-^-for posterity-^-

and then there was a game between long xuyen and can tho. we played basketball and we lost but it was close and i sweated and had to sit down in the end.

the can tho team was incredible. they were large and tough and we were all scared. the younger players on the long xuyen team kept coming up to me and telling me how big all the other players were and how i would have such a hard time winning.

the can tho team came up to me and told me that they were so excited to meet me because they had read about me in the article and they kept calling me teacher, teacher, teacher and i felt uncomfortable but smiled and shuffled my feet a bit.

then we played. they were, as my team projected, big. we fought hard and there were a number of close calls and i scored some points but missed a couple of free throws which i should have made and which, in retrospect, would have won the game for us.

it came down to the end of the game and i lumbered down the court and floated a shot that would have won the game when i actually should have passed it off to an older shorter man who was more open but doesn't always hit his shots. it hit the rim, rolled around and refused to fall in.

then one of their large, athletic, greek-like players ran down the court and tossed up the ball carelessly but it went in because the gods were on their sides and the good team never wins.