Basketbrawl

As I stepped into the hard court I knew right away that it’s my night.

The moment I got the ball and took my first shot beyond the arc only confirmed what I believed.

“Threeeeeeee points!” barked the crowd watching on the sidelines. On the next possession, our opponents scored on a fast break. Then we retaliated by scoring on a pick and roll. The game was close and we were battling neck and neck.

It helped that I was in a zone carrying the scoring load for my team by making 15 points in a single stretch. The first team to score 24 points wins the game and will take the pot of 2,000 pesos.

In a pick up game or street ball like this, the money is nothing. What matters most is the pride of winning and nothing else.

The score was a close 18-16 when the game turned dirty. On a rebound play my teammate was hit on the face by a wayward elbow. He retaliated by pushing the man as he made an attempt inside the paint in the ensuing play. It could have resulted into something more serious had it not been for the timely intervention of the proverbial cooler heads among the players and bystanders.

The game went on until it came to the last shot of the game.

We had ball possession and the score was 23- 22 in favor of our opponent. I received an inbound pass from my teammate and dribbled the length of the court.

They’re guarding us man to-man that would collapse into a zone defense the moment my teammate would post up. The defense was tight and there is no room for a clear shot.

Then suddenly I saw an opening and move for a lay-up but I saw the defense drawing on me. In that split of a second I made the fateful decision to pass the ball and in the corner of my eye I saw my teammate standing at the top of the keyhole unguarded.

I flicked a fancy behind the back pass to him as I soared up into the air. He caught the ball and drained the shot for the game winner.

The final score was 23-24 in our favor and as we made our way out of the basketball court, “high- fiving“, shouting and laughing in boisterous jubilation having put one up over the other team, I saw a knife being wielded by one of the players of the opposing team as he ran towards our direction.

By instinct or whatever you may call it I shouted a warning; we all scampered and ran into different directions. As I looked back I saw him caught and stabbed my teammate twice in the abdomen and again started to chase another one.

I ran into a nearby construction site and managed to get hold of a solitary piece of 2” x 2” wood block that then served as my improvised weapon in the process. I went after the assailant, caught up with him and lunged at him with a thunderous straight that caught him in the jaw, knocking him off unconscious to the ground.

I was about to deliver the coup de grâce on him but two burly policemen materializes out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground. The policemen were just passing by in their mobile car on a routine patrol when they saw the commotion and immediately responded to the mêlée.

My teammates brought the two victims at a nearby hospital while I went with the policemen to the station to give some statement; was held in detention for obvious reasons while waiting for the Fiscal’s Office to complete the case but with my family's machinations which is not uncommon in this corrupt country, I was finally released the following morning when no witnesses came forward in support of the charges that were supposedly being readied against me.

So, I went home for a much-needed rest and spent the rest of the day sleeping in my bed.

The following morning I went to the hospital and found out that my friend died due to loss of blood. His assailant survived and went home against medical advice the previous night. Apparently he felt safer in the streets than in a hospital bed.

But not for long for I managed to catch up with him two weeks later and avenged the death of my friend and teammate with the help of my old and reliable switch blade.