boyfriend couldn't help but sigh as he paid for the food and drinks and they made their way to the arena.
"Wait, let's take a picture really quick" the girlfriend said in excitement. The boyfriend obeyed but rushed his girlfriend as the game was about to start.
The girlfriend got a bit frustrated before saying "fine" as they made their way back.
Just as they were about to head down the steps, they both heard loud yells that seemed to shake the building. The boyfriend worried, hurried down the steps, followed by his girlfriend who was curious as to what happened but still upset about him rushing her pictures.
She began to hit record as she headed down the steps to capture what was happening.
From her camera, she followed closely behind her boyfriend who made his way back to his seat and looked up at the jumbotron. The camera panned to the jumbotron to show the highlight of 'Speedy' dunking on a player.
"Oh my god babe did you see that!" she said in excitement as she moved the camera to face him.
In a deadpan the boyfriend looked over and said
"I want to breakup"
"....What!?" the now ex girlfriend screamed back.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
(1st Person - Javi)
I came in with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. After our initial run, we had maintained a steady lead with the score standing at 42-33.
I looked up at the jumbotron as I made my way onto the court. I sat at 14 points still, shooting fairly efficiently at 7-10. I got on the floor alongside Brent, Nazr Mohammad, Bruce, and Robert Horry.
I dished the ball to Bruce before maneuvering to the right side, utilizing a screen from Brent to shake off my defender. Returning to the top, I received the ball back from Bruce.
Spotting a gap in the paint, I wasted no time driving towards the hoop. As I approached the basket, I felt the defender's hand on my arm, disrupting my dribble. The referee promptly blew the whistle, indicating a foul on the play.
I grimaced, knowing I wouldn't be heading to the free-throw line. Instead, we were awarded possession.
On the inbound play, I received the pass and glanced at the shot clock, thinking we had a fresh 24 seconds. Without realizing the clock hadn't reset, I took a few dribbles, looking for an open teammate.
Suddenly, I heard the buzzer sound, indicating a shot clock violation. I looked up in disbelief, realizing my mistake. I had wasted a crucial possession for our team.
"My bad" I said as I patted my chest to indicate it to my teammates. "It's all good get back." Bruce said.
As we headed back on defense, I resolved to make up for my error and stay focused for the remainder of the game.
Making my way back I heard Pop yelling at me "Know the clock Javi! Know the clock!" he stated.
I nodded at him in understanding.
Observing the Pistons' offensive play unfold, I saw their center, Ben Wallace, struggling against Nazr's sturdy defense in the low post. Recognizing his intention to pass, I anticipated his next move. It became apparent that his best passing option was their shooting guard, positioned adjacent to me and guarded closely by Bruce.
Reacting swiftly, I called out to Bruce. "Bruce, watch the pass!" My warning prompted Bruce to shift his attention just in time to intercept the incoming pass.
With the turnover secured, I immediately bolted down the court, my eyes scanning for opportunities. Bruce wasted no time and delivered a crisp pass my way as I streaked towards the basket. However, I noticed their guard closing in on me fast, with Bruce trailing closely behind.
In a split-second decision, I executed a slick behind-the-back pass to Bruce, who caught it in stride and soared for a powerful slam.
"Good pass!" Bruce exclaimed as we hustled back on defense.
Returning to the sidelines, I quipped to Pop, "See, I made up for it," but he merely waved me off with a smirk as I chuckled and headed back onto the court.
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(3rd Person)
The female reporter greeted Javi with warm wishes. "First thing, Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas, Javier," she said, amid cheers echoing through the arena.
"Thank you," Javi replied, flashing a smile at the crowd's festive greetings.
"You had a tremendous game, Javier. I know this is your first time giving a post-game interview in front of the fans. Just let us know what it takes to get to the level you're at despite your height," the reporter inquired, her gaze looking up and down at Javi as she spoke.
Javi, feigning ignorance, responded with confidence. "Anybody can be up here, whether you're short, tall, white, brown, from America, Europe. It doesn't matter as long as you put in the work. It's not gonna be easy, as most things aren't in life. However, as long as you're consistent and work on things that you can work on, then you'll be successful," he declared.
"Next question, Javier, what did you do to get your 'hops'?" the reporter asked, shifting the focus to his athleticism.
"I did 100 box jumps at 24 inches or higher, 100 depth jumps, and 100 tuck jumps daily until I was able to get my vertical higher," Javi admitted candidly.
"Last question, Javier, what happened with the shot clock?" the reporter inquired, referencing a notable mistake from the game.
Javi's expression turned playful. "Uh... we don't talk about it," he teased before clarifying, "Nah, I'm just joking. Mistakes happen, and the only thing you can do is make up for it. So that's what me and Bruce did," he explained.
"Okay, before we let you go, what do you have to say to all those watching today on Christmas day?" the reporter asked, wrapping up the interview.
"God is good. And Merry Christmas he stated before repeating the same thing in Spanish, then headed off.
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(3rd Person)
In the aftermath of Javi's jaw-dropping poster dunk, the shockwaves reverberated not only through San Antonio but also in corners around the globe. Among the fans, including children from less privileged backgrounds who may have faced disappointment from lack of Christmas gifts, the dunk sparked a collective awe so profound that it momentarily eclipsed any lingering feelings of letdown.
As schools reconvened after the break, conversations diverged from discussions about what presents everyone had received. Instead, the focal point shifted to whether anyone had witnessed the Spurs game on Christmas.
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A/N: I'm making more of an attempt to add more basketball parts, so stay tuned. Let me know your thoughts on the chapter!
