Thiago is eight years old. Every time he dribbles, the ball bounces too high and rolls away from his small hands. It clatters into the chain-link fence and bounces back. Thiago laughs, wipes his nose on his sleeve, and chases it again.
The ball bounces past the low hoop with a hollow clatter. Thiago giggles, his sneakers slipping on the cracked pavement, and runs after it again, again, again. The fence rattles as the ball bounces off it and rolls back toward him.
Four years later, the playground is gone. Thiago stands at center court in a dark blue tournament jersey with his name across the back. The hardwood gleams under arena lights. The crowd's roar vibrates through the soles of his sneakers.
He bounces the ball once, twice, feeling the pebbled leather grip his palms. The court smells like polish and sweat. Thiago takes a deep breath and gets into his stance, eyes forward, ready.
The opposing team steals the ball and charges down the court. Thiago sprints back, heart pounding. He slides on his knees across the hardwood, one arm outstretched, and pokes the ball free just before it rolls out of bounds.
His teammates grab him and lift him up, cheering. His jersey sticks to his back from the sweat. Thiago grins, breathless, as his friends hoist him above the court in celebration.
The championship game comes down to this: down by one, twelve seconds left. Thiago drives to the three-point line, pumps his shoulders to fake out the defender, and launches the shot as the buzzer sounds. The ball leaves his fingertips.
The ball arcs through the arena lights — high, higher — and drops through the net with a perfect swish. The crowd erupts. Thiago's teammates swarm the court, laughing and shouting.
Thiago is buried under a pile of his teammates, all of them jumping and shouting. He can't see anything except jersey fabric and smiling faces, but he knows — he knows they did it. They won.
Thiago sits on the bench with the gold cup heavy and warm in his hands. The team cheers around him, but in this quiet moment, he traces the engraved numbers on the trophy rim with his thumb. Six gold cups now.