Muli ko na namang kinaskas 'yung dalawa kong palad para magbunga ito ng init. Kahit ano pang gawin ko, ayaw pa ring maalis ng kaba ko. Parang mas kabado pa nga ako kaysa sa kanila. Bago tawagin 'yung mga nasa roster, nagpulong muna kaming lahat nang matapos ang warm up nila.
"It's been years since Toray have come this far, and I just want to say I'm very proud of you boys. Whether we win a medal or not, I'm still glad we get to play in a medal match." lumambot naman 'yung mga tingin ng mga alaga ni Coach, kasabay ng paglambot ng mga puso nila.
"But that doesn't mean you don't have to win this, okay? I want you to win this. We want to win this. We've done so much for this, and it would be better if we win a medal, even a bronze medal for it. I know JT Thunders aren't an easy opponent, but you can do it! Mayu-san and I believe in you." napangiti naman kami sa words of encouragement ni Coach.
"All
He's easily the best coach you could ever have in this league. Not only does he care about winning so much, he also cares for his players. He believes in them. He believes that some day they can win. He also treats his players like his own sons, which makes them a lot closer to him. After several years of defeat, Coach Ayu and Toray has rised again.
"Ganbatte (Good luck). Like what Coach said, I believe in you. Now, go take this home, Arrows." masaya kong sabi habang nakangiti ako.
Pinagsama-sama naman namin ang mga kamay namin. Ilalagay ko na sana 'yung kamay ko sa taas ng kamay ni Keiji kaso iniwas niya iyon at inilagay sa pinakailalim ng patong-patong na mga kamay namin. Ano namang problema ng mokong na 'yon? Ipinatong ko na lang 'yung kamay ko sa kamay ni Coach Ayu.
"We are ARROWS!" sabay-sabay naming sabi. Nang matapos 'yun, pumila naman sila paharap ng court, kami naman ni Coach ay nasa dulo.
Pagkatawag isa-isa ng pangalan nila, nakipag-apir muna sila sa iba pang players ng team bago sa'min ni Coach. Nang si Keiji na 'yung tinawag, pagkatapos niyang apiran sila Hiro at ngayon si Coach, para bang nakipag-apir siya sa ere nang 'di man lang tumitingin sa mata ko. 'Di man lang dumikit 'yung balat ng palad niya sa palad ko.
Social distancing ba tayo ngayon? Anong meron? Akala ko ba wala nang sakit 'yon? Eh ngayon mukhang nagkakasakit uli. Sakit sa utak. Hinayaan ko na lang 'yon at umupo na kaming dalawa ni Coach oras na magsimula 'yung laro.
They started off this first set pretty well. The attack points are near to being two digits. Their reception with the serves and from the opponent's attack is good too, they rarely missed it. But of course, knowing JT, they won't let us win easily. Their block points is already at six points. They keep closing up the gap when Toray scores, but still, our hitters play smart with their hands. Since JT's wall seems to be made of iron, they would spike the ball directly to it for a checkball, or a feint. They rarely had a clean spike but they still played hard enough to keep up with them.
The first set ended with the scores 27-29 on the board, which Toray won. But that's just one set, we need two more to take this home. The scores exceeded the score limit—25, which means JT are fighting for it as well.
Pinatingin naman sa'kin ni Coach Ayu 'yung statistics ng unang set. 14 attack points, two service aces, seven opponent errors, and six block points, four points from Keiji, and two from Lee. I don't know what has got into that man, he seems different today. Not only his play is different, even his attitude is quite bothering too.
Nung naka-block kasi siya ng quick attack, nakipag-stare down siya sa middle blocker ng JT. Basically staring down to the opponent is a form of boasting. Kaya, nasaway siya ni Coach Ayu na ayusin 'yung mukha niya habang naglalaro.
He doesn't do that often though, he usually celebrates exaggeratedly after scoring a point, not brag about it. Aish, that guy is really messing with my mind today. While observing his play, I noticed that he's really different today, like what Hiro said. It was as if he isn't the one who's playing at all.
As if I don't even know him at all.
Habang patagal nang patagal ang laro, parami rin nang parami ang tumatagaktak na pawis mula sa mga manlalaro. Isa ang Japan Vleague sa mga pinakapribilehiyosong liga sa volleyball world. Mayroong malaking chance na makuha ka bilang import mula sa mga Europeong bansa kung isa ka sa mga magagaling na players dito. Lahat sila ay pursigido 'di lang dahil career nila ito, dahil gusto rin nilang manalo para sa kanilang team. Kahit pa third place lang 'yung laban na 'to, malaking bagay pa rin 'yon sa kanila. Hindi madaling mag-advance sa Vleague, matuturingan kang isa sa malakas na mga teams kung mataas ang ranking ng team mo.
And that explains why everyone in the court's eyes are on fire right now. They all want it badly, even if it's just third place. Specially for Toray, getting a medal after several years is making history for them.
The second set ended with the scores 26-24, which we won again. Keiji's play seems to be essential for this match, most of the scores from both first and second sets are from him. Not only can he block and hit quickly, he can also deliver heavy serves. But the fact that he looks mad while playing is still bothering me.
"We're already down to 2 sets, men. One more, and we'll take the medal home." masayang sabi ni Coach Ayu at lahat kami ay tumango.
"Don't be too comfortable, JT Thunders can bounce back unexpectedly so be prepared." tumango uli sila at saka sila uminom ng kani-kanilang tubig. Ngunit pinaiwan ni Coach si Keiji.
"You're doing great today, but you should chill, you're going to give us a red card. One red card and you're out of the game." yeah, that's the 'mad' part of Keiji I'm talking about.
He did get a yellow card. Well, apparently he got spiked in the face while he was blocking. Though that's because he jumped so high. The one who hit him is Onodera, his rival blocker since high school. Akala niya siguro sinadya 'yun ni Onodera kaya nag-overreact siya at muntik nang hatakin si Onodera na nag-sosorry mula sa kabilang side ng net. That was mainly Keiji's temper and unprofessionalism. He acted as if he wasn't Japanese. Japanese players usually kept their cool during their game because they're mostly professional, but this guy didn't.
Aalis na sana si Keiji nang tawagin ko siya. Lumapit uli siya sa'min ni Coach ngunit 'di niya magawang tumingin sa mata ko. "Hey, it doesn't hurt to calm down a tad bit, you know." wala siyang imik, kaya itataas ko sana yung mukha niya gamit 'yung daliri ko ngunit iniiwas niya iyon.
What the....? What has gotten into this insane man?
"You're definitely not the same Keiji we know." nang sabihin ko 'yun, tumunog na ang buzzer para sa third set. Gusto ko sana siyang sampalin para mahismasan siya dahil minsan 'yun lang yung kinakailangan niya para umayos siya, pero mukhang kahit anong gawin ko, walang gagana dahil pakiramdam ko, galit siya sa'kin.
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BINABASA MO ANG
A Trip to Japan (Ongoing)
أدب المراهقينA 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...
