Leonz was on the bench when the second quarter started. He drank from his bottle before wiping the sweat off his forehead.
When the First Quarter ended, Joseph had been speaking to Coach Dom.
Joseph sat down beside Leonz.
Those on the bench sat depending on when they were going to be subbed back into the game. The ones who were furthest from the coach meant that they were not going to play that game.
The arrangement was as such:
Crox Devonte
Leonz Lovehart
Joseph Quinn
Toby Garland Jr
Joseph drank from his bottle before nudging Leonz with his elbow. Joseph was to the left of Leonz.
"What is it?" (Leonz)
"Good shooting. Keep it up for the rest of the game. They have a strong interior defence, but we can punish them from the outside." (Joseph)
"Got it." (Leonz)
"Crox!*" (Joseph)
* He's shouting over Leonz
"What?" (Crox)
"While their Center is off the court, we'll force our way into the paint. Coach told me to try and get us into some pick-and-roll action too." (Joseph)
"When will that be?" (Crox)
"Who knows?" (Joseph)
The second quarter opened up with the Beasts inbounding*.
* At the start of the second period, the team that loses the opening tip will start with the ball
Theodore inbounded the ball to John, who dribbled up the court. With Lelo on the bench, the PG for the Gunners was Porter, standing 5'10. The Gunners had gone from a tall Point Guard to a short Point Guard.
John, for one, was slightly unsure. He was used to being the shortest man on the court, but he was faced with someone shorter than him.
John passed the ball to Theodore, who had a high post on Kenny Gogovic (SF). Theodore stepped out to catch the ball, Kenny closing in on him. Theodore kept the ball high and close to his head, preventing Kenny from getting a steal.
Theodore dribbled once, pushing against Kenny. The opposing Small Forward managed to keep his footing. Theodore turned around and did a shot fake, but Kenny did not jump.
After glancing at the shot clock, Theodore threw it back out to John, who caught the ball and shot a three-pointer. Porter (PG) jumped in an attempt to contest.
'Bzzzt' (shot clock)
The ball arched in the air as both Spex (B-C)* and Jared (G-C)** both fought for position under the basket.
* Beasts-Center
** Gunners-Center
The ball rattled in and out of the rim. Spex tried going up for it, but it was out of reach. Jared jumped, only managing to tip it with a finger.
Darius ran and collected the loose ball, almost having it poked away by Wes (PF).
Darius started posting up Wes, who was much more prominent. He threw a bounce pass to Theodore who was cutting to the rim.
Theodore grabbed the ball with both hands before taking a single dribble. Jared was under the rim, blocking an easy pass to Spex and an easy finish at the rim.
Theodore collected the ball, taking his gather step with his left. He brought his entire body as he took a step right, making Jared move to the right as well.
Spex was also under the rim at the right, so finishing at the right was too difficult. Theodore brought the ball over, swinging it to the other side as his second stride brought him under the basket to the left. Jared reached out and tried to block the layup, but only managed to pull down Theodore's left arm.
'BEEEEP' (whistle)
"#6 Red Shooting Foul, #15 Blue two Free Throws." (Referee)
Theodore bent over and picked the ball up, passing it to the referee. Both teams got into the free-throw arrangement.
The rebounders were:
B- Spex and Darius
G- Jared, Wes and Kenny
Theodore stood at the free throw line, taking a deep breath before the ball was passed to him. Theodore held the ball before cocking it back behind his head. He brought the ball back in front of him, keeping it at his waist. He brought the ball up above his head before releasing the ball.
The ball rattled around before falling out.
"Tsk." (Theodore)
Theodore reached out and high-fived a few of his teammates.
"You can make the next one." (John)
Theodore took another deep breath before signalling the referee to pass the ball.
He did his routine again, the ball going in perfectly this time. The Beasts ran back on defence, the Gunners gaining possession of the ball.
Porter (PG) dribbled the ball up the court. John stood in front of him, just about a step behind the three-point line. For the bench, Coach Dom had suggested that they try and use a zone defence.
They are running a 2-3 zone. John stood near the left elbow of the paint, guarding Porter from a distance.
John felt someone to his right.
"Right screen!" (Theodore)
Porter drove to John's right, John unable to get around the screen set by Humi (SG). Rodney (SG) covered for John by stepping up to guard Porter.
With Rodney stepping up, Porter saw an opening and drove in, lowering his body as he drove into the paint. Porter got by Rodney who was unable to change directions fast enough.
The remaining three Beasts collapsed onto Porter. Porter was about to go up for a layup when he hesitated.
Spex stood in front of him, arms extended. Darius was on Porter's left, Theodore on Porter's right. They surrounded him, arms extended up, not allowing him to do much.
In order to avoid the three second violation*, he threw it up wildly. The pass was deflected by Theodore, who picked it up.
* Three Seconds in the paint violation
Theodore threw it ahead to John, who slowed everything down. Instead of going for a fast break like what Joseph would have done, John dribbled the ball, slowly and observing the court.
John threw the ball high to Spex. Spex tried to catch it, but Jared (C) jumped and smacked the ball from behind. The ball landed near Theodore and Kenny (SF). Theodore reached out, Kenny diving for it.
Kenny grabbed the ball, hugging it to himself. Theodore approached him, trying to poke the ball away. Kenny was on the ground, avoiding any of Theodore's attempt to poke the ball away. Theodore eventually grabbed the ball too, trying to pull it away from Kenny.
'BEEEEP!' (Whistle)
Theodore let go of the ball and walked away. Kenny let go of the ball as well, passing it to the referee. A couple of his teammates helped him get on his feet.
"Held ball. #15 Blue and #20 Red will jump for it." (Referee)
Theodore and Kenny positioned themselves at the circle at the Free Throw line.
***
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* If unclear, I suggest using a different Font and/or decreasing the text size
** This is a rough estimate and a reference
[Letter represent names, upper case letters are for the Beasts, lower case letters are for Gunners]
***
The referee stood at the free throw line, Theodore to his left, Kenny to his right.
He threw the ball in the air and both players jumped.
Theodore was slightly taller and had better timing compared to Kenny, so he tipped the ball backwards.
John extended his hands to catch the ball. Porter ran around John and caught the ball instead.
Porter was momentarily in front of John. Porter started running towards the rim, a fast break.
"Behind you!" (Kenny)
John chased after Porter, the other players also making their way down the court. Porter glanced back to see John. Humi (SG), Rodney and Theodore were nearby.
Porter decided to take the layup himself, extending his right arm to finger roll the ball in.
John jumped with one leg, having been close to Porter the entire time.
Their bodies collided into each other before John managed to block the shot, swatting it out of the air. The two Point Guards fell onto the ground.
'BEEEEP' (whistle)
John got help from Rodney and Theodore to get back onto his feet. Porter also got onto his feet.
"#0 Blue Flagrant 1. Red will shoot two free throws and inbound the ball." (Referee)
"A flagrant?" (John)
John took a step towards the referee. Theodore pulled him back by the shoulder.
"Calm your tits, we still got a whole game left to play." (Theodore)
After a Flagrant Foul, anyone from the opposing team was allowed to shoot the two free throws. As a result, Humi (SG) took the free throws. Everyone in the game stood outside the three-point line.
Theodore looked over at the bench, but Coach Dom made no sign of wanting a substitution.
"Don't get another one*." (Theodore)
* Getting 2 Flagrant 1s will result in an ejection
"I know." (John)
Humi shot the free throws:
(1/2) made
(2/2) made
Everyone walked back into position. There were no timeouts or substitutions, the game would go on. The Gunners Coach was not happy with the way things were going.
***
Time: 10:51
Score: 31-23 (Beasts lead by 8)
***