"Good morning, how may I help you?" Mrs. Lawal asked
"I'm going to cut to the chase here; please ma, let me join the Charlie Queens Academy Female Basketball team" Oluchi said
"WHAAAAATTT?!" Tosin exclaimed with excitement "Great! Now, we are complete!"
"Wow! How unpredictable can you be?" Mayowa asked
"Interesting. Well, welcome to the team. Do you have your P.E wears here with you?" Mrs. Lawal asked
"No, I don't" Oluchi said
"Alright, Tosin, give her your P.E top. You can wear her top for now" Mrs. Lawal said
"Okay Coach" Tosin said
"Ma, can I join too?" Mayowa asked
Few minutes later in a room not so far from the gym
"I'm glad you finally decided to join. You got no idea how happy I am. Why did you decided to join?" Tosin asked
"Honestly, I'm surprise too" Mayowa said
"I just hate losing more than anyone else. Let's hurry up and return to the gym" Oluchi said
Back at the gym
"So, I'll make 2 substitutions. Oluchi will replace Abike. Mayowa will replace Sandra. So, in the fourth quarter, our lineup will be Oluchi as our point guard, Mercy will continue as our shooting guard, Shalom will continue as our small forward, Mayowa will come in as our power forward and Eno will cover the center" Mrs. Lawal explained
"And Tosin? Isn't she playing today? It's not fair. Tosin created this team but she hasn't played a single minute today" Shalom complained
"True" Mercy said
"Instead, you're subbing in someone who just joined? Someone we've never even trained with? It doesn't make sense" Shalom said
"Put whoever you want to put. It won't change a thing. It'd still be hard to score" said Eno
"Why is that?" Shalom asked
"Because Victoria is their center" Eno said
"Oh? And here I thought you were the almighty Undertaker. When did you become such a wimp?" Oluchi asked from behind the bench. She had walked in with Tosin and Mayowa a while ago
"What did you say?" Eno asked
"Guys, calm down" Tosin said, trying to ease the tension
"This might sound complacent but as long as I am here, you have nothing to fear offensively" Oluchi said
"Talk about bold statements" Mercy said
"Leave her. She doesn't know what she's up against" Eno said
"That said, our only issue will be our defense. If we must win this match, our defense must be top notch" Oluchi said
"Okay. Let's see how the miracle work planned to turn this game around" Eno said
"Guys, calm down! You're quarrelling even with in our Coach's presence. It's not nice. Shalom, I get your point but it's still the Coach's decision. We've got to trust her" Tosin said
"So, you're fine with it?" Shalom asked
"Absolutely!" Tosin said "We are a team! Together, we are stronger. We win together and we lose together….. Coach please"
"Thank you, Captain Tosin. Like it or not, this is the final quarter of the game. From here on out, we will play a fast-paced game. We will destroy their defense with counter attacks" said Mrs. Lawal said "Go give them hell!"
"YES MA!!!!" The team chorused
The fourth quarter began with the Charlie Queens' ball. Eno passed the ball to Oluchi. Oluchi moved up the court slowly, bouncing the ball and strategizing in her head
"Why are they bringing her this late in the game?" Daniella who was marking Oluchi thought to herself "They can't win no matter what they do. It's over"
"What does she want to do? Does she have some sort of plan?" Eno thought to herself
5 seconds left in the shot clock. Oluchi continues to bounce the ball. "Pass the ball already you slow puke" yelled Shalom gesturing her hands to receive a pass from Oluchi. "Here" Oluchi said, faking a pass, fooling Daniella in the process and launching a jump shot from the 3-pt line. The ball fell into the hoop, giving the Charlie Queens 3 points in the play.
"Yes!" Oluchi yelled, returning to defense
"Damn it. I let my guard down. But it won't happen again" Danilla thought to herself
"Hey, don't let it get to you. That's what they want" warned Pelumi who is the Rose Newton team's captain. She tossed the ball to Daniella
Daniella was distracted by her thoughts while moving the ball up the court when Oluchi tapped the ball away from her hand, stealing the ball and creating a fast break chance for the Charlie Queens
"Counter!!!" Oluchi yelled
Oluchi ran, looking to score another point but she is stopped by Victoria
"Don't get ahead of yourself kid. You're late for the show. You've lost already" Victoria said, putting on an evil grin
"Don't say it's late yet, gorilla," said Oluchi
"What?" Victoria said
Oluchi tossed the ball into the air. "Hah! It's funny but we've got a gorilla on our team too…. Don't miss it okay" Oluchi said, smiling. The ball spun to Eno who was already in the air. Eno used her 2 hands to slam the ball into the hoop
"Yesss!" said the Charlie Queens as they feel motivated
"Who did you call 'gorilla'?" asked Eno
"Hehe. Nobody, I was just talking to myself" Oluchi replied, smiling
"Amazing, Oluchi is too good. I had no idea. Tosin was right after all" Shalom thought
"An alley-oop? How can they play so well together? It's as if they'd been playing together. Who are these girls?" Victoria thought
The game continued. The Charlie Queens desperately trying to catch up but while their attack has improved with the addition of Oluchi, their defense couldn't contain an angry Victorious Varsity. The game ended with the Rose Newton High School walking away with the W. The score being 71-82
Later that evening
"Who is still in the gym?" Oluchi asked
"I don't know. Let's check" Mayowa said
Oluchi and Mayowa walked to the club room to see what was going on as they could the sound of someone playing basketball in the gym
"Tosin?" Oluchi called "What are you doing here all by yourself?" Oluchi asked
"She's not alone. I'm here too" Shalom said, sitting on a bench and watching Tosin shoot the balls
"Why are you 2 here?" Oluchi asked
"Well, Tosin said she'd like to practice before going home since she didn't play today. I decided to wait and watch her play" Shalom explained
"I see" Oluchi said "Can we watch too?"
"Sure" Shalom said
Oluchi and Mayowa sat next to Shalom as they all watched Tosin train
"Oluchi, you're something else. I must say" Shalom said
"Where'd that come from?" Oluchi asked
"Well, thinking about today's game, I feel like I need to improve my shooting" Shalom said
"I see you all get the point of today's game, huh?" Mrs. Lawal said for behind them
The girls turned around to see who it was
"Coach?" Shalom called as she was surprised to see Mrs. Lawal
"The game wasn't meant to be won. It was meant for self-examination" Mrs. Lawal explained "We are supposed to look at ourselves, highlighting our strengths and weaknesses, working on them and improving them so we can become a much better team"
"I see. I'm sorry about the way I spoke to you during the game" Shalom said
"Don't worry about it. I understand how you feel" Mrs. Lawal
"Coach, why didn't you let Tosin play today?" Mayowa asked suddenly
"Hmmm… Girls" Mrs. Lawal called
"Ma" The girls said
"What do you think the most powerful weapon in basketball is? Mrs Lawal asked
"Well… Height I guess" Mayowa said "3-pt shots, perhaps
"Jumping power" Mayowa said
"Dribbling and speed" Oluchi said
"Hmmm… Alright, keep watching Tosin's training. Don't take your eyes away from her for a single moment" Mrs. Lawal said as she walked up to Tosin
The girls wondered what Mrs. Lawal was doing.
"Tosin" Mrs. Lawal called out to Tosin
Tosin stopped playing as soon as she heard her name "Coach" she called "Um… I know I shouldn't be training now but…"
"Just shut up and pass the ball already" Mrs. Lawal said.
Tosin tossed the ball to Mrs. Lawal
"Mind if I play with you?" Mrs. Lawal asked
"Oh, sure" Tosin said, breathing heavily
"Okay, let's do this. Tosin, I want you to run from hoop to hoop at top speed 7 times. At the 7th time, jump with everything you've got as if you are expecting a pass from me" Mrs. Lawal instructed
"Alright ma" Tosin said
"Are you ready?" Mrs. Lawal asked
"Yes ma" Tosin replied
"Fweet" Mrs. Lawal blew the whistle
Tosin ran as fast as she could. The girls were blown away by how fast Tosin was running. They couldn't believe what they were witnessing. "Is that really Tosin?" Shalom asked. At the 7th time, Tosin ran to one of the hoops; she jumped from the free throw line.
"Did she just jump from the free throw line?" exclaimed Mayowa
"So high," said Shalom
Mrs. Lawal tossed the ball to Tosin who was moving towards the hoop as she floats in the air. The ball spun towards Tosin in the air, landing in Tosin's right hand. Tosin then slammed it into the hoop
"Wow!" Mayowa exclaimed
"An alley-oop!" Oluchi exclaimed "how did she move in the air?"
"Wow! Is this the same Tosin from the summer street basketball court?" Shalom thought to herself
"There you have it. Whatever the most powerful weapon in basket may be. It doesn't what anybody's opinion is. Whatever anyone think the most powerful weapon in basketball is. It doesn't matter to Tosin because she has it all sleeping in her. Tosin is basketball itself." Mrs. Lawal explained
"All of it? Inside of me?" Tosin muttered as she clenched her fist
"Yeah. Listen up, you are extremely gifted. I noticed it during one of our training sessions. However, there is a big limitation" Mrs. Lawal said
"What limitations?" Tosin asked
"You're a newbie in the world of basketball. I want you to learn from the bench first. Then you can roar all you want during the Christmas Champions Cup" Mrs. Lawal explained
The girls went home after Mrs. Lawal's explanation. Tosin told her mum about the team's first game. Sade was pleased that Tosin is happy, playing basketball