Tip Off!

The First Time I was Injured on the Basketball Court


The First Time I was Injured on the Basketball Court


It was a sunny beautiful day, me and my friends just pau school and were about to head to the gym for a basketball game we had against a Hilo team. My friends and I went to a gas station near our school to buy Gatorade and food to give us energy for the game. While we were walking my friend named Joe says, “Bro, I heard that the Hilo team were talking trash about us”.  Me and the boys were in disbelief but this got us hyped for the game.

Time went by and we arrived at the gym. All you could hear was the beautiful squeaks of the sneakers while the players were moving swiftly around the court. You could hear the rubber on the ball bouncing on the court creating this unique beat that just makes a player daze into the universe. 

My team and I were chilling on the bench waiting for our game to start. Then we saw them. The team that was talking about us finally arrived. We exchanged stares that created tension around us. I looked at their team then I saw my childhood friend amongst them but I could tell he wasn’t out for bad blood like the rest of his team was. We shook hands then we left each other because our game was about to start.

The whistle blows, the ball is in the air, the game starts. We just kept going at it with each other. I make a play then they make a play. My team makes a shot then they make a shot. It was a fun and epic duel. Two quarters passed and the score was tied 32-32. Both teams were drenched in sweat and breathing like they were greedy for air.

Third-quarter starts and we start with the ball. We make a score and so do they. After a few possessions went by we were still battling for a runaway score. I brought down the ball, looking at what the defense gave me. Slowly analyzing the defense, thinking of ways I can make a play. “Iso! Iso !”, I said. That means a 1v1 against the person who’s guarding me, who it turns out was my friend from the other team. We were exhausted but I knew I had to score. I attacked with a crossover and he bit, I went the other way and did a step back, I went for a shot and it missed, but then while I was going down I landed on my friend’s foot. This caused my ankle to bend in ways I thought it couldn’t. You could hear the crowd as they saw it happen, “Ooooo!!  –  Oh NOOO”, the crowd said.

I was taken out of the game unable to play again for a couple of months. We ended up winning that game, the opposing team came over and shook my hand as a sign of good sportsmanship. We forgave and forgot and continued with our day as regular human beings. This was a new experience for me but I know there will be more times like this to come.