Leonz stood near the half court, ready to go down the court if needed. Joseph stood near the middle of the court, ready to catch the ball of Crox won the tip.
The Jesters were standing in a similar fashion. Leonz was face to face with their SG, Ainz Waters, who was taller than he was.
The referee stood in the middle, ball extended in front of him. Behind Thomas, Harley was stretching casually without a care in the world.
"Ready?" (Referee)
Both Crox and Thomas prepared to jump, both their right arms extended in front of them.
'BEEEEEEP' (Referee)
The ball was in the air, both Centers jumped for it. There was a two-inch difference in height, and somehow they had the same wingspan.
Thomas jumped higher for the tip, tapping the ball behind him. Everyone started moving, Leonz especially, ran up to the person who had caught the ball.
Harley held the ball, looking as jovial as ever. He dribbled the ball, Leonz running up to him.
Harley dribbled the ball casually, looking relaxed. Leonz managed to get in front of him before Harley could cross half-court.
"Impatient, aren't ya?" (Harley)
Leonz did not speak, instead looked for the perfect moment to steal the ball from Harley's hands.
The time came when he saw Harley take a relaxed bounce of the ball, the ball slow enough for Leonz to steal.
Leonz reached out.
Harley reached his right arm low and tapped the ball to his left while the ball was still falling to the ground. He caught it with his left arm and jogged forward, Leonz on him.
Harley stepped over the half-court line.
"Left screen!" (Joseph)
Leonz felt someone to his left, Harley already moving in the same direction. Leonz felt like he was hit by a brick wall, unable to get around the screen set by Ainz.
Harley stood in front of the taller Joseph, who had switched onto him.
Harley surveyed the court before he turned to face Ainz, who was at the three-point line.
Harley dribbled with his left hand, easing his right arm to signal '2'.
"I want everyone to do what we planned." (Harley)
Harley was about six or seven feet away from the three-point line, Joseph standing some distance away.
The Jesters offence was a 4-out. The SF and PF on either side started cutting to the basket, even Ainz started cutting to the basket. Their respective defenders followed them.
Joseph glanced behind him to see the chaos.
Everyone crowded the paint for a moment before the Jesters cleared the floor, slightly more open than before. It was an unorthodox play that no one should have ever thought of.
"Hurry up and cover your man!" (Joseph)
Joseph looked back at Harley.
Harley was falling, right hand extended in front of him.
When Joseph had turned to look somewhere else, Harley had taken the shot from deep. Joseph had not expected Harley to shoot from that deep, so he had kept his distance to avoid a drive.
Joseph turned around again, the ball already falling from the air.
'Swish' (net)
Harley stepped away, his teammates following him back on defence.
"Tsk." (Joseph)
The Beasts ran up the court to play some offence. It was the first possession, and somehow things already seemed odd.
"Lovehart, I want you to defend Snyder at all times." (Joseph)
"Alright." (Leonz)
Crox inbounded the ball to Joseph who walked up the court, dribbling the ball slowly. Crox ran past him and into the paint, defended by Thomas.
Joseph whispered to himself.
"Damn Coach. They got a pretty solid rookie there." (Joseph)
Joseph walked up to Harley, who was shorter than him. Joseph turned his body, using his left shoulder to distance the ball from Harley.
Joseph surveyed the court before deciding what he wanted to do.
He turned his body to face Harley, his right hand under the ball.
"Alley!" (Joseph)
Joseph tried to throw his scoop pass, but there was definitely something odd with his pass. It was stopped.
Harley had reached out, his hand stopping the ball short, the ball getting smacked out of Joseph's hands.
"The Hell you doing Quinn?" (Dom)
Harley got the ball and started running down the court, dribbling the ball. Joseph ran after him in an attempt to make up for his mistake.
Not all the Jesters followed after Harley, only Ainz(SG) and Thomas(C).
Harley glanced behind him and stuck out his tongue. Joseph saw where he was likely to jump.
Joseph saw Harley grab the ball, and the two paces soon followed. Joseph times his jump and went up at the same time as Harley did.
The smaller PG had jumped slightly more to the side. Their bodies collided into each other.
They were at the right side of the rim.
Joseph tried to reach out for a block, but he had severely underestimated his own strength. Joseph had jumped into Harley a little too much, and the smaller PG was being pushed in the air.
Joseph reached out to the ball which Harley held in his hands, but ended up only smacking his left arm.
'BEEEEP' (whistle)
Falling away from Joseph, Harley threw a shot over his head. Joseph landed and put his hand up, admitting to the foul he had committed.
Harley landed on the ground on his side, even sliding some distance away before looking up at the rim. Joseph looked up too.
"You're fucking with me." (Joseph)
The ball bounced on the rim a few times before it went in.
"Blue #1 Shooting Foul, Basket count! One free throw!" (Referee)
Harley got help from Thomas and Ainz to get back onto his feet. They hyped him up while Joseph just stood there, scratching his head and sighing.
Joseph shook his head and walked to his teammates, talking to them.
"My bad." (Joseph)
They prepared for a free throw.
It was a fast paced game, and Joseph himself was not accustomed to the pace. Against players he had no idea about, Joseph was struggling to get much of a flow going in his game.
Harley stood at the free throw line, hopping lightly. The referee held the ball in his hands, waiting for Harley to be done with whatever he was doing.
Crox, Devonte and Hatchet were standing outside the paint in case of a rebound. For the Jesters, Thomas(C) and Samuel(PF).
Harley checked his footing before the ball was passed to him.
Harley looked up at the rim before spinning the ball in his left hand. He lowered his body and took a single dribble before going up for the free throw.
The ones who were looking for the rebound crowded inside the paint.
Joseph registered the play.
Joseph pointed to the other side of the court after tapping Leonz's shoulder.
"Run." (Joseph)
Leonz started running, and so did Joseph.
Seeing them, Ainz(SG) tried running after them, the other defenders too slow.
'Swish' (net)
Crox saw them, grabbing the ball before it could even land. He stood out of the sideline, his arm extending behind him for the pass.
Harley saw that and tried getting in the passing lane, but was simply too far away.
Crox threw a long pass over to Joseph, who was driving into the paint. Ainz, the only defender who had rushed back on defence, tried to stop him.
Joseph took a long step before passing the ball to the right corner. Leonz caught the ball and instantly put his shot into motion.
Ainz tried running to him, but he was too late.
Leonz released the ball, a good feeling in his fingertips.
The ball hit inside the back rim, going in.
"Bang!" (Leonz)
The Jesters were back on their side of the court, Harley with his hands on his hips.
Joseph approached Leonz, high-fiving him before he whispered.
"Guard Snyder full-court." (Joseph)
Leonz, without hesitation, ran up to Harley, who had just received the inbound pass. The game had barely started, and yet it was already so competitive.
Time: 11:12
Harley looked around him before he lowered his body. Leonz lowered his too, prepared to defend Harley.
Harley did a slight jab to his right, but Leonz did not budge. Harley then started running to his right. Leonz was prepared to take a hit, maybe even draw an offensive foul.
Harley ran diagonally, Leonz having to chase him while pushing him away.
While running, Harley did a sudden stop performing a crossover behind his back.
Leonz shifted his body to his right to stop himself from being detached from Harley.
Harley did another behind the back crossover in rapid succession. Leonz, who had shifted his body, could not react in time.
Harley drove right again, hitting into Leonz slightly, but he was past Leonz.
Leonz ran after him, trying to catch up. Not only was Harley fast, but they had no idea what he could try and pull.
"Alley!" (Harley)
Crox instantly prepared to jump. Thomas had also prepared to jump.
Joseph had run up to him to help on defence.
Harley jumped off his right foot, pushing the ball high in the air. Thomas jumped, and so did Crox.
Crox tried to interrupt the pass, and from everyone's angle, he was able to do so.
'Swish' (net)
Both big men fell onto the ground. The ball had gone through the hoop instead.
It was never intended to be a pass.
***
Time: 10:59
Score: 8-3 (Jesters-Beasts)
***