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Every year, the town holds its basketball league as part of the fiesta celebration. The group of teenagers was pleading with Ace to join not only to complete their team but also to finally win against the men who asked Ace to play with them during her first week in the town. Now a volleyball player in their school, Ace avoids and outright rejects the team.
When Ace was alone while she was trying to do shots on the court at night like she usually does, the team approached her again.
"Sige na, Ace. Ikaw lang kasi yung nakalaro nila tapos nakapuntos ka," one of the men pleads.
The man on his side butts in, "Diba ano, MVP ka pa dati saka dami mong awards sa basketball? Sali ka na samin para kumpleto na kami, please?"
Ace was left with no choice but to agree since they were already trying to recruit her for days.
Hays. Ace thought.
~
"Baka mag-skip ako ng ibang trainings, Jana."
Jana stops doing her drills. She looks back at her teammates to see if anyone heard what Ace said, before bringing back the attention to her girlfriend.
"Hindi pwede," Jana says, "Ano na lang iisipin nila? May special treatment kasi tayo?" She continues.
Ace, sensing the captain going into beastmode again, immediately interjects.
"May pa-liga raw kasi, tapos kasama ako sa maglalaro."
The two only shared looks for moments, with Jana glaring at Ace for trying to show her the eyes to convince her. The former was about to give but Myka called her name.
Jana woke up in a trance. Muntikan na. She reminds Ace of her decision. "Hindi pwede. Sumbong kita kay Coach, eh."
~
When Jana visited the Asuncion residence, Ace's mother informed her that she was not home and she was probably in court. And she was there. Playing with young boys. She stayed beside them, sitting on the bench, and watched how Ace played basketball.
She saw how Ace enjoys dribbling, how she is more comfortable with playing on her first love—basketball, and how good she is with it. It is probably safe to say she is in awe of Ace, with how she didn't manage to stop herself from letting out a squeak when Ace shoots a 3-point ball.
Ace looks around to find the source of the sound, and she sees her girlfriend smiling from ear to ear, clasping her hands together. Ace smiles back, and Jana, realizing she's caught, only clears her throat and fixes the loose strands of her hair. She calls it a day with the boys and goes straight to Jana.
"Magaling ka pala mag-basketball."
"Thank you."
Ace replies to the compliment. She sits beside Jana, and fixes her gaze at the hoop.
"Kinakabahan nga ako, eh. Paano kung maging kagaya nung first volleyball game natin? Matagal na rin kasi akong hindi naglalaro."
"Hindi ka naman magaling noon." Jana bluntly says. She realized her tone so she got scared that Ace might have received it in the wrong way, so she immediately saved herself. "Saka ito naman talaga yung laro mo diba? Mananalo kayo."
That brings a smile to Ace's face. "Fun-fun?" Jana shows her back a smile. She holds Ace's hand and leans forward to close the distance between their faces.
"Punta ka sa laro, ha? Sa Sunday na," Ace reminds her.
"Agad?" Ace nods. "Okay."
~
"Ace, kailangan mo nang pumasok sa game."
Ace hesitates, looking one more time in the pool of crowd, and spots a familiar woman in a blue dress, before agreeing to the coach.
"Sige po, coach."
The game starts, with the coach whistling and passing the ball to Ace. She dribbles the ball, shaking away her nervousness, and tries to read her opponents, when someone from the crowd screams.
"Go, sexy love!"
Ace then looks at the person. The woman in the blue dress. The crowd turned their attention to the person Ace was looking at. Jana, who sheepishly covered her face with a large blue and yellow banner after shouting, written Asuncion No. 8's my sexy love, slowly lowered down the banner to meet the beaming smile of Ace.
The SL Angels, together with Coach Jules and Ace's mom, who went to support their rookie, was shocked to see the stunt of their team captain.
"Diba si Kap 'yun?" Tomas asks.
"Kaya pala ayaw sumabay satin. May pa-surprise pala," Tin insinuates, and gains a bunch of laughter and 'yiee-s' from the others.
Myka and Patty shouted to their captain to encourage whatever she's doing. Coach Jules was trying to compose herself and not break from laughing out loud. Ace's mom simply cheered a little bit louder, acting as if Jana is a competition to the "No. 1 fan" title, if it does exist.
Ace gains a point. The coach and the team congratulated Ace through hand signs. Jana, on the other hand, dropped the banner she made.
"Go, sexy! Go sexy, go sexy, go sexy sexy love!" She cheers with a bit of choreography prepared.
She chants for another go, "Go, sexy! Go sexy, go sexy, go sexy sexy love!" Jana knew the townspeople were staring at her, but she didn't care. What matters to her now is Ace acing the basketball game.
Meanwhile, the Angels kept laughing in embarrassment because of their captain.
"Tangina!" someone from the Angels exclaimed.
Coach Jules stares at her kids, "Huy!" she scolds.
Myka speaks up. "Coach, wala naman po tayo sa school." She earns a smack on the arm from the coach. "Kahit pa," Coach Jules replied.
Myka and Patty informed their coach that they will join their captain's side to encourage whatever she's doing. Coach Jules agreed, and the two exchanged looks with the other teammates before making their way to Jana while shouting.
"Go, Kap!"
"Sexy love! Hahahaha"
Ace's team (particularly Ace) did not let the other team gain a lot of points for the next quarters. The crowd also learned and joined the chant Jana kept on screaming. As a sign of gratitude, Ace always makes sure she throws a smile towards Jana's direction, which only encourages the latter to cheer louder for her.
When Ace shoots the 2-point ball for the win, everyone cheered on their victory. Her teammates were calling her for a group celebration, but Ace ran straight towards Jana. She instantly hugs Jana. In return, Jana wraps her arm around Ace's neck and brings her face closer, like it's a routine they've been doing for a long time.
"Sabi sa'yo mananalo eh."