The intro music for the Finals sounded loudly inside the arena. Around 34,000 people packed in the New York College gym to watch the game. The atmosphere is electrifying.

Inside the locker room, Coach Chris is in a huddle with his players.

“Guys, this is it! This is the time we all have been waiting for. The moment we have all strived to prepare and worked hard for. Let us go out there and do our best to bring home the Larry Boheim trophy to the state of Illinois, to our alma mater. On three and shout Falcons!”

The players all extended their hand in the air and shouted, “Falcons!”

Chris signaled the players to emerge from the dugout.

“Wait coach! Wait a second!,” hollered Jeremy.

The team stopped for a while to listen to what he has to say.

“Can we just say a prayer before going out?”

All the members of the team looked at each other. They were all astonished by what Jeremy had just suggested.

“Coach?” he continued

“Sure, Jeremy.”

The coach motioned the team to bow their heads.

“Why don’t you lead the prayer?”

Coach Chris glanced at Jeremy.

He closed his eyes and said a prayer for the team. Then when it all ended, the team shouted, Amen!

“Ladies and gentlemen, let’s all welcome the teams who will vie for the Larry Boheim trophy!”

The announcer barked on the public audio system of the arena. The intro music of the Boars was played first, and then the Falcons music was sounded next. The Boars have been the defending champion for two consecutive years. They are headed by the veteran coach, Mr. Tim Gorayev, who has more than 500 wins under his belt.

A short program began with the singing of the national anthem of the United States and speeches coming from the league commissioner.

“Bbooommpp!”

The buzzer signals the start of the game. One of the referees moves towards the center court together with the commissioner and both college presidents. He hands the ball over to the tournament head and he raises it for the ceremonial toss. Then they all sauntered to the sidelines and the referees took over. He tosses the ball and both centers jumped to tap the ball to their teammates.

Falcons gain first possession. AJ dribbles the ball down court. Jeremy cuts to the right-wing and using the screen provided by George. AJ spots him and passes the ball over. He shoots it and swish it goes through the basket.

The Illinois Falcons employed a man to man defense to make sure that the shooters of the Boars do not score. But their experience gave them the advantage.

Both teams exchange scores with the First Quarter ending in a tie at 30 all.

The second quarter follows the same trend. It was a tight battle with the 2-2 -1 defense employed by the Falcons against the Boars. Coach Tim calls a time out at the 5-minute mark. He intends to turn the game around. And true enough by half time, the Boars lead the Falcons with a score of 54 - 50.

Coach Chris talks with his players in the dugout. He reminded them about the reason why they are there.

“Guys, we have come this far just to be defeated that easily. We have to push ourselves to work harder and focus our eyes on the prize. That’s just a 4 point lead. We can easily beat them.”

The Falcons emerged into the hardcourt with fire in their eyes. They are ready to win this game no matter how much it takes.

By the 3rd Quarter they have taken the lead at 85 - 81. Worried by the rally, Coach Tim reprimanded his players. He told them that they should win this game by all means necessary.

At the start of the 4th Quarter, the game became physical. Elbows flew everywhere. Jeremy had a bloodied lip by the 9:03 minute mark. It was caused by a fist thrown by the guard of the Boars while he was going for a jump shot. Although the foul was called, the referees turned a blind eye on the punching incident.

Seeing what was happening Coach Chris called a time out. He reminded everyone of their mission. He specially mentioned to all of them to give the ball to Jeremy and let him do his thing. Working as a team now is very important. Each of them must play their role if they are to win.

The buzzer sounds and the game continued.

They followed the instructions given by Chris during the short huddle. The team executed every strategy as plan. Jeremy got the ball in every possession and each time he scored.

Only a minute remained in the game. The Boars have the ball and are leading the Falcons by 1.

As the point guard crosses over in front of Jeremy, he reaches his hand out and taps the ball away. With the ball loose, a mad scramble resulted and a “jump ball” was declared by the referees. The possession arrow pointed to the side of the Boars so they still retained the ball.

With 24 seconds remaining in the game, the Falcons stole the ball once again. Reggie passes it forward to Jeremy for a possible fast break, but he was met immediately by two defenders. He stops and dribbles out. Then with a swift bounce pass to another teammate he eludes his defenders. Jeremy asked for the ball once again. With 0.5 seconds he took the shot. Swoosh! It went in. The Falcons win Game 1.

Their crowd of supporters rushed into the court as if they have already won the championship. Many of them asked Jeremy for a picture on their phones. He was declared as the Best Player of the Game and was interviewed by the press. His teammates were happy with the result.

“Congratulations, Jeremy for winning this game,” said the reporter

“Thanks.”

“So, how do you find the series so far with one game already over?”

“It looks like we are gonna have a hard time defeating the Boars. They have been here so many times and I know they want to defend their title.”

“Do you think you have a strong chance of winning the Larry Boheim trophy?”

“I still do not know. But all I can assure is that our team is going to do its best to win it.”

“Alright, Jeremy, thank you.”

He left the reporter and went running straight into the dugout. He hastily took a shower without even celebrating with his teammates. A lot of things were going through his head and he just wants to rest.

That night Jeremy went to the bar he frequently visits. This time no one threatened him. Instead many of the guests there recognized him as the one who made the game-winning shot, thus they all gave him a hero’s welcome.

He went home tipsy but not drank. He slept early that night. His body was aching from all the elbows and fists he took while playing in the game.

Meanwhile, the mafia boss was furious about the result of Game 1. He wanted his men to search for Jeremy and intimidate him once again, but his wife stopped him.

“It’s just Game 1, honey. You said he will lose the Championship, not Game 1.”

Because of what she said, the mafia boss realized that it is too early to tell that Jeremy is not holding his part of the agreement. Perhaps this is his way of starting the story. The story that will end up with him losing the trophy.