Extra Basket-Chapter 151 - 138: Loan Shark (14)

Score: 77–71 – Blazing Fox leads

Time Remaining: 4:22 – 3rd Quarter

The arena lights pulsed overhead, casting a sheen of sweat on every player’s face. The air was electric tension radiating from both benches as the scoreboard glared like a warning.

Louie Gee jogged onto the court.

His sneakers slapped the hardwood, chest rising with a deep inhale. As he passed Ryan, their palms slapped in a quick handoff.

Ryan gave a toothy grin. "Don’t let ’em bully you, Street King."

Louie chuckled under his breath.

"Nah. I’m about to show them how the streets do math. One-on-one equals barbecue."

From the sideline, Ayumi raised an eyebrow, surprised at the energy coming off Louie. She looked at Ethan, who nodded slightly, eyes fixed on Louie’s form.

Ethan thought:

"(He’s been watching... adapting. Let’s see if he really got it.)"

Back on the court, Louie clapped his hands together.

"Let’s go! Y’all ready to dance?!"

The Blazing Fox defenders glanced his way not worried, just... curious.

Leonel turned his head slightly, eyebrows tightening.

"New guy. Loud mouth. Let’s see if there’s substance."

But Louie’s mind wasn’t on them not fully. As he crouched, loose and coiled, eyes locked on the ball like a panther waiting to strike, his thoughts shifted.

"(Ethan... I saw it. All the rotations. All the spacing. The timing. I got it in my head now. I won’t let you carry all the weight anymore.)"

"(You wanted rhythm? I’ll give you rhythm.)"

Play Resumes

Evan brings the ball down, motioning for a quick iso setup.

Ethan and Coonie swing wide clearing the lane.

Louie stands near the wing, guarded by Malik "Titan" Reed, who towers over him.

But Louie doesn’t hesitate.

With a smirk, he dribbles forward one... two...

Suddenly—

Snap-back crossover.

Spin.

Behind the back.

Through the legs — lightning fast.

"What the—?" Malik blinked.

Louie was already past him, slicing through the lane like a breeze before Malik could even shift his weight.

"HE’S THROUGH!!" the announcer yelled.

DeShawn Briggs moved to rotate, body looming like a wall.

But Louie didn’t stop.

He jumped off the wrong foot, mid-air, twisting

and finger-rolled the ball just under DeShawn’s outstretched palm.

SWISH.

Score: 77–73.

The crowd erupted.

From the stands, Jan stood up without realizing.

"(Let’s GO, Louie!!)"

Brandon let out a shocked laugh

"Yo, where’d he get THAT from?!"

Lucas grinned

"He’s been holding out. That shortie"]

Ayumi looked up, mouth slightly open.

Ethan didn’t say anything, he just smiled.

"(So you really did watch. Good. Show me more.)"

Back on defense, Louie dropped into a low stance, eyes locked on Leonel now.

He pointed at him.

"You. I’m stealing your rhythm next."

Leonel finally cracked a small grin.

"Try."

..

77-73 Blazing Fox leads

The roar hadn’t faded yet. Louie’s layup had shaken the arena. Not because of raw power. Not because of speed. But because of the sheer unpredictability. The move was smooth, chaotic, and impossible to time.

On the sideline, Coach Rios adjusted his glasses, watching Louie jog backward with a grin.

"Coach," Tarri said, "he’s not playing by the book."

Rios didn’t blink.

"No, he’s playing like jazz. You don’t read it. You feel it."

Back on the court...

Leonel Blaze brought the ball up. His face was calm, but something in his steps was sharper now. Focused. Calculating.

Ethan shifted defensively. Lucas mirrored him on the wing. Even Evan dropped deeper, covering the passing lane.

But all of them... had their eyes on Louie Gee.

He wasn’t guarding Leonel. But somehow... Leonel looked at him.

Leonel thought:

"(What was that? That wasn’t rhythm. That was... anti-rhythm. There was no pattern.)"

"(Players I can read. Plays I can break down. But that—)

"(He didn’t even know what he was going to do until the last second.)"

Louie clapped twice, bouncing on his heels. "Let’s go, golden boy. Stop delaying. Give us that legendary movement."

Leonel’s gaze narrowed.

Then he moved — fast.

Crossover. Crossover. Inside-out. Burst!

He split through Evan and Ethan with surgical speed.

Lucas rotated fast. Too fast.

But Leonel had already passed.

Until—

Louie appeared.

Not in the right rotation spot. Not in any defensive scheme.

But exactly where Leonel landed.

"Wha—"

Leonel stutter-stepped mid-spin.

Louie didn’t even guard him. Just stood there. Smiling.

"Where you going? I got lost on the way to the play. Funny thing is, I found you instead."

Leonel pivoted, but Louie lunged not for the ball, but into his path, breaking rhythm entirely.

Leonel lost his dribble for half a second enough.

Lucas grabbed it. Stole it clean.

Fast break. Evan to Ethan. Ethan to Brandon. Slam.

Score: 77–75 — Blazing Fox still leads

...

The arena exploded again louder this time. Not because of a dunk. Not because of a highlight reel pass.

But because someone had stopped Leonel Blaze.

And that someone... was the most unpredictable player on the court.

Louie Gee.

The bench was on their feet.

Brandon roared, pounding his chest.

Ryan screamed, "LET’S GOOOO!"

Even Ayumi dropped her clipboard, covering her mouth in disbelief.

Back on the court, Leonel picked up the loose ball, his expression unreadable as he

walked back to position. Sweat dripped from his jawline.

He wasn’t glaring. He wasn’t shaken.

But his eyes...

His eyes were no longer calm.

They were calculating like a machine fed a variable it couldn’t process.

...

Meanwhile, from high in the crowd...

Jan stood with arms crossed, smirking.

"(Heh. That’s my guy. You never see the same Louie twice.)"

On the sideline, Coach Rios finally spoke.

"Subtle... but brilliant."

Malik, still panting from the fast break, blinked.

"You mean the steal?"

Rios shook his head slowly.

"No. The chaos. Louie’s not just playing basketball. He’s... disrupting logic."

Back on the floor...

Leonel brought the ball up again.

This time, his pace was even faster.

Crossover.

Step-back.

He moved past Ethan like water but Lucas rotated early.

Leonel dished it to Jace on the wing but Evan anticipated, jumping the lane.

Suddenly, the rhythm was off.

Nothing felt... clean.

Leonel paused at the top of the key.

Looked at Louie now guarding Noah, who clearly had a size and strength advantage.

And yet...

Louie didn’t play him tight.

He hovered just far enough to look careless... just close enough to make him hesitate.

Leonel thought:

(No pattern... again.)

(He’s forcing miscommunication. They’re reacting to him instead of running clean.)

(I’ll test it again.)

He called a high screen.

DeShawn stepped up.

Evan tried to fight through.

Leonel slid to the left, ready for a pull-up three

But Louie ran through the pick instead like he didn’t even see it completely breaking the angle.

Leonel’s pass was late.

Too much arc. Too much hesitation.

Brandon tipped it.

Ethan caught it.

Another fast break.

Ethan to Evan.

Evan back to Lucas —

THREE.

SWISH.

Vorpal takes the lead.

Score: 78–77.

Jeremy, from the stands, jumped up.

"YES!!"

But right beside him, Big King narrowed his eyes.

"...That boy," he muttered, watching Louie, "ain’t right. I’ve seen reckless. That ain’t reckless. That’s dangerous."

...

Back on the court...

Leonel called for an iso.

His teammates glanced at him unsure for the first time in the game.

"Give me space," Leonel said. "I want to understand this."

Louie grinned, bouncing side to side.

"Understand me?"

"You sure about that, Blaze boy? I don’t even understand myself half the time."

Leonel dribbled.

One bounce.

Two.

Inside-out.

He darted left then suddenly spun right to throw Louie off.

But Louie didn’t move.

Because Louie hadn’t bit.

He didn’t read the move.

He read the energy.

When Leonel went into his spin, Louie stepped left backward and let Leonel walk right into his shoulder.

Thud.

Leonel stumbled back half a step just enough to kill the motion.

Louie leaned in, voice low:

"Nice spin. Too bad I was dancing a different beat."

He knocked the ball loose with a tap

Evan dove.

Steal again.

This time, Vorpal didn’t fast break.

They walked it up.

Controlled chaos.

Ethan raised one hand.

The team slowed.

Now they had rhythm.

Their rhythm.

And at the center of that rhythm was the most unpredictable heartbeat on the court.

Louie Gee.

..

Timeout Blazing Fox.

The crowd was on fire.

Vorpal 78 – Blazing Fox 77

3rd Quarter

As the players walked to their benches, Leonel stared at Louie as he passed.

"You’re interesting."

Louie winked.

"Better than being predictable."

Leonel didn’t answer.

But inside, for the first time in the game...

He felt unsure.

...

Then he said it.

"Time to use 90 percent of my skills."

Everything stopped.

Jace blinked.

Malik lowered his water bottle.

DeShawn cracked his knuckles.

Coach Rios pushed his glasses up.

"Ninety percent?"

Leonel nodded once.

"They’ve earned it."

Rios looked around at his starters. Then, calmly but firmly, he added:

"Seems like we got no choice, huh?"

Malik leaned back, a low grin curling up on his face.

"Finally."

Jace spun the ball on his finger.

"Been waiting for this part of the game."

Noah didn’t speak just tightened the strap on his arm sleeve.

DeShawn stood up, towering over the rest.

"About time I started actually jumping."

They all stood now.

They didn’t yell.

They didn’t flex.

They just looked... focused.

Deadly.

Then, in perfect unison, the five of them said it softly, but it echoed like a war cry:

"We’ll use 90 percent, too."

...

Meanwhile on the Vorpal Bench:

Ayumi looked up from her clipboard, eyes narrowing.

"They’re changing."

Ethan had already sensed it.

He wiped his forehead, staring across the court.

(So... now we face them for real.)

Lucas, breathing hard but still sharp, walked up to him.

"You feel that pressure shift?"

Ethan nodded.

"They stopped playing like a team..."

"And started moving like weapons."

Brandon adjusted his hair, eyes locked forward.

"Let’s stop ’em anyway."

....

The timeout ended.

The crowd had felt it too. The shift.

Whispers turned to chants.

The announcer’s voice boomed, as both teams returned to the floor:

"Ladies and gentlemen, you’re witnessing something special —

The number one seed, Blazing Fox, turning up the heat against underdogs Vorpal Basket

Who’ve done the impossible so far.

3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Let’s see who survives!"

Back on the court...

Leonel stood at half-court.

His dribble was faster now.

Cleaner.

More precise like each bounce struck a note on a piano only he could hear.

Evan stepped up.

"Same moves again?" he said.

Leonel smiled faintly.

"No. You won’t see the same move twice anymore."

He exploded past him.

Not with just speed with angles. Footwork. Head fakes. Shoulder drops. A ghost.

Ethan rotated over to stop him but Leonel dropped a wraparound pass mid-spin to Jace at the corner.

Catch. Shot. Swish.

Score: 78–80. Blazing Fox retakes the lead.

Vorpal inbounds fast, Evan to Ethan.

Ethan jogged, scanning the court.

(They’re not just faster. They’re reacting before we move.)

Lucas cut across the baseline but was met by Noah. Not a trap. A preemptive wall.

Louie came for a handoff but Jace read it early. Blocked the lane.

Ethan called out: "Reset!"

They circled. Reset formation.

Brandon stepped up for a high screen. Ethan used it —

but Leonel slipped through like liquid. No contact. No delay. Just there again.

Ethan passed to Brandon — but Malik leaped across, and swatted it into the stands.

"NOT TODAY!" Malik roared.

The arena went nuts.

Back on the Blazing bench, Coach Rios cracked a smile.

"Now they’re awake."

On the sideline, Ayumi’s voice trembled.

"They’re reading our souls now..."

Lucas gritted his teeth.

"Doesn’t matter. I’m still gonna shoot."

Ethan looked at his team and said it quietly:

"From here on out... every point we get is earned. There’s no mistakes to punish. Only excellence to reach."

They nodded.

This wasn’t a game anymore.

It was art vs. chaos. Perfection vs. wild hope.

And the brush was in Leonel Blaze’s hands.

To be continue

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