2024 FBA Season/24.04.22/ORE@ALK/Capsule
Alaska's magic number for a division title entering this home game was just one. They were looking to clinch in front of a raucous home crowd, refusing to leave it to watching for Seattle's results later in the day.
The game stayed close throughout, even as Alaska surged to an early twelve-point lead. Oregon cut the deficit to two at the break, and Alaska kept countering each punch going into a hotly-contested fourth quarter.
Sophomore players Astrid Viktorson and Devon Dukes fouled out in the final four minutes, as the lead changed hands back and forth, culminating with Ju Chaehwan hitting a ten-foot jumper with twenty-seven seconds to go. Alaska 106, Oregon 105.
But on Oregon's next possession, with just 1.9 seconds remaining, a tip-in putback by Briarcliff Poorjohn off a missed Marcus Knight three turned the tables. Oregon led by one, 107-106. Coach Neil LaRocca called timeout, drawing up a final play that intended to free up Ju Chaehwan, who was in the midst of a fantastic performance and just shy of a double-double. The idea was to have Tyler Conley receive the inbounds pass from Ravishu Khattar, drawing the husky into a double-team where he could feed his teammate a pass with just enough time to get off a clean mid-range look.
Oregon had other plans.
Ravishu's pass was perfect, coming right to Tyler as planned. However, the Swashbucklers guessed perfectly on the play's intended target, double-teaming both Tyler and Chaehwan, and sending a defender onto Ravishu as he stepped back inbounds. Esmeralda Patterson was open, but too close to a defender shadowing Chaehwan. Tyler knew he had no options but to pass it to a wide-open Elliot Jordan on the left wing, despite the cardinal being forced into three-point range to be as uncovered as he was.
Elliot caught the pass cleanly, shooting the triple as fans and opponents watched intently. Just over two-tenths remained on the clock as the ball left his fingertips. The final buzzer sounded, and aside from that, the entire stadium seemed to fall silent while the ball arched through the air.
SWISH.
The sound of the basketball hitting literally nothing but the bottom of the net echoed loudly through Arctic Tundra Arena, and the hushed crowd erupted in immediate rapture. Cyan and white-clad furs, scalies and avians leapt up, and deafening cheers filled the air. Elliot's blue eyes widened in full realisation of what he had just done, and it only took a single moment for him to find himself being hefted into Chaehwan's arms, the marten lifting his collegiate teammate in a celebratory embrace.
And the chattering began.
Elliot's beak sizzled at top-speed with constantly spouting words, the cardinal's teammates spilling onto the court and surrounding both Chaehwan and Elliot, jumping up and down along with them in celebration of an accomplishment that even the most ardent Arctic fan could never have imagined at season's beginning.
They were division champs. It had been the first Pacific Rim title for Alaska since the days of Cliff Matthiews, in the 2017-18 season. They hadn't even sniffed the playoffs since the 2020-21 season. Two years ago, they were a clear and dead last in the entire Western Conference, leading to the previous year's draft class and several moves in free agency. Now they celebrated more than just another year of increasing win totals. They didn't just settle for progress anymore, they harboured legitimate desires for title contention.
Coach LaRocca, and the new Arctics GM, Gabal LaChance, joined their players on the court, cyan and white confetti raining down from the rafters. Chaehwan looked over at the pair, and LaChance smiled broadly, trotting next to the marten. Chaehwan slowly let go of the cardinal in his arms, placing him on the ibex-taur's back and letting his manager and coach lead the team to centre-court.
Elliot suddenly stopped. He had been (in)famous for never shutting up once he started outside of his games. But something in his brain seemed like it snapped, the instant the cardinal landed on his manager's back. He just sat there with a closed beak, not even joining in waving along with his teammates. The jumbotron displayed "Alaska Arctics, 2023-24 Pacific Rim Division Champions," and the team who had stunned the world stood there, as fans screamed and chanted, serenading them as they so deserved.
Once it was time for the team to take their media sessions, they all made their way to the conference hall, and of course, the very first question went to the man of the hour, Elliot Jordan. Reporters and media braced for him to babble nonstop, but something remarkable happened.
Elliot stayed shut up.
Not just for a couple of seconds. Not for a minute or two. Multiple questions came for the bird, but Elliot stared blankly, as though he had been caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. But he seemed content, the small hint of a smile forming on his beak. Awkward silence consumed the hall, before a reporter just gave up, asking Tyler Conley about his pass leading up to the winning basket. Relief filled the room, and the rest of the sessions went normally, except for the lack of bird chatter.
At the end, everyone from the Arctics had cleared out of the room except for Mr. LaChance, and a reporter dared to ask him about Elliot's silence and lack of participation both on-court and in the interview sessions.
"I can assure you," LaChance said with a calm, collected glance, "Mr. Jordan has participated in the media sessions as required, and then some. I think you'll find that perhaps this was simply one of those cases where he was simply enjoying the moment as it happened." The ibex-taur finally stood up, hooves clapping the floor as he walked out, leaving the reporter stunned.
Even during locker room celebrations, Elliot just stood there silently, smiling and enjoying the moment. Nobody minded, or made an effort to change his behaviour. Eventually, the team got changed and cleaned, and readied themselves to leave the stadium.
A lady mountain goat met Elliot near the exit, and hugged the cardinal with a kiss on the cheek. He began to talk again, but quietly, and only to her. The two held hands and walked, the goat listening patiently and lovingly to Elliot's gentle rambling. Several members of the media, as well as thousands of fans, took note and left the two alone, not wanting to disrupt the scene.
He'd earned the moment to be quietly happy.
-A.Jamison, FSPN