Extra Basket-Chapter 148 - 135: Loan Shark (11)

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Final Minute, Second Quarter

Score: 46–49. Blazing Fox Leads

The horn buzzed.

Substitution: Ethan. Lucas. Brandon. Evan. Ryan.

The original starters.

The crowd stirred.

People leaned forward in their seats. Even those who had written Vorpal off were now... watching.

Not for a loss but for a response.

Ayumi clutched her clipboard tighter, standing near the bench.

Her eyes followed Lucas immediately.

(Please... just one bucket. Go in with momentum.)

Ethan glanced at his teammates.

Nodded once.

"Let’s take it back," he said quietly.

"Last possession. Let’s bleed the clock, get the last shot, and go into halftime close."

Evan inbounded the ball.

:48 seconds remaining

Evan dribbled up slowly, Leonel walking him step for step.

They weren’t in a rush. Neither side was.

Lucas moved to the wing, dragging Jace with him.

Brandon hovered on the elbow, baiting DeShawn.

Ryan motioned toward the corner, then set a fake screen before flaring out.

:30 seconds

Ethan called it now.

"Split Curl. Lucas angle in. Brandon seal. Let them panic."

Ryan whispered, "You’re really treating this like a chess match."

Ethan smirked. "No... like a checkmate."

Evan passed to Lucas, who came curling off a ghost screen.

Jace tried to go under.

Too late.

Lucas caught it on the move.

Dribble. Cross. Explosive plant. Stepback jumper over Jace’s hand—

BOOM.

Swish.

Crowd ERUPTED.

Score: 48–49.

...

Leonel caught the inbound from Noah, immediately scanning the floor.

:12 seconds left

He dribbled up calmly. No panic. No flare.

But Ethan was on him now.

"I want to see it up close," Ethan muttered.

Leonel glanced sideways, surprised.

"You’re brave."

"No. Just precise."

Leonel made his move.

Left jab. Crossover. Quick spin.

But Ethan mirrored him.

Leonel elevate pass fake mid-air to Jace.

Ryan lunged.

Intercepted—

NO! Tipped — back to Leonel!

Leonel caught, turned, fadeaway—

Buzz-beater.

It’s in the air—

Back iron. No good.

HALFTIME.

Score: 48–49. Blazing Fox up by 1.

The teams jogged back to their benches.

Ayumi exhaled hard, her hands shaking from the adrenaline.

Lucas gave her a quick nod as he sat down, wiping sweat from his face.

Ethan didn’t say anything.

Not yet.

He was watching Leonel.

And for the first time—

Leonel was watching him back.

Eyes narrowed.

Expression unreadable.

(That last play... he read me. He anticipated the shift. This isn’t just luck.)

(You’re smarter than I expected, Ethan Albarado.)

Leonel grabbed a water bottle.

"Coach... he’s good."

Coach Rios raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Ethan."

Rios smirked. "Then crush him."

...

Back in the Vorpal bench:

Ryan sat, breathing heavily. "We’re so in this."

Brandon added, "We just need to last the third. That’s their surge quarter."

Lucas looked at Ethan.

He didn’t need to ask.

(What’s the plan for the second half?)

Ethan finally spoke.

"We take control of the rhythm again. From here on out... we play our tempo."

"Because the second half?"

"It’s where we win."

...

Leonel walked out of the tunnel, his gaze fixed on the polished court beneath the blazing arena lights.

The scoreboard glared:

Blazing Fox – 49

Vorpal Basket – 48

Start of 3rd Quarter

The crowd roared as both teams returned, but Leonel Blaze’s eyes weren’t on them. They were on Ethan who stood calmly with Lucas, Brandon, and the rest of Vorpal’s starters, huddled for a final word before tip-off.

Leonel exhaled once through his nose, then muttered to himself with that calm, calculated confidence only he possessed:

"Seems like it’s the third quarter..."

"This will be the turning point."

He raised one arm and rotated his shoulder, loosening up.

"Guess I’ll need to use... 70 percent of my seriousness."

Behind him, Jace Holloway caught the words.

"Hah? 70 already? You sure about that?"

Leonel didn’t smile.

He didn’t blink.

His amber eyes narrowed.

"Yeah. That blond-haired kid? Ethan?"

"He’s calculating something. And I don’t like when people try to solve me."

Jace grinned, spinning the ball on his finger.

"Well, then let’s go show him why nobody ever finishes solving us."

..

Meanwhile, on the Vorpal bench...

Ethan was silent, tying the laces on his shoes a little tighter than usual. The rest of the team noticed the shift in his breathing focused, but heavier.

Ayumi, standing behind the bench with her clipboard, spoke quietly.

"Leonel’s getting serious, isn’t he?"

Ethan didn’t look up.

"He’s not the only one."

Lucas glanced at Ethan, catching the tone in his voice.

"You ready?"

Ethan stood, his voice low but certain.

"I’ve been ready since the day we lost our first game."

..

Start of 3rd Quarter

Score: Blazing Fox 49 – Vorpal Basket 48

The tension was thick electric, like ozone before a storm.

The crowd rumbled, feet tapping, snacks forgotten.

Phones were lifted. Cameras pointed. No one wanted to miss the opening possession.

At center court, Brandon Young locked eyes with DeShawn Briggs, both crouched low for the tip.

The referee stepped in. Whistle clenched. Ball in hand.

Ethan, now fully in, stood just behind the three-point line, fingers on his knees.

Lucas Graves, hands twitching at his sides, eyes narrowed.

Evan Cooper rolled his neck and muttered,

"Let’s get it."

Tip-off. Whistle. Ball up.

DeShawn tapped it but Brandon got a finger on it first.

The ball tipped toward Lucas, who snagged it mid-air and landed in rhythm.

The arena erupted.

Ethan’s voice rang out immediately.

"Run Horns Twist! Lucas corner, Brandon screen high!"

Lucas drove to the left, sold the drive, then pitched it out to Ethan, who rotated to the top.

Jace Holloway was already closing in, but—

Pump fake. Slide right. Step-back. Jumper.

Swish.

Vorpal 50 – Blazing Fox 49.

Just five seconds in.

Leonel Blaze walked the ball up, slow, as if testing the court for fault lines.

Ethan stepped forward.

"Back to man. Everyone lock in!"

But Leonel wasn’t looking at anyone else.

Only Ethan.

(You countered the opening moment... Now show me if you can stop this.)

He dribbled once, twice then exploded into a crossover, slicing through Evan’s reach.

Brandon hedged, trying to trap.

But Leonel didn’t stop.

Spin. Behind the back. No-look bounce to Jace.

Jace caught released immediately from the corner.

Net. Clean.

Blazing Fox 52 – Vorpal 50.

Jace backpedaled, grinning.

"Told you! You solve one problem — three more show up!"

...

Lucas took it up this time.

"Give," he called to Evan. "Let me cook him."

Jace waited at the top, playful but locked in.

Lucas dribbled hard right, stopped, snatched it back between the legs, then fired a low pass to Ryan cutting baseline.

Ryan went up but Malik "Titan" Reed met him at the rim.

BLOCKED.

The ball bounced loose. Noah Vance scooped it up.

Fast break initiated.

Leonel had it again.

Three defenders back.

Didn’t matter.

He euro-stepped through a gap, flipped it up and over Brandon’s fingertips.

And scored.

Blazing Fox 54 – Vorpal 50.

...

On the sideline, Ayumi clenched her fists, heart racing.

(They’re running plays off instinct — like they’ve been choreographed their whole lives...)

She looked at Ethan who wasn’t shaken.

Just focused.

...

Back to offense.

Evan brought it up, this time called for the stagger screen.

Brandon. Then Ryan.

But Leonel anticipated it all, ducked under both, and met Evan at the point of attack.

Strip. Fast hands. Steal.

And a full-court pass to DeShawn who dunked it without even taking a dribble.

BOOM.

Blazing Fox 56 – Vorpal 50.

Timeout called.

The gym vibrated with cheers and gasps.

....

In the timeout huddle...

No one talked for two seconds.

Then Lucas slapped the bench.

"They’re overwhelming us again!"

Ryan wiped his forehead, "They’re jumping our plays before we run them."

Coonie leaned forward, breathing hard. "It’s like Leonel sees the entire game before it happens."

Ethan nodded, sweat running down his jaw.

"He does. He’s in Zone Vision now."

Everyone looked at him.

Brandon asked, "What do we do?"

Ethan exhaled.

Then stood.

"We use chaos."

Lucas blinked. "Chaos?"

Ethan looked around. One by one.

"Their strength is order. Rhythm. Precision. Leonel’s Zone Vision sees clean patterns. We break them with broken basketball cuts, crashes, early shots, motion offense without rigid lanes."

Ryan snapped his fingers. "Unorthodox style. Improv!"

Ethan nodded.

"Exactly. Now go back out there and make the court messy."

....

Back on court.

Vorpal broke the formation early.

Lucas started at point.

Ryan cut baseline and flared out.

Brandon sprinted into a slip screen that didn’t even hit.

Ethan faked right, then burst left into a quick catch-and-shoot.

Swish.

Blazing Fox 56 – Vorpal 53.

Leonel paused mid-dribble.

Eyes narrowed.

(Interesting... no structure?)

(Then I’ll rebuild the game my way.)

But chaos had started.

Next possession Blazing Fox ran their normal stack set.

Ethan broke it with a reach and a tap deflection!

Ball loose!

Evan dove.

Passed it while sliding to Lucas — who sprinted and elevated with one hand over Jace — AND DUNKED.

CROWD LOST IT.

Vorpal 55 – Blazing Fox 56.

Timeout Blazing Fox. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

And for the first time just for a second

Leonel Blaze looked... slightly annoyed.

Ethan turned to the bench, breathing deep.

(This is it. A real game. Not a miracle. Not luck.)

(Just a team... rising higher than they ever believed they could.)

3rd Quarter. Just beginning.

And the war is far from over.

To be continued...

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺