CHAPTER 26 — "Do or Die"
Inwood City vs Jam City — Game 3 (Inwood leads series 2-0)
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PAGE 1
Opening panel: Pregame warmups. Jam City's players are locked in—no smiles, no distractions. The vibe is tense.
COMMENTATOR (off-screen):
"Jam City is one loss away from going home. Inwood City is one win away from moving on. It's win or watch for the Air Assassins."
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PAGE 2
Inwood City's Fenway Ward sniper, Taye "Rainmaker" Robinson, casually drains a corner three in warmups.
TAYE (to camera):
"They know what's coming. We just gotta execute."
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PAGE 3
Tip-off. Jam City comes out aggressive—Blaze Heights Ward's guard Zeke soars in transition for a huge dunk.
COMMENTATOR:
"Jam City with early fireworks! That's the urgency we needed to see!"
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PAGE 4
Inwood responds. Oldham Ward's floor general Jalen controls the tempo—pick-and-roll to perfection, slicing up Jam's defense.
JALEN:
"Slow it down. One kill at a time."
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PAGE 5
2nd quarter. Inwood catches fire from deep. Taye drains three threes in a row. Each one quieter, calmer, more disrespectful than the last.
COMMENTATOR:
"TAYE ROBINSON IS ON A HEATER! Inwood's putting this one away early!"
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PAGE 6
Halftime. Jam City is down 12. Inside the locker room, Edgewater's high-flying forward Dre pounds his chest.
DRE:
"They think it's over? We ain't even started. Let's fly."
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PAGE 7
3rd quarter. Jam City flips the switch. Dre throws down a putback slam, then gets a steal and an alley-oop dunk back-to-back.
COMMENTATOR:
"DRE IS UNLEASHED! Jam City just turned defense into liftoff!"
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PAGE 8
4th quarter. Final two minutes. Tie game. Crestline Ward's big man Carter seals inside and hammers home a dunk. Jam up 2.
COMMENTATOR:
"Jam City has crawled all the way back! What a turnaround!"
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PAGE 9
Inwood ball. 12 seconds left. Down 2. Taye comes off a double screen. Jalen delivers the pass. Taye rises from the left wing…
SPLASH.
COMMENTATOR:
"TAYE ROBINSON. ICE. IN. HIS. VEINS."
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PAGE 10
Final play. Jam has 3 seconds left. Inbounds to Dre at the top. One dribble… sidestep three…
CLANK.
Game over.
FINAL SCORE:
Inwood City 91 – Jam City 90
(Inwood City wins series 3-0)
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Final Panel: Inwood City walking off the court unfazed, like business as usual.
TAYE (quietly, to himself):
"Next up... Rockaway."
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NEXT UP — Chapter 27: "The City With Something to Prove"
Rockaway City's playoff debut begins. The league's top seed finally enters the arena…