I have had many great experiences in my life, from the time I pranked my friends in the wods, to the time I finally dunked on a 10-foot basketball hoop. Though I have had many great experiences, the greatest time of my life as of right now is when I played in a basketball tournament in Vegas. It was with no doubt the best day of my life and the most fun I have ever had. You might be wondering how it was the best day of my life, well for you to understand, I would have to take you all the way back to the beginning of the adventure.

It was about a week after school or less, I was 14 years old, and I knew this years summer break would be different than any other summer break. I was finally old enough to compete in most of the basketball tournaments in Vegas. As my family and I boarded the plane, I could not do anything, but feel the anxiety, nervousness, and excitement. We arrived in Vegas a couple of hours later, when I got off I had that feeling of a new chapter beginning in my life, one that could change or significantly impact my life. Just in case you didn’t know, playing in a Vegas basketball tournament is a big deal, all the top prospects and college scouts are there. I will be going up against some of these top prospects in the nation, and I will have to prove my skills against some of them. So yeah, playing in this tournament is a tremendous opportunity that I was given. So anyways, let's get back to the story. We landed in Vegas a week early so I can get training and ready for this tournament. My dad and I would train day and night, in the day I trained with the team, and at nights I worked with my dad on my personal skills. Just to let you know how much this tournament meant, I am going to give you a slight peak at my training routine everyday. My workout consisted of: 200 shots, 30 suicide reps, post-game improving, and defensive drills, also did I forget to mention Vegas has some of the nicest gyms you will ever see. As I said, I trained very hard because I knew that this summer meant a lot to me, , these tournaments could be a key turning point in my life. On my fifth day of training, my dad invited his friend, NBA legend, Shareef Abdur-Raheem. Shareef helped me train that day and also gave me many key in-game tips. Soon it was game day, it was the first day of my first tournament in Vegas. I was super excited, nervous, full of anxiety, and I think you get what I’m saying. Though I had many feelings, I was ready to prove what I am worth. I felt that I had a lot to prove , and this was my opportunity to do just that, everything I have ever did was to get to this moment, and this year I had finally earned that opportunity. I was not going to let this opportunity go to waste, I was ready to milk my opportunity for all I could.

When I walked into the arena, I knew it was show-time, and right away I got to work. The team we were going up against had 4 star recruit (which is pretty good) and a decent team around him. Tip-off began, the ball was tossed up into the air and the game was off. My team had gotten of to a good start, we scored 29 and were up 29-14 at the end of the first quarter! As the game progressed, my team kept the lead all game and dominated all throughout the game, and won 98-63. I scored 29 points and put up 11 rebounds in our win. Me and my team kept cruising to the tournament, showing no mercy to any team that came our way. Soon it was the championship, this game felt much more different than any other game I have ever played in. The whole stadium was packed, this was a huge game. I knew that I would have to deliver my best game yet, and that's exactly what I did. Although my team and I got of to a bad start, trailing at the end of the first 30-14, we bounced back. I lead the charge with 41 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 blocks, and 3 steals. Thanks to our effort to make a comeback, we won the first tournament 107-99. After the game I was approached by many fans, many 5 star recruits, and Shaquille O’neal! I was honored to be approached by him, and that's when I knew my hard work was starting to pay-off  Though we won tournament 1, in 3 days we would have to be ready to battle in tournament 2. It was time for tournament 2, I knew this tournament would be tougher than tournament 1. We were going up against a 4.5 star recruit and a loaded core around him, I knew this would be harder than my championship game, but I was ready for the challenge. As game one began my team and I got straight to war with our opponents, at the end of the first half we were tied 74-74. Though we kept fighting, I accomplished my greatest milestone in the second half, I had finally dunked on a 10-foot rim in a game. Me and my team were on a fastbreak, when all of a sudden my teammate tossed me a perfect alley-oop giving me an opportunity to dunk, I seized the opportunity and finally dunked the basketball. The feeling of dunking was so remarkable, I can’t completely explain how great the feeling was. It felt so unreal, I felt amazing, like I had been re-energized. Though I dunked, we ended up losing 126-117, ending my tournament run in Vegas.

Though my tournament run was over, I came out with many accomplishments and completed some of my milestones. I won a championship, put up about 4 triple-doubles, averaged 36 points per game, and had finally dunked a basketball for the first time in game. I know this might sound corny, but I owe a lot of this to my parents, and I learned that hard work takes time, but in the end it will pay off. Vegas, I had a phenomenal time, but don’t think this is the last time you will see me. Until next time Vegas.