So yeah, that Mais tourney finally rolled around this weekend. Woke up Saturday feeling weirdly nervous, like it was my first time playing ball or something. Reality check: it’s 2025 and I ain’t as young as I used to be. Still, dragged my butt outta bed at 6 AM. First stop? The kitchen for the world’s fastest breakfast. Seriously, just shoved some toast down my throat while checking my bag again. Got my gear ready the night before, but you know how it is – always gotta double-check.
The Practice Grind Was Real
Met the team down at Westside Court around 7. Sun was just coming up, air was cold. We all looked half-asleep. Coach hit us with the “let’s warm up properly” speech. We groaned but did it anyway. Started simple: light jogging, then stretching. My old knees popped like crazy, felt like bubble wrap. Then we ran drills. Passing drills, rebound drills, defensive slides. Coach made us run that pick-and-roll drill like ten thousand times. My tongue was hanging out by the end. John kept setting screens too hard – practically knocked Mike over once. Was it perfect? Nah. But we were moving better together than last week, that’s for sure.
Game Day Chaos
Sunday was game day. Atmosphere was buzzing when we got to the Mais gym. Teams everywhere, music blasting. Our first opponent looked young and fast. Uh oh. Coach reminded us: “Stick to the plan. Play our pace.” Easier said than done, right? First quarter was rough. Their point guard flew past me like I was standing still once. Whoosh. Gone. Coach yelled “Rotate!” but we were scrambling. Felt messy. Down by five quick.
Huddle time. Coach kept it simple: “Box out! Help defense! Move the damn ball!” Second quarter, we settled down a bit. I actually hit a nice jumper off a screen. SWISH. Felt good, man. We started passing better. Ben grabbed some huge rebounds. Got within two points before halftime. Energy was up.
Second half was a scrap. Back and forth. My lungs were burning in the fourth. That young point guard? We started trapping him near half-court, made him give it up early. Worked pretty well! Hit Steve cutting to the basket for a tough layup with like a minute left. Tied it up! Crowd was into it. They missed a shot, we got the rebound. Final possession. Coach called time. Drew up a play for Mike… but it got smothered. He passed out to me. Clock running down… took a dribble, pulled up from just inside the arc… shot felt okay leaving my hand…
The Aftermath (and the Ice)
Rimmed out. Bummer. Went to overtime. Ran outta gas. They hit a couple tough shots, we didn’t. Lost by four. Hugged the team after. Hurt to lose a close one, but honestly? Proud of how we clawed back. Left it all out there.
Post-game essentials happened fast:
- Shower felt like heaven.
- Ate approximately half a pizza.
- Applied ice packs liberally. Knees demanded it. Back joined the protest.
- Collapsed on the sofa. Stared at the ceiling. Legs felt like concrete.
No shiny trophy this time. But that feeling when the team figured stuff out after that rough start? That was worth the aching muscles today. Mais tourney tested us, for real. We responded. Mostly. Now, about that sofa… still calling my name.