Oh My Captain

Ball 3

"Mine!" I shouted as loud as I can even I'm too exhausted as hell.

I jump as high as I can until I reach the ball and spike it hard but unfortunately, sa pangigigil ko lumagpas ang bola sa court.

"Fuck!" I cursed.

"It's okay, bawi tayo!" Sigaw ni Maureen.

Pressure is now getting ahead of my focus now. My knees are wobbling due to exhaustion. Kahit ang mga kasama ko ganoon din ang nararamdaman nila ngayon. Nasa ikatlong set na kami kalaban ang LU. They are really at top. Lamang sila ng 2 puntos sa amin and we need to catch up or else we lose the game.

"Sorry guys" I apologize to them.

"Don't apologize, you did your best" Si Amanda.

Hindi ko parin maiwasang hindi maguilty because I felt that I let them down, especially I am their captain.

Nagpositioning ulit kami for the service. Ang lakas na ng tibok ng puso ko sa sobrang hingal. Tagaktak narin ang pawis ko pero hindi pwedeng sumuko. LU is giving us a good fight. Last season halos tambakan nila kami but this season konti nalang ang lamang nila sa amin and that was an achievement for us but we need to exert more effort for our goal this year and that is to beat them so we can go against the Champion.

Nagsimula na akong tubuan ng kaba dahil ang magseserve ngayon ay ang team captain ng LU, si Mendoza. Never pa namin na receive ang service niya and kagaya ko ramdam ko ang tension sa mga kasama ko. Nevertheless, matalo man kami ngayon at least we give  a good  game.

"Defense Falcons!" I shouted at my team as being their team captain. They shouted back.

Then we heard the sound of the whistle. I saw Mendoza jump to spike. Kitang-kitang ko kung gaano kabilis ang ikot ng bola, it means malakas iyon and it was expected of her.

Dahil nasa harapan ako, hindi ako makatakbo sa likod. It depends on Maureen and Lorin the success of defense. Halos malagutan ako ng hininga nang hindi sinalo ni Lorin. The umpire whistle and signaled that the ball is out. We all cheered by that.

Buti nalang...

The umpire pass the ball to Lorin. She'll be the server for this play. Lorin toss the ball in the air then jump to spike. Pasok! Good!

The ball remained in the way as both team keep it play for a moment. Lahat alerto sa kanilang galaw at tira. The thing about rally is that who ever drops the ball, lose. Pagalingan sa taktika ang kailangan and both teams are good with that.

I saw jersey number 15 is ready to jump when the ball is nearing the net. Ibig sabihin isaspike niya yun. I signaled Tiffany to get near the net too. Blocker namin siya and Tiffany knows how to calculate the right angle. When jersey number 15 hit the ball, Tiff immediately jump to block it but their blocker did the same. Back to rally na naman kami. Napapamura nalang ako.

Nang makahanap ako ng pagkakataon sa papalapit na bola sa akin, hindi na ako nag-atubiling tumalon at binugso lahat ng lakas ko doon but this time, I'll assure that it will be in and we all cheered in victory when they didn't counter receive it.

Halos yanigin ang buong stadium ng sobrang hiyaw ng mga nanunuod sa amin. Rinig ko ang boses ni coach na pinuri ako sa ginawa ko. Nagyakapan kaming anim sa court. One more point, then, we can kiss the floor to celebrate. Sa amin ang service ngayon dahil kami ang nakapuntos. Si Lorin pa rin ang magseserve. Nakascore ulit kami nang hindi pumasok ang receive nila sa amin.Nag-apiran kami dahil doon.

We manage to tie up the score. Pagod na rin sila and it was good thing dahil kapantay na namin ang lakas nila. Sinasaksak nalang namin ang madugong training namin sa Zambales. LU is more pressure now and you can see it in their faces.