Kenny inbounded the ball. John was sticking close to Porter, who had an arm extended, calling for the ball.
Porter pushed John slightly with his arm before running out, catching the inbound pass. John glanced at the referee, expecting some sort of call for the push off, but there was no whistle.
John closed in on Porter, who passed it off to Jared down low. Jared posted up Spex, the two Centers trying to overpower each other.
Jared flipped up a shot, missing completely. Jared and Spex were at the left, the ball fell to the right. Darius managed to get the rebound, hugging it close to his body when Wes closed in.
Wes tried to steal the ball, but Darius was preventing him from doing so. The Gunners, including Wes, ran back on defence.
Darius threw the ball ahead to John. John dribbled the ball as the Beasts got into offence.
Theodore and Rodney were at the left. Rodney set a screen, letting Theodore run by, hands extended to each side.
Kenny was unable to get over the screen, leaving Humi (SG) to cover Theodore. Humi managed to get close enough to Theodore. Even Porter had shifted himself to cover the passing lane to an extent.
John threw a bounce pass directly into Theodore's hands. Theodore gathered his feet and jumped instantly, raising the ball above his head.
Humi jumped towards Theodore, arm extended.
Theodore got the shot off, a hand in his face. Humi landed before Theodore, arm still extended when he turned back to see whether the shot went in.
Theodore landed on Humi's foot.
Theodore kicked his right leg out. He landed with his left before falling back, using his hands to soften the fall a little and eventually sliding on his ass backwards.
'BEEEP' (whistle)
The ball rattled around the rim before going in. From where Theodore was, he could hear the bench shouting.
Theodore punched the air as John ran up to him to help him up.
"#32 Red Defensive Foul. Basket count, #15 Blue will shoot one free throw." (Referee)
"Good shot." (John)
Theodore checked his right ankle by stomping his foot. He then did a few hops. When he felt that he was in an alright form, he walked up to the free throw line.
He took a deep breath, shaking his right leg before signalling for the referee to pass him the ball.
Theodore cocked the ball back behind his head before bringing it back in front of him and shooting the ball.
The ball went in, nothing but net.
Theodore glanced back before backpedaling to defence.
Kenny collected the ball and stepped out of bounds to inbound the ball. Porter dribbled past half court before walking to the side.
'BEEEP' (whistle)
"Red Timeout." (referee)
***
Time: 10:24
Score: 35-23 (Beasts lead by 12)
***
The Gunners gathered at their bench, the Coach not looking the happiest. He held a clipboard, his arms crossed. The manager did not know what to do to calm the Coach down.
"What are you all doing? We've gone through the pick and roll many times, why can't any of you do it?" (G Coach)
The Coach looked at every single one of them, daring any of them to speak up.
"Sloppy Offence! I can't tell whether y'all actually want to win! You guys want to win the Championship? With this level of effort?" (G Coach)
The boys did not speak up. Even those sitting on the bench did not speak. The one at the end of the bench, furthest away from the Coach, was Lelo.
Lelo did not look at the Coach, instead, was looking towards the Beasts bench.
Coach Dom had gathered the Beasts.
"Alright, I'll be subbing Theodore out. Darius will also go out. We'll play a double Center lineup with Spencer (Spex) at the four and Devonte (Crox) at the five. Lovehart will be playing at the two. Totem (Rodney) will be pushed to the three." (Coach Dom)
Theodore and Darius high-fived both Leonz and Crox before sitting down on the bench.
"That shot was stupid." (Joseph)
Theodore grinned and nudged Joseph.
"I think I've got more points than you." (Theodore)
"Bullshit." (Joseph)
Coach Dom cleared his throat.
"Anyways, since we're playing big, I want you guys to find a way to dominate the paint. Lovehart will be an outside threat, so they won't be able to collapse in the paint with all five." (Coach Dom)
Meanwhile, at the Gunners Bench…
"You (Porter), you (Humi), you (Kenny), you (Wes) and you (Jared). What are you doing out there?" (G Coach)
There was a moment of silence.
"Playing basketball?" (Porter)
"Playing basketball? That's what you've been doing? How long has it been since you last scored a basket? None of you are following what I teach you at all! I knew it, with how your previous coach coached you, you would never win the Championship." (G Coach)
Lelo turned his head, almost getting to his feet. Frank pulled him down.
"Calm down. What if you get suspended?" (Frank)
"Oi! Shut up for once in your life!" (Lelo)
The entire bench tensed up. It was early in the season, they had barely just met their new Coach, but everyone knew that eventually, he would get into a fight with Lelo.
"Sit your ass down and shut up if you aren't going to contribute on the court." (G Coach)
"You know what? Fuck you, I'm going home." (Lelo)
Lelo grabbed his bag and walked out. A few of his teammates tried to stop him, but he powered through them. He left the gym and slammed the door behind him.
The group remained silent, Frank rubbing his forehead because of how messy things had become.
'BEEEP' (end of timeout)
The Beasts had obviously noticed Lelo's outburst and exit. However, they had no idea what the reason for it was.
***
Zodiac Beasts substitutions:
[#15 6'4 Theodore Hatchet] -> [#22 6'2 Leonz Lovehart]
[#99 6'5 Darius Topac] -> [#33 6'11 Crox Devonte]
East Gunners: no substitutions
***
Leonz walked onto the court, hopping to try and get his body warmed up. He looked at the Gunners on the court, all of them looking unmotivated.
Kenny inbounded the pass to Porter, who passed it back to Kenny. Porter tried to screen for Kenny, but before the screen could set, Kenny tried driving in.
Rodney stayed strong, preventing Kenny from getting to the rim. Kenny threw the ball over his head in Porter's direction.
John jumped and snatched the ball out of the air. He started a fast break, Porter chasing after him.
Porter chased him until John reached the three-point line. At that point, Porter came to a walk.
John got an easy layup.
Porter threw the ball ahead to Humi. Humi passed to Kenny, who passed it to Jared inside. Jared tried posting up Crox, but Crox was just too massive for him to budge.
Jared did a shake before extending his arm for a hook shot. Crox extended his own arm, but was unable to block it. The ball hit the side of the backboard, missing the rim entirely.
Crox got the rebound, but Jared tapped it out of his hands and into the air. Jared jumped again and got the ball. He took a single dribble, driving his shoulder into Crox.
Crox stumbled back, allowing Jared enough space to lay the ball in.
There was no call.
Crox inbounded the ball to John, who ran up the court. He held the ball, scanning the court before whipping a pass to the right corner where Leonz was.
Leonz caught the ball, Humi closing in on him. Leonz passed it off to Rodney, who was right behind Humi. Humi turned around, noticing Rodney.
Leonz ran to his left, gaining some distance before Rodney passed the ball back.
Leonz caught the ball with a slight hop before setting and shooting his shot.
Humi was too late to recover.
'Swish' (net)
"Bang!" (Leonz)
Leonz ran back on defence, sticking close to Humi. Porter drove past John and threw a floater up.
The ball bounced around the rim before landing in.
The Beasts went on offence once again.
John faked a pass to Leonz, Humi guarding Leonz closely.
Instead, he threw it in to Crox. Crox posted Jared up. He then spun, two feet on the ground, he faked a shot. Jared jumped, but Crox was in no position to shoot.
Instead, he waited for Jared to land.
The moment Jared landed, Crox jumped, the ball in his right hand. He extended his arm as high as he could.
Jared backed off, not wanting to foul Crox.
Crox dunked the ball, grabbing the rim momentarily and making the entire backboard shake.
The best player for the Gunners had just left, and the team was low on morale. As long as the Beasts kept up their aggressive offence, they should be able to win.
***
Time: 9:02
Score: 42-27 (Beasts lead by 15)
***
Joseph got onto his feet and started stretching again, walking up to Coach Dom. He was waiting to be subbed in, and the next chance they got, Coach Dom was subbing in Joseph.
It was best for them to attack aggressively while their morale was down. Coach Dom wanted to make sure the Gunners had no chance of coming back from the deficit.