In unison, the crowd chanted “Gaëtan” after the man himself scored what would prove to be the winning basket in a thrilling showdown between LFNY and FASNY.
The highly-anticipated game lived up to expectations as the capacity crowd in the gym witnessed a heroic performance by every member of the LFNY team. Students, parents, siblings and teachers showed their support by attending this game between long-time rivals.
At the tipoff, FASNY was off to a blistering start by scoring in all of their first four possessions, creating a feeling of uncertainty in the LFNY gym. “The first quarter is our biggest issue,” said Coach Eric S. at the end of the game, “We need to work on that and eventually fix it.”The tide turned when Coach Damian J. called a timeout and called on Gaëtan M. to enter the game. LFNY showed a revitalized defense led by Gaëtan’s aggressive play.
Teammate Oscar A, who had 4 steals and 11 points said, “I never doubted myself,” despite being smaller in size than the other players on the opposing side. The offense seemed to have much more flair as Max D gained confidence with the ball and assumed his position as a leader. Following a nightmarish start to the game, LFNY showed great character, coming back to lead 27-26 at halftime.
After the traditional half-time pep talk, Kenan Z (7 points) was able to recognize the teams’ mistakes and how to fix them, “We needed to take better shots, get better looks and pass the ball a lot more,” said the LFNY power forward.
Going offensive on the 3rd quarter
The second half began with the same intensity as the first, and the 3rd quarter proved to be the most successful quarter of the game for the LFNY Varsity team. An offense filled with exciting bursts of speed, perimeter shooting (notably from Oscar A., Benjamin K. and Max D.) and great drives proved to be too much to handle for the FASNY players.
On the defensive end, Elliot R. and Kenan Z. showed devotion and strong will as they contested every shot and crashed the boards efficiently. The third quarter ended with LFNY having a comfortable 5 point lead, yet this changed in the final eight minutes.
The fourth quarter was a battle as each possession had great value. The crowd cheered every steal, every point and every rebound for the Lynx.. Every time FASNY had possession, the fans joined together and yelled “DEFENSE” in order to encourage the efforts made by the players.
As the final minutes of the game approached, fans could not stop looking at the scoreboard and the very slim lead held by the Lynx .. In the final minute , FASNY attempted a three point shot for the lead, but Gaëtan came up with what should have been the game winning block. Unfortunately. the ball landed in the hands of another FASNY player who calmly scored the tying jump shot.
Only three seconds left on the scoreboard
With only 25 seconds left, LFNY was determined to make this possession count. The crowd rose to their feet .. Everyone was confident as Oscar, who was on a hot streak, was supposed to take the last shot. After an unsuccessful drive to the basket, Oscar dumped the ball off to Kenan, who passed the ball out to Gaëtan who was closely guarded. . Despite the intense coverage, Gaëtan attacked with confidence and hit the contested elbow shot over three FASNY defenders with only three seconds left to play.
The LFNY gym erupted with joy, as victory was almost certain. FASNY showed resiliency and managed to get off a final shot within time to win the game, yet in vain. The LFNY Varsity players jumped and the crowd invaded the court to celebrate what will be a famous victory; all who attended will remember this game.
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