Frank went to the free throw line while the others got in position.
The referee checked everyone's position before passing the ball to Frank.
Frank brought the ball up high before trying to shoot it with a quick flick of the wrist.
(1/2) missed
(2/2) missed
The second free throw bounced off the side of the rim. Crox managed to box out Bash and get the rebound.
Crox passed to Joseph, who slowed down the offence. Joseph glanced over at Coach Dom, expecting a timeout, but the timeout was not called.
The Gunners were catching up to them, and Joseph had a rough idea of what they could do to shift the balance.
Leonz ran out and set a screen.
Joseph dribbled left.
Dominico stayed on Leonz after Lelo gestured to Leonz. Lelo went under the screen, giving Joseph ample space to shoot the three.
Joseph whipped the ball across the court instead, to where Theodore was. Theodore had cut to the rim, catching the ball as he drove in.
Leonz ran to the right while Joseph ran to the left.
Theodore passed the ball to Leonz, who was about to shoot when Dominico closed in on him. Leonz kept the ball close before trying to push Dominico back with a shoulder.
Leonz dropped the ball and did a crossover, but Dominico was unfazed.
Leonz passed the ball back to Theodore, who was about to set a screen.
Theodore turned around, doing a pump fake to get Tony in the air. Theodore then drove past.
Frank extended his hand towards Theodore.
Theodore went up for a floater as the shot clock started running out.
The ball bounced off the backboard before hitting the front rim, the floater a little too strong.
Joseph ran in, Lelo not pursuing him.
Crox jumped, grabbing the ball with both hands before trying to dunk the ball.
Frank reached out from where he was and stopped the ball. The ball was blocked and sent behind Crox.
Joseph picked it up and went up for a left handed layup off the backboard. The ball went in.
The Beasts ran back on defence as the Gunners went on offence. Lelo dribbled the ball rather lazily as he faced Joseph.
He then passed the ball over to Bash, who stood at the left corner.
Toby stood some distance away from Bash, having moved in to support Crox in defending Frank.
Bash shot the ball from three.
'Swish' (net)
Coach Dom stood up and walked over to the referee.
Joseph brought the ball past mid court.
'BEEEEEP' (whistle)
"Blue timeout." (Referee)
***
Time: 6:48
Score: 15-13 (Beasts lead by 2)
***
The Beasts walked back to the bench.
Coach Dom had his clipboard on hand.
The boys gathered around him as he started going through the strategy.
"Alright, our interior scoring is basically nonexistent with Contid on the floor, so we'll be subbing out Garland Jr for more outside firepower and flexibility." (Dom)
"Harper, you'll be subbing in at the one. We'll slide Quinn to the three and Hatchet to the four. We'll be going small, so be prepared to hustle on defence." (Dom)
***
Beasts Substitution:
#6 Toby Garland Jr (PF) subs out for John Harper (PG)
***
'BEEEEP' (whistle)
Both teams made their way back onto the he court. There were no substitutions with the Gunners, which was understandable seeing the run they had.
Joseph inbounded the ball to John from the sideline.
Joseph hung around the three point line as John observed the defence. John saw Leonz running up from the right, and Joseph running in from the left. Theodore set a screen for John. Crox fought for position down low at the post.
John faced the massive Lelo, whose presence intimidated the smaller guard.
John passed the ball to Leonz, who stopped right after catching the ball. Dominico closed in, not giving him the space to shoot.
Joseph ran up, but it was too late. Leonz leaned away and threw up a forced three, the shot clock already starting to wind down.
Dominico stood there, arms raised, not jumping for fear of fouling Leonz. Crox fought for position, but Frank had the upper hand.
The two Centres fought at the right side as Theodore ran in from the left, Bash close behind him.
The ball missed the rim and backboard completely. Theodore caught the ball before it could hit the ground.
He dribbled out and planted his left leg as the pivot, raising his right leg to fake a floater from close range.
Bash jumped, flying by. Theodore then got an easy overhand layup, wide open.
The ball spun around the rim dangerously before falling in.
The Beasts ran back on defence. Theodore was 6'4 and playing the PF position. There were many limitations playing small, but they could somehow work it out.
The real challenge came on defence.
Leonz was instructed by Joseph to guard Tony, leaving Dominico to John.
John was 6'0 tall, the shortest person on the court. Joseph guarded the taller Lelo, who was watching them arrange their defence.
Lelo threw a pass under Joseph's arm and into the hands of Bash. Bash had gotten into the high post with Theodore guarding him.
Bash dribbled the ball as he backed down Theodore, continuously getting closer to the rim. Theodore tried his hardest to push his back, but Bash was just stronger.
When he was at the rim, Theodore could do nothing but watch as Bash spun and got an easy layup.
Theodore sighed and inbounded the ball to Joseph, who passed it to John.
"Calm down. There's still time on the clock." (Joseph)
Joseph walked past John, patting him on the back. John surveyed the court warily. Joseph had always been the PG, and it was odd for Coach Dom to play two PGs simultaneously.
John did a slight jab crossover to see how his defender would react. Dominico did not budge. John saw as Leonz cut to the rim, guarded by Tony.
John set his feet and brought the ball up to his face. Dominico raised his arms, leaning towards John. John threw the pass under Dominico's arms and into the arms of Leonz.
Leonz caught the ball and passed it to Joseph, who was also cutting to the rim from the other side.
Leonz ran out as Tony switched to block Joseph off from the rim.
Lelo tapped Tony's shoulder before pointing at Leonz urgently. Tony turned and ran, but Joseph had already thrown the pass.
Leonz stopped at the three point line at the right corner. He caught the ball and brought it up, Tony giving him enough space to get the shot off.
Leonz let the ball fly from his favourite spot.
The ball rattled in the rim before passing through.
Leonz ran back on defence, high-fiving Joseph on the way.
The Beasts were on a roll, especially Leonz from the three.
Lelo dribbled up the court and simply passed to Frank inside. Frank tried to do a shimmy, but Crox did not budge. Instead, he threw it back out to Lelo, who was tightly defended by Joseph.
Lelo brought the ball low from the left, swinging his arms low to the right. Lelo brought his left foot forward, looking as if he was about to drive right.
Joseph was ready.
Lelo dribbled the ball once with his right hand before spinning his entire body the other direction. From Joseph's left, Lelo was now on Joseph's right.
Joseph turned, but Lelo was in momentum, in the air.
He shot a three pointer, the stroke of his hand looking smooth.
'Swish' (net)
Lelo was considered the best player on the Gunners, and from what Joseph could see, it was a well-deserved title.
John brought the ball up, trying to look for a shot. The Gunners were playing decent defence, all of them struggling to get open. Even Leonz was finding it difficult to get past Tony.
The only Gunner not playing proper defence was Lelo, who stood some distance away from Joseph.
Joseph extended his arms, signalling John to pass the ball.
John passed. Joseph caught the ball and threw a shot up without hesitation. But upon release, even Joseph knew that the shot was off.
The ball bounced off the front rim.
Crox jumped, tapping it up in the air. The two big men landed and jumped again, this time, Frank tipped it up.
On the third jump, Frank secured the rebound.
He passed the ball directly to Lelo, who started the fast break. Joseph ran at somewhat the same speed.
Lelo noticed him and slowed down, waiting for the offence and defence to get set in place first.
Lelo surveyed the court before passing to Tony, who had Leonz on him.
Leonz was at a disadvantage because of his height, but he could probably contest somewhat decently.
Tony tried dribbling the ball, but Leonz poked it away. Tony caught the ball again before it became a turnover. He tried going on a post with Leonz, but he could not back down Leonz.
As a result, Tony passed the ball to Dominico. Dominico drove by John aggressively before realising the giants that were in the paint.
He passed it out to Tony, who jumped high to receive the pass.
The shot clock was winding down. Tony looked around, everyone being heavily guarded.
He was forced to take a forced shot, Leonz all over him. Leonz reached up, making Tony raise his shot more than he normally would.
The ball fell flat and went out of bounds.
"Out of bounds, Blue ball." (Referee)
***
Time: 4:47
Score: 20-18 (Beasts lead by 2)