Our team succeeded in taking the third set. Our boys seemed to be in to the game today. I guess they were really inspired by what I said earlier. Parang kaya na nga nilang panalunin 'to hanggang fourth set. Pero kilala ko ang Panasonic Panthers, hindi sila magpapatalo nang ganoon-ganoon lang.
Three minutes passed and the fourth set began, still with the same lineup. But I noticed something different with Panasonic's lineup. Oh, so they are going to put up a pinch server at the beginning of the set. Not surprising from the reigning champions.
The server tossed the ball up so high, meaning he was going for a jump serve. Nang paluin niya ang bola mabilis itong dumiretso kay Rouzier.
Rouzier had a trouble receiving it which led the ball outside the court. Dang, that's a brilliant serve. Napatingin naman ako kay Coach at napatingin din siya sa'kin.
We both know we are in trouble. Even though we are two sets ahead of the opponent, we still have to give them a hard time to get this set to drain them and to conquer the fifth set.
Merong mabilis na spin 'yung serve ng kabilang team, kaya habang papunta ito sa side namin, nag-iba rin ito ng direksyon. I got to give it to that man, that's quite an intelligent serve. Not everyone can do that.
"Daijobou (it's okay). We'll get the next one!" I cheered to the boys, while raising my closed fist. Tumango naman sila sa akin.
The opponent served again using the same tactic. Akala ko nakuha nang maayos ni Captain 'yung bola, pero tumalsik lang 'yung bola papunta sa bleachers. That man really has a hammer in his sleeves.
Agad namang nag-cheer ang mga manonood na naglikha ng nakakabinging ingay. Shit, this will pressure the boys. The advantage of a home game can really crack the away team under pressure. I hope they won't though.
"Ide-san!" tawag ko sa libero namin. Agad naman siyang napatingin sa'kin.
"W formation!!" napatango agad sa'kin si Ide at sinabi sa iba na mag-W formation.
'Yung W formation ay isang technique sa pag-rereiceve. Ang setter lang ang matitira sa loob ng attack line at ang matitirang limang players ay mag-foform ng W formation sa likod para bantay-sarado lahat ng zone.
For the third time, nag-serve uli 'yung pinch server ng Panasonic. I thought it was another ace but, Hiro received it well like he knew where it was going. The formation worked! Now, for the counter-attack.
Sakto namang dumiretso 'yung bola kay Fujii, 'yung setter namin, at agad niyang sinet ito kay Hiro. And the ball was put down brilliantly. Lee did a good job tricking the opponents' blockers, making them late to block Hiro.
"Yatta! (You did it!) Mou ippon!" muli kong cheer at tumango naman sila sa akin habang nakangiti. Tumayo na rin si Coach at nag-cheer sa kanila.
Tinignan ko naman si Rouzier dahil siya na 'yung mag-seserve. I signalled number '1' to him secretly and he nodded. Ang numero uno ay 'yung numero ng jersey ng opposite ng kabilang team. One of their power hitters, Shimizu.
The moment Rouzier hitted the ball, it quickly crossed the net, targeting Shimizu. Akala ko dederetso mismo kay Shimizu 'yung bola. But it was a short serve, making him dive for it but he didn't quite reach it in time.
We weren't aiming for an ace serve but Rouzier gave us one!
"Nice serve! Mou ippon!" I cheered to Rouzier, still in the service line.
For the second time, he looked at me, looking for my signal. This time, I signalled number '2' to him, aiming for their setter. If we kept on aiming one member, for sure someone will cover up for him.
Tumango sa'kin si Rouzier at nag-jump-serve. Katulad nang tinuro ko, tinarget niya 'yung setter nila. Short serve uli at hindi inasahan ng setter na sa kanya mapupunta ang bola kaya hindi maayos ang pag-receive niya sa bola.
Agad naman itong ni-rescue ng libero nila at nag-underhand para i-set ito kay Kubiak, na bumebwelo sa left wing. Napalo naman ito ng maayos ni Kubiak pero dahil delayed ang attack nila, na triple block nila Hiro si Kubiak.
"Yatta!" nag-celebrate naman sila Hiro sa court. Rinig na rinig 'yung mga sigaw nila kasabay ng mga cheer manonood.
Kahit papaano, meron pa ring mga fans ng Toray dito kahit away game ito.
Nag-serve muli si Rouzier papunta kay Shimizu uli ngunit 'di ito lumagpas ng net. Ayos lang 'yon, we don't plan to win this set anyway. But that doesn't mean we should let it go that easily.
Sa kasamaang palad, si Shimizu pa ang mag-seserve ngayon. Kaliwete si Shimizu which is an advantage. Mas malakas ang kaliweteng kamay pagdating sa sports dahil konektado ito sa right hemisphere ng brain.
Shimizu served the ball with power into our side but it was received cleanly by our libero. As usual, Fujii makes a great set to Rouzier, and then we take back our point.
Ilang minuto na ang nakaraan at naging palitan ng score ang nangyayari. Talagang ginagalingan ngayon ng Panasonic Panthers. Well, as expected of them. They are the champions after all.
Second technical timeout na at 14-16 ang score, lamang ang Panasonic. Tinignan ko naman 'yung mga players namin kung nasa maayos na kalagayan sila. Pagod na sila at hingal na hingal na. Todo inom naman sila ng energy drink nila.
"Eto... you look tired. Are we going to give up now?" seryoso naman silang tumingin sa'kin at nag-aktong parang 'di pagod.
"Iie, Manager-san!" saad nila nang sabay-sabay habang nakasaludo pa. Napangiti naman ako sa inakto nila. Pursigido talaga silang panalunin 'tong laban na 'to.
"Remember, you don't have to win this set, alright? We'll set things straight at the fifth set." tumango naman sila.
Napatingin naman ako kay Captain nang itaas niya ang kamay niya na para bang may gusto siya itanong. "Why not let Keiji play in this set, Mayu-san?"
"We can't take chances, Captain. There's a chance that Panasonic's hitters will target Keiji, leading him into a worse situation. And I'm pretty sure they will A-up their game during this set." nang matapos akong magsalita, sakto namang tumunog na ang buzzer dahil tapos na ang timeout.
"I think Arrows would do just fine in your hands, Mayu-san." napangiti naman ako sa sinabi ni Coach Ayu.
"We won't do it without you, Coach Ayu." sagot ko kay Coach at nginitian niya rin ako.
Ilang palo na ang nagbagsakan at napayungan. 19-23 ang score, lamang pa rin ang Panasonic. Katulad nang inaasahan, gagalingan pa nila sa set na ito at mag-babackfire sila.
At ilang minuto pa ang nakaraan, at nakuha rin ito ng Panasonic. Ito na 'yung pinaka-inaabangan namin ngayon.
I looked at Panasonic's players. They all looked drained, especially their power hitters, Shimizu and Kubiak. They can't sub them out, not at this set. They're the best choices they have.
I looked at our boys and it seemed like they were less tired than our opponent. Well, I kind of told them to take it easy during the last moments of the last set, and to focus more on giving them a hard time with our floor defense, to give them a hard time to score a point.
Napatingin naman ako sa gilid, kung saan nag-wawarm-up si Keiji. He looks excited to play but at the same time, determined to make himself useful. Looks like our trump card is ready.
BINABASA MO ANG
A Trip to Japan (Ongoing)
Fiksi RemajaA Trip to Japan After all the tragedies that happened in Mayu's life, her world became dark. She lost her mother, her boyfriend, and most of all, she lost her happiness. She decided to go abroad, to escape this dark and cruel world, until she meets...
