Everyone has heard of the Godfathers the definitive representation of what it is to be an Italian Mafioso, from the dusty mountainside of Sicily to the posh New York avenues.
Some choose to leave the fatherland for greener pastures; some turn the du...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Finally, the most awaited day of the year was here the finals of the basketball tournament. The day for which we had prepared and practised for the entire year now was the time to showcase our skills when it mattered the most.
My absence did not hurt the girl's team and under the apt guidance of captain Emilia the team won all its group matches and made direct entry to the finals, but the boys team chose to take a rather adventurous approach and lost 2 matches and won 2 matches and drew the final group game.
They were playing in a do or die game to be in the finals and if they won it they would be in the finals to be played late in the afternoon.
First we had the girls game and the match started off with the opposition team gaining a upper hand for the first quarter of driving through with 2 pointers and 1 pointers but their defence was really rough.
Technically speaking they were inferior to our team but they made that up with aggressive plays and fouls, we got some free throws but ended up missing them all due to the nerves and heckling by the opposition. By the end of first half the score was in the oppositions favour at 16-7
The second quarter started off on similar note but Emilia rallied her troops and we started scoring our free throws and also shot good amount of one and two pointers and by the time we reached 3rd quarter we led by 45-29.
By the final session they were tired and jaded and we used this to show our technical expertise and score freely the match ended with a huge margin of 66-43.
They lost the game because they used up all their energies in the initial quarters by pushing too hard and thanks to Emilia's leadership the team conserved their energy played smart tactical game and that's why we came out on top.
The team was presented with the trophy and it was high fives and cheers all around and I followed them to the ladies' locker room. I congratulated Emilia and she went to shower and change clothes quickly so that we could watch the boys play and cheer them up to change this hopeless situation into a positive one.
The do or die game commenced and Emilia took a seat besides me and we cheered loudly for Giovanni. Emilia had really warmed up to Giovanni over the last few weeks seeing his love and dedication for me.
The do or die game went to head-to-head and there was no clarity about who was going to win the game. As we entered the final quarter the game was tied at 33-33 and both teams were trying their best.
A quick feint by one of the opposition attackers caught our defenders off-guard and they stole a 2 pointer. This broke the teams morale but Giovanni was not one to give up so easily he got up and started the play and passed the ball to a team-mate before taking a return and dribbling around and as he was about to score he was fouled and since he was going for a three pointer in the dying moment so he got a free throw.
This was it, Giovanni poised himself and kissed the ball and threw it with all his might. Time froze and everyone waited with baited breathe it was a nerve wracking moment I closed my eyes as I couldn't take the stress and then magic happened.
