"And this makes seven!"
Finn shot another two-pointer into the basket - this time, with both hands, like a normal basketball player.
"That's it!!" Isabel shouted with a loud voice. "Timeout! Finn get back to the benches right now! Reiner, take his place!"
Finn looked at her with an incredulous expression. "What the hell are you saying, Isabel? I just scored a freaking two-points!"
"That's Miss Magnolia to you, you pompous brat! Now get your sorry ass over here."
Both Eld and Farlan sighed in hopelessness. Finn walked over to the benches, not to sit it out, but to express his disagreement over her decision.
"Hanji, you're not gonna condone this shit, are you?" He asked.
Hanji began to stammer as she was put on the spot.
"I-I m-mean..."
"Calm down, Finn." Reiner put a hand on his shoulder. "She's the coach, she calls the shots, so just relax."
"Back off, you two-faced piece of stone!"
Both teams uttered a series of 'ooohs' and 'damns', including Farlan and Gunther who were on the opposing side.
Surprised at his outburst, Reiner quickly retracted his hand.
"Are you trying to start a fight with me, Ryder?" Isabel asked, going towards him.
"Please, like your frail ass could ever handle a man." Finn replied, widening his teeth in a dangerous smirk.
"You little bra-"
"Alright! That's enough! The both of you. Ryder, get your sorry ass back to the bench and Isabel, don't utter any unnecessary calls." Levi addressed them from his seat, already pissed at their childish squabbling.
Still annoyed, Finn took a towel and sat down on the bench. After using the towel to wipe his sweat, he covered his head with it and buried his face in his arms, remaining silent without an utterance of apology or acknowledgement to anyone by his side.
Isabel thought she might have gone a bit too far, but it was still annoying! She understood perfectly how Shadis must have felt when Levi dominated the court in his early days. There was no opportunity for the rest of the team to shine or to give their best. It created overdependence on the star player and others won't try to give everything they've got. It also led to loopholes in both defense and offense. Even though the way she went about it was wrong, it was ultimately still the right decision at the end of the day.
"Time-in!"
Reiner passed the ball to Eren from outside and the game continued.
Catching the ball in both hands, Eren came head-on into Moblit who was guarding him. He bounced the ball and moved forward with one arm stretched out, giving some distance between himself and Moblit. He passed sideways to Bertholdt who jumped and shot a three into the net.
The score was 29 - 32 with the trainees in the lead.
That Hoover is dangerous. Eld thought. "Gunther!"
"Yeah, I know!" Came the reply.
Eld ran forward with the ball and came face to face with Reiner.
Erwin rose an eyebrow in high expectation of this fitting matchup.
Eld passed the ball behind him and at the same time, tried to maneuver around Reiner, but he was stopped. Spreading out his arms, revealing a broad wingspan, Reiner gave him no openings. Combined with his height and build, he was like an impenetrable wall.
This is certainly troubling. Eld tried again. He moved left and Reiner followed him, right, he followed him again and left again but he was still on him.
What's up with this guy? There are no openings!
He passed between Reiner's legs and Oluo successfully caught the ball. In that instant, Eren and Bertholdt suddenly switched their marks, with Eren being on Oluo and Bertholdt on Moblit.
Oluo moved forward and Eren marked him. He spun around with the ball and crossed back between his legs, doing a hesitation to go past Eren. Eren didn't let up and spread out his arms, blocking him.
Gunther was impressed. He had heard about Eren and did not take him for the kind of player who would be capable of extraordinary defense. It was certainly worth noting.
He looked down at his mark but there was no one there.
What the?
Oluo brought the ball back and tried again to get past Eren.
This time his eyes were levelled as he suddenly increased his speed, crossed over to his left hand and broke past Eren. But somehow, he lost the ball.
"What the hell?!" Both Gunther and Oluo shouted.
Farlan's eyes opened in surprise. Eld grit his teeth, knowing he should've expected this sooner or later.
Armin held the ball, performing a wonderful steal and passed the ball to Bertholdt. He jumped and shot the ball into the net.
29 - 35.
"Nice steal, Armin." Eren slapped hands with him as he ran past him. His teammates gave him a pat on the back, including Bertholdt, at his performance.
Damn! How did he get past Oluo's defense? No, not just that, he slipped past Gunther's vision. How does someone move like that?
Eld was confused but still did his best to retain a level head. Let the game go on as normal and let no rash decisions be made, He thought.
The match continued. Jean held the ball and Farlan was right on him with his arms spread out, giving Jean no leeway.
Jean was practically feeling useless. It's not like the moves were not in his head, it's not that he didn't know what to do, it's just... these guys were not just giving him any damn space. Its like they knew his weakness and were riding on it on purpose.
"It's not that you're not good, Jean." Farlan said, being serious with him. "You're talented, even more so than Eren or Finn but you have to learn to be independent. You keep depending on your teammates to perform, you don't allow yourself to exercise the full gift you've been given."
"Exercise the full gift I've been given?"
"That's right. Right now, I'm your teacher not your opponent, so pass the ball to Eren and let me show you what I mean."
Reluctantly, Jean passed the ball to Eren who was being marked by Eld. He brought the ball to himself, maintaining eye contact with Eld and burst forward. He put out one arm to keep some distance between himself and Eld, crossed over from his free hand to the arm he stretched out from behind, passed the ball from between his legs forward to his right hand causing Eld to try and intercept the ball in the moment. But Eren was quicker and shifted his wrist, passing the ball to his left hand and breaking past Eld.
Eren ran towards the rim. Reiner provided a screen for him by blocking Moblit, preventing him from stopping Eren. Eren continued running, jumped, raised the ball in his right hand and slammed the ball into the net.
"Nice one Eren!!" Connie and Marco exclaimed from the benches. Finn's head was still down without as much as a reaction at Eren's spectacular dunk.
"Do you see what I mean?" Farlan said to Jean.
"Ye-Yeah." He replied. But in reality, he didn't understand. What was so special about Eren that he couldn't imitate? Was it his skill? His talent? Just what in the world was Farlan trying to teach him.
"It looks like you still don't understand. Your talent isn't meant to copy others, it isn't meant to be used to steal from others. It's purpose, is to gather knowledge, mix it, combine it, and create something special, something unique of it."
Farlan put his index finger on Jean's chest and looked him straight in the eye.
"Jean Kirstein, the purpose of your gift... is to create your own style of basketball, unique to you and only you."
Jean's eyes became wide open, figuratively and literally. His own style of basketball? For him and him alone?
In that moment, Finn raised his head at an alarming rate, making his teammates and coaches on the bench jump in surprise.
"What the? Don't scare us like that." Connie scolded him.
"Sorry 'bout that." Finn grinned at him.
"Hmph! And here I was thinking you'll need a whack on the head to jolt you back up." Isabel said.
"What did you want to use to hit me? Your hand? Don't kid yourself, I'll kill you if you touch my head with that unmarried hand of yours."
The players as well as coaches on the bench covered the mouths to stifle their laughter, including Hanji and Petra. They were doing a terrible job at it though. Isabel on the other hand, was fuming with rage.
"Jeez, almost 35 and still don't have a boyfriend. It's not your fault though, I completely understand. I understand that you're lacking in certain areas."
Instinctively she crossed her arms over her chest and bottom, embarrassed by Finn's statement.
"T-that's untrue. I've had tons of guys who asked me out on dates!" Isabel said, pouting.
"Excuses, excuses." Finn replied.
"What the hell do you know?! It's not like you're any different! You're almost twenty and you don't even have a girlfriend!"
"And so? At least I have youth on my side."
Damn! He got her good. Was the only thought they could all utter.
Leaving Isabel in shock at his statement, he faced the court and brought his attention back to Jean.
I don't know why but I can feel it. Jean has become a step closer, what will you do now, Eren.
Levi, Erwin and Mike also had similar thoughts. Erwin was impressed but also curious as to how all this would turn out.
He's closer, one step closer to the Zone.
In a few minutes, it would be time for a massive change on the basketball court of Trost College.
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Done, done, annnnd done! Thank you some much for reading, and thank you all for your wonderful comments and votes. They mean a lot to me. I can bet that there will be an exciting chapter next, so stay tuned and expectant. Nothing much to say today, so I wish you all a great day. Stay safe and strong and I'll see you all in the next chapter. Bye 👋!