ALL NOVEL Chapter 139: Playmaker
So, the teams were set. Samuel had an all-men team. Even if that was the case, he really wanted Shivani on his team as well, since he had seen her play and she was better than a few of his members. However, he wasn't that sad because the ones on his side were experienced playing alongside each other for many competitions.
And compared to this, Taro's team was a sham. It relied on individual prowess than the team. Such a team was bound to fail. He knew how good Shivani and Juan were, but Abhirami, Sujatha and Taro in particular were useless in his eyes. He knew how Sujatha and Abhirami were good at other sports, but basketball sure wasn't one.
Juan and Samuel were on the front to grab hold of the ball when the referee Thankappan threw the ball up in the air. Taro's decision to not be the one in place of Juan not only made sense to Thankappan, who didn't want Taro to shine too much, but also to the ones on the sidelines since they knew how good Juan was.
Anyhow, the one who got their fingertips on the ball was Juan, who nudged it towards his teammates. Although he expected little from most of them since they are amateurs, Shivani was one person he trusted because of her experience and the times they played together in practice matches.
The plan was simple in Juan's mind. Send the ball to Shivani and she'll dribble it back to him and he can then do the rest. It's not like he was disrespecting the rest in his team, but their skills weren't on par with the two of them.
So Juan looked back to see whether Shivani got the ball. However, much to his surprise, it wasn't Shivani there. He was sure that Shivani would be there, however it seemed as if there was a last-minute change in positions. Therefore, the one standing there was Taro, who was grinning.
Juan sighed. The first part of the plan was thwarted. However, it is still manageable. As long as Taro sends the ball to either him or Shivani…
"Hey, what are you doing?" The usually chill Juan looked frustrated as he saw Taro preparing for a long throw with the ball. Even if he was fast, there was no chance that he was getting there in time.
However, Taro was smirking and mouthing that everything's gonna be fine. And this only irked him even more. He could only watch as the ball floated above him.
And just like him, the others in the ground missed that one person pacing like her life depends on it towards the said ball. It was only after she caught the ball in her grasp that the people noticed her.
"Abhirami!" Everyone shouted. Samuel's team ran back to cover their basket, however she was in a spot where she couldn't miss it even if she wanted to. And hence, the first two points belonged to Taro's team.
No one believed what they just witnessed. Well, more than the basket in itself, they couldn't believe how they missed Abhirami. Although she wasn't an outstanding basketball player, she was an excellent runner. A gold medalist for the hundred meter sprints. So, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise to see her cover the ground and score an absolute sitter of a layup.
However, it did surprise them. It showed them how much they underestimated the opposition team. So, they planned not to do that anymore.
Samuel was planning to do it slow and rebound from the initial shock as he threw the ball towards Ross. But yet again, Abhirami became the thorn in his side as she intercepted the pass and threw it towards Juan, who was in acres of free space. For someone who's able to score even in high-pressure situations, this was easy as hell.
Anyhow, back-to-back points cooled down Samuel's side than making them frustrated. They could deal with something like this as long as they were the ones who get the last laugh.
Therefore, they ended up showing a passing clinic where the entire team came through together to score the two points. But while Taro's team was desperately defending, there were two people showing no movement whatsoever—Taro and Shivani. Taro was inside the three-point line while Shivani was outside it. Both of them watched as they saw the ball go through the hoop.
Samuel didn't understand what was going on, but he wasn't gonna miss such an open invitation. He took it upon himself to score the first two points for the team. His teammates were coming towards him to congratulate him, but that was when he saw the plan.
Just as the ball came down after passing through the hoop, Taro wasted no time and made the throw to Shivani, who was all alone on the other side of the court. She took her time and scored a three-pointer for the team. No matter how fast Samuel and co ran, they were still slow. By the time they got there, Shivani was already walking back.
So, Samuel and co were definitely surprised, but there was one more surprised than them. It was Juan. He wasn't aware of their tactics at all since they discussed none, but Taro, Shivani and Abhirami worked as a well-oiled machine for some reason. Not that he hated it, since it got them baskets. He just wanted to be part of their silent cahooting.
Anyhow, that's when he started looking at Taro, since he was the one who looked like he was controlling the game. The throws he made didn't look that special, but the sense to notice his teammates' position and using them to their full extent was certainly admirable. In that sense, he was the perfect play-maker for a team.
It wasn't just Juan who noticed Taro's worth in the team. Samuel noticed it as well. He became well aware that the team that he was facing changed from a normal team to a monstrous one right before his eyes. He wasn't even sure about winning the match at this point. Hell, his priorities changed from winning to not getting humiliated. Taro broke Samuel's spirit in the matter of a few moves.
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