Luisito walked into the school gym the night of the district championship game. The gym was packed with parents, teachers, students, and relatives—especially Luisito’s. Three long rows of family: cousins, great-aunts and -uncles, and his parents were there to cheer him on. They had the same large cameras around their necks that they had worn on the day he had arrived at the airport. Luisito could distinguish their hearty laughs in the din of the crowd. Some of his younger cousins had made maracas out of coffee cans. They rattled them as they cheered.
School spirit was at its best in the gym for the championship. Luisito paused to take it all in. The wood floors looked recently polished. There were large, colorful banners with the blue-and-gold school colors everywhere. As he looked around the gym, for the first time since he had arrived in the United States, Luisito felt he belonged. He was part of something.
They were playing against the undefeated Oakwood High School Tigers. Luisito watched the Tigers warm up. He snapped to attention when he saw Coach Jerry signal all his players to huddle.
“All right, mighty Lions, this year we have a chance to be district champions! Remember, it’s not just your skills but your determination that will get us that trophy. Now, do we want to win?” he shouted.
“Yes, we do!” they shouted.
“I can’t hear you!” Coach Jerry said.
“Yes, we do!” they shouted louder.
“Well, then, get out there” he said, and sent them out onto the court.
The game started slowly. The ball went back and forth as both teams played great defense. It was still 6–6 by the end of the first quarter.
“Let’s start making some shots!” shouted a group of parents.
“Defense! Defense!” shouted others from the packed bleachers.
By the end of the second quarter the Tigers led 20–12. The Lions fans became quieter, attentively watching every pass with hopes of catching up. In the third quarter, the Tigers started to get too confident, and the Lions started scoring. When the score was 24–23, with the Tigers still leading, one of the Lions stole the ball, zigzagged down the court, and made a three-point shot! Now the Lions were leading. But by the end of the third quarter, the score was tied again, 30–30.
As the fourth quarter started, the Lions players’ tiredness started to show in their slower running and clumsier passing. All of them had played the whole game so far. Coach Jerry signaled to Luisito.
“Lewis, you’re in!” he called. “Give Paul a rest.”
Luisito nervously trotted out onto the court. Both teams continued to play well, and when the buzzer rang, the score was tied and the game went into overtime. Luisito was certain that Coach Jerry was going to take him out and put Paul back in, but to his surprise Coach Jerry sent him back out onto the court.
Now it seemed no one could get the ball in the hoop. Luisito could feel his jersey glued to his back with sweat. His face was now bright red, and the once cold gym felt as warm as a day on a Miami beach.
There were only forty seconds on the clock when the referee called a foul against the Lions, and the Tigers made the two penalty shots.
“No more fouls!” Coach Jerry yelled at his players.
Now the Lions had the ball. Eric passed it to Ron, who dribbled in and made a layup, tying the score yet again. They went into defensive mode as the Tigers took off down the court. They moved too fast and went out of bounds, and the Lions had the ball again. Fifteen seconds left.
This time Eric passed the ball to Luisito, but one of the Tigers pushed him and Luisito fell hard on the floor. The referee called a foul, and Luisito had the chance to make two shots. If he made them they would win the game. He felt the pressure almost suffocating him. He could hear faint gasps and Spanish comments from his relatives.
Luisito stood just behind the foul line. He was so nervous! A thousand thoughts swirled through his mind. You can do it if you just concentrate hard enough. But what will happen if I miss it? Will everyone hate me? They’re just starting to warm up to me . . . He heard shouts of: “Lewis, you can do it!” and “Bend those knees!” He looked toward his parents and saw Miguel cheering him on and his mother covering her face with her hands. He heard a woman’s voice calling, “¡Encomiendate a Dios, mi hijito!” It was surely one of his relatives reminding him to say a prayer.
He caught the ball and dribbled it twice. He didn’t know if this merited a mental prayer, but he said one anyway. “Dear God, I hope this goes in . . . for my team and for my sake. Please, God, hear my prayer and, if not, let me cope with whatever happens.”
Then he shot the ball high in the air and it bounced right off the rim of the basket. There were sighs from one side of the gym and cheers from the other.
The referee bounced the ball back to him and signaled that he had one more chance. He breathed deeply, dribbled just once, bent his knees, and shot the basketball. He didn’t even want to watch, so he shut his eyes. When he opened them the ball was spinning around and around the rim of the basket. Finally, it dropped in. Immediately a cheer roared from the crowd, and his teammates charged toward him with hugs and pats on the back. The buzzer rang. The Lions had won by just one point.
His parents and a long line of relatives ran onto the court to congratulate Luisito and each team player.
“Great job, Lewis!” Coach Jerry yelled as he jumped in the air with excitement.
The Lions stepped aside to have their picture taken with a big silver trophy. They let Luisito stand in the center holding the award.
As Luisito turned for more pictures, Sherry came up and gave him a big hug. “You were amazing, Lewis!” she said.
“Well, let’s go celebrate!” Coach Jerry said. “Where should we go?”
“How about El Rincon Cubano?” Paul suggested. “That’s the Cuban restaurant in Silver Spring.”
Friends and family paraded out of the school and headed to the restaurant. When they reached the restaurant, the owner had to open up the area reserved for parties in order to seat them all together. Luisito was all smiles. Thank you, God! he thought so strongly that he was sure the others could hear him.