Sanctuary
I shifted to the side, completely facing Rahjil with my body, my hands raised as my eyebrows furrowed with anticipation. The sound of my shoes echoed through the whole place as I stopped in my tracks.
"Libre dito!" I shouted at Rahjil, and he immediately looked at me. He didn’t wait a second and passed the ball, which I quickly grabbed and dribbled as I ran towards the other side of the court.
Bryson and his team, on the other hand, turned towards me and ran with me, with Geo trying to hit the ball out of my grasp. But, nope. I wasn’t going to let that happen.
With a swift move, I acted as if I was going to throw the ball to Geo's left side, and he immediately turned there, but I quickly shifted to the right, throwing the ball into the space he had made for me. My eyes locked on Chino, and I nodded as I threw the ball at him, which he caught.
"Shit!" I heard Geo grunt when I ankle-broke him. Mabilis rin s'yang nakabawi at tumakbo kasabay ko habang dinedepensahan ako.
My eyes remained focused on Chino, who's running toward the ring. He stopped midway when Regie and Topher got in front of him, stopping him from attempting a three-pointer. His eyes darted to me before he threw the ball on the floor, making it bounce toward me. I caught it.
I didn’t wait a second. As soon as I had the ball, I ran while dribbling. I heard Geo cuss and try to hit the ball again, but it was already too late—I had already done a fadeaway that he didn’t expect.
Geo clicked his tongue. "Fuck!"
Umalingawngaw ang nakakabinging pito ni Coach sa buong court, indicating the match was over and so was the practice. He gestured for us to come to him. I took a deep breath and jogged towards Coach.
"Duga ni Coach, pinag-sama ang matatangkad sa isang team," Owen ranted, which I only smirked at.
I felt sweat dripping down my forehead and neck as I jogged towards Coach. When we stopped in front of him, I nodded before putting my hands on my hips and letting out a breath.
Owen immediately went to his duffel bag and grabbed his water bottle to drink. Geo tapped his shoulder, and Owen handed him the water bottle, which Geo chugged immediately. I licked my lower lip and calmed myself.
Rahjil, like me, had his hands on his hips, staring at the floor with his eyebrows furrowed. Chino, beside him, raised his arms to his head while his chest heaved from exhaustion. Bryson, on the other hand, lifted the hem of his jersey to wipe his face, causing his body to flex. I heard Owen click his tongue.
Owen stood beside us. "Pasikat ka nanaman," he nudged Bryson.
Bryson just raised an eyebrow at him, a mischievous grin on his lips as he continued wiping his face. I shook my head and looked forward, where Coach was standing.
Coach Ralph clapped his hands. "Good match! It was nice to see you all keep improving each day. Keep it up and maintain the same energy each practice and in the actual games." That was all Coach said before dismissing us.
I closed my eyes and leaned against the locker behind me, a small towel draped over my head, habang tunga tunga ang water bottle ko. I wet my lower lip after pulling the bottle away from my mouth, opened my eyes, and looked around.
My team was already packing up. Some of them had finished showering and were just getting ready to go home. I sighed and set down my bottle before stepping into one of the shower cubicles.
I didn’t waste any time. Once I removed my jersey, I turned on the cold shower and let the water hit my body, washing away the sticky feeling. It didn’t take long for me to finish showering. With only a towel wrapped around my waist, I stepped out of the cubicle after the shower.
