them. One way or another, the team that wanted to be the champions of this tournament would have to go straight through the Wild Cats.
âThere we are!â Kia called out. âPool E.â
I moved over beside her and joined other members of our team looking up at the board.
âDo you recognize any of the teams?â I asked.
âHow would I know any of them?â she asked. âI meant from the reception. Any teams that you can remember seeing last night?â
âUm⦠no⦠I donât think so⦠wait,â she said, tapping the board. âIs that the team from France?â
âUnless thereâs another Paris somewhere else inthe world it has to be them,â Tristan said.
âWe should be able to beat a team from France,â L.B. said.
âDo they even play basketball in France?â David asked.
âThey have to or they wouldnât be here,â Kia said.
âI know that, but I mean I thought they only played soccer or stuff like that,â he said.
âYou mean the way that people in Canada only play hockey?â I suggested.
âI guess youâre right,â David admitted.
âAnd I figure weâll find out if they can play basketball pretty soon,â L.B. said. âTheyâre our opponents in the first game.â
âHow long before we play?â I asked.
âAbout two hours. Everybodyâs first game is at noon,â Kia said. âEvery team plays at the same time to start the tournament. That means there are twenty games in twenty gyms.â
âThat must be every gym in town,â Jamie said.
âEvery one of them,â Coach Barkley said as he and my father came up behind us. âEvery school, the community college and the recreation center.
âAnd theyâll be in use all day. By nine oâclock tonight the first round will be over and every team will have played four games.â
âThatâs a lot of ball in one day,â L.B. said.
âFour games is a lot,â Coach agreed. âBut we have a deep bench. Everybody will see a lot of action.â
âHow many teams get through from each pool?â Jamie asked.
âOne,â Coach said, holding up a single finger. âSo we have to win our pool, and the only way thatâs guaranteed is if we win all four games.â
âAnd if we get through this round what happens next?â David asked.
âCorrection,â Kia said. â
When
we get through this round.â
âThe second round is straight elimination. Only eight teams make it through. You lose, you go home. You win, you go on.â
âHow many games?â I asked.
âThree. The third one is for the championship,â Coach said.
âSo,â Tristan said, âall we have to do is win four games today and three tomorrow and weâre the champions.â
âThatâs all,â Coach said. âSeven wins and youâre the winners of the tournament.â
âThat doesnât seem too hard,â Tristan said. âWe can do that.â
âI hope we can, but right now letâs just focus on the first game.â
âWhere do we play our first game?â Kia asked.
âThe local community college. Weâre luckywe play all four of our games at the same place. It has three gyms,â Coach explained.
âAnd thatâs on the other side of town, so maybe we better get ready and get going,â my father suggested.
âCouldnât have said it better myself,â Coach said. âLetâs get going.â
We had started to walk toward the elevators when we practically bumped into the New York team and coach.
âSo,â Coach Barton said, âweâre in different pools for the first round.â
âI guess we are,â Coach replied.
âLucky for them,â one of the New York players said under his breath, but loud enough for us to hear.
âAnd the local team isnât
Aimee Liu, Daniel McNeill