章 88: Chapter 88 : VS Meisei High IV - The Raise of Kiyoshi
"Damn, Red. You were getting bullied by him. Multiple times."
"Shut up!"
It was the half-time break when Furihata found himself having some fun messing around with Kagami. Well, the other participants didn't seem to enjoy it as much as he did, considering the suffering he experienced last quarter.
In total, facing Kagami six times in an isolation battle, Uchida was able to secure 7 points in a row while stopping Kagami once and forcing him to get a turnover twice. While impressive, Furihata is more inclined to believe that it was rather because Kagamis hasn't found his touch back yet instead of Uchida being awesome.
Of course, Furihata recognized Uchida's incredible play. But when he observed closely, Uchida's movement is quite predictable, and it should be easy for Kagami to follow his movement. The fact that the red-haired boy got overpowered twice showed that he was still not in his best state.
"Okay, everyone! Pay attention please!" Riko clapped her hands loudly. "You all did a good job in the first half. Yes, that included you too, Kagami-kun." Everyone sniggered at Kagami's scowl for the last remark. "But our job is still not done yet. Therefore, listen to me carefully, okay?"
"Coach!" Kagami suddenly raised his hand, interrupting whatever she wanted to say. "Can you let me play? I will not be able to sleep well tonight if I cannot take down this bastard even for once!" This resulted in a thick vein popping in Riko's temple.
"You Brat….."
"Aahh…Can I do the same, Coach?" Kiyoshi also chimed in suddenly, gaining the attention of the other. "I feel like I was getting closer to stopping Tsugawa-san. It would be a pity to stop now."
Riko let out a tired sigh before she turned around to Alex, silently asking for advice. The older woman just shrugged it off before she spoke,
"Why not let them play?" The face of those two players brightened up at that. "They are determined, and they also need to get back in their best form. We are also still on the lead, so let them do what they want. It would be better in a controlled game like this rather than a tight game where we couldn't predict what the outcome would be."
Riko pondered for a moment before he nodded.
"Okay, I will let you play."
"Yosshaaa!!!"
"But!" Riko stopped Kagami's celebration with a stern face. "If I deem the game becomes uncontrollable and say stop, you will do as I say. Do you understand?"
Kiyoshi nodded immediately as it was a reasonable order. However, Kagami, being childish like usual, scowled and was ready to throw a tantrum. But the intensified stern glare he received from Riko made him unfold like a wet paper, as he slumped back to the bench.
"Yes, Coach. I understand."
Everyone giggled and snickered at how fast it is for Riko to force Kagami do what she said. Some even dared to make a whip sound. But when the glare was directed at their direction, they shut their mouth instantly, not daring to challenge her authority.
"Good. Izuki-kun. Kuroko-kun, and Junpei, you are also in. Make sure you keep the pressure on the offense. It would help Teppei and Kagami-kun lift up the pressure when they couldn't stop their opponents."
"Hey!"
"Do you understand?" Riko stares at those three players, ignoring the annoyed huff from Kagami and the chuckles from the others. Those three looked at each other before they nodded at the same time.
"Yes, Coach!"
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The third quarter finally began, and Furihata who was on the bench sit beside Riko as per her request
"So, what do you think of this game?" When do you think Teppei and Kagami-kun will be able to stop their opponents?"
Furihata pondered for a moment before he spoke carefully.
"Red would be able to stop Uchida before this quarter end. As for Kiyoshi-senpai? I don't think he would be able to do that."
"Oh? How so?" Now, not only Riko, but his bold statement also gained Alex's attention who is still on the range of the conversation.
"In all of the confrontations between Red and Uchida, Red was able to read and follow his movements almost all the time. While in the end, he was fooled and even getting overpowered, it just showed that Red is still struggling to adapt to a real game like this. But you will see that he is getting closer to overcoming Uchida every time they met."
Riko and Alex nodded in agreement.
"As for Kiyoshi-senpai…" There, Furihata showed a bitter smile. "To be honest, I don't have any slight idea of how to stop Tsugawa-san. He is a very tricky person. He could use all of his body movement as a fake. Hell, even a single glance to one side could be fake. Coupled with his shooting and passing ability, it would be too difficult to stop him."
"That good, huh?" Riko was a bit stunned by Furihata's evaluation. But instead of Furihata, it was Alex who answered her rhetorical question.
"Yeah, I think so too." Alex nodded solemnly. "His playing style is unique for a center. In fact, he reminds me of one player in the NBA."
"Oh? Who?" Now, it was Furihata who asked a question with a curious face.
"His name is Nikola Jokic, and he is a bench unit on the Denver Nuggets. You wouldn't notice him, because that team had a poor record this year. But if you observed closely, Tsugawa-san's play resembles him a lot."
"Then, why did you let Teppei play?" Riko chimed in, a frown could be seen on her face.
"Well, just like I said before, he would need to get back in his form quickly, and this game is still in our control. Moreover, there is still a way to stop Tsugawa-san. I am interested if anyone could find that way on the court."
Even though Riko wanted to ask another question, her attention was snapped by the event on the court.
*Clank!*
"It's a miss!"
"Anyone! Rebound!"
"Nice rebound, Senpai!"
*SLAP!*
"YOSSHAAAA!!!"
"Good block, Kagami-kun!"
In the court, Kagami finally managed to stop Uchida twice in a row. First, it was a jump shoot that he interrupted before it bounced to the board and get rebounded by Tsugawa. And right after the third-year center slides the ball back to Uchida, Kagami chased him down and blocked him from behind. Even though the next ball is still in Meisei's possession, at least he was able to disturb his opponent's momentum.
"Good job, Kagami-kun!"
"Don't worry, Senpai! As long as I am here, I would not let him score that easily again." He showed a big grin.
However, that doesn't mean they were able to stop the combination between Tsugawa and Uchida completely, as it was proven in the next play. Right after receiving an inbound pass, Uchida increased his tempo while breaking through Seirin's area, targeting the rim once again. Kagami managed to stick to his movement for a while. But right before they arrived under the rim, the ball went back to the outside, where Tsugawa waited patiently for the pass.
"DAMN!"
Kiyoshi cursed inwardly, as he somehow forgot about Tsugawa's presence for a moment, as he didn't expect Meisei's center would receive a kick-out pass like this. At first, when he saw Tsugawa retreat back after sending the inbound pass, he thought Tsugawa wouldn't be involved in this play, so he dares to leave him alone and focus back on defending the next rebound.
But his wrong assumption was punished immediately, as Tsugawa pulled up a stance for a three-point shoot from his position. When the ball was released, Kiyoshi could only watch as it went high, creating a beautiful arch before it went down straight to the net.
*Splash!*
A clean three-point jumper!
"Nice shoot, Senpai!"
On the other side,
"Sorry, that was completely my mistake." Kiyoshi showed a guilty face to his teammates. But Hyuga just shook his head and patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry. No one would expect a center to pull up a three-point shoot like that."
"Should I help you?" Kagami decided to ask. But he was rejected by the others.
"No. Your main concern is Uchida." Hyuga answered his question. "He has already had too much fun in our area, and someone has to stop him. I will be the one who helped Teppei."
"Okay."
A second later, the game restarted again with the ball in Izuki's possession. This time, he decided to slow down the tempo to let Kiyoshi take a break. But when he saw Kiyoshi approach the high-post area, a flash of inspiration hit his head, as his brain suddenly ran a complex calculation in a second.
'This position is suitable for the 'Princeton Offense.' Even though Coach said we didn't need to rush it, this is a rare chance. Screw it. Let's do this.'
Kiyoshi suddenly has a glint in his eyes when he saw Izuki's signal. Right after that, Izuki sends the ball in his direction before the point guard rushes toward Hyuga, setting a screen to help the shooting guard escape from Meisei's defense.
"Nice screen, Izuki!"
"Damn! Someone, cover!"
Even though Hyuga managed to escape from his first guard, Meisei's reinforcement came quickly and covered the defense, preventing the ball to go to Hyuga. However, it was a distraction, as the purpose of the game is to give the ball back to Izuki who cut from the backdoor and attack the paint area.
But after seeing Tsugawa is about to turn around to Izuki, Kiyoshi knows that Meisei has already predicted this outcome. So, he made a bold decision by not passing the ball. Instead, he pulled up a mid-range jumper from his spot, surprising not only him but also his teammates. Unfortunately, his shooting is not stable, so it hit the rim before it bounced back toward the court.
*Clank!*
"Damn! Someone, rebound!"
"It is a pity that Kiyoshi-senpai's shoot is unstable, or it would be a nice debut for our new offensive strategy." Furihata sighed on the bench. But Riko just let out a mysterious smile as she spoke,
"Who said it is over?"
And right after she said that, when Furihata turned back his eyes on the game, he found out Kiyoshi has already rushed forward and used his long arm to grab the ball in the air, beating Tsugawa in the aerial contest.
"Kiyoshi's best physical weapon is his wide wingspan which allowed him to reach the air further than any normal player. That's why even though his shooting is bad, he would take it confidently and fight for the rebound. That's the way he fights."
And right after he grabbed the ball in the air, instead of slamming it down toward the basket, Kiyoshi tapped the ball to his left side, where Kagami is waiting in the corner area. He knows that with his situation right now if he is forced to try overpowering Tsugawa, there is a risk of him falling down and getting injured again. Kagami who received the ball grinned as he was alone on the corner, ready to pull up a three.
"Nice pass, Senpai!"
"Don't think it would be easy!"
Uchida who is responsible for guarding him jumped before Kagami could take the shoot. But it was proven to be a mistake, as instead of shooting, Kagami lowered his stance and chose to dribble the ball toward the sideline.
"Damn! Senpai, cover!"
And right after that, two people approached Kagami pretty quickly, trying to corner the red-haired boy so he could go out-of-bound. But Kagami is smarter. Before he could get double-teamed, he bounced the ball, sending it to the paint area where the main character of the last play already recovered from his state.
"Nice pass, Kagami-kun."
And now, Kiyoshi didn't disappoint Seirin, as he lays the ball into the basket easily under Tsugawa's nose.
"YOSSHAAA!!"
It was a simple play, yet Kiyoshi roared excitedly, venting out all of his frustration into the air. Even though his character is calm and quiet, the last six months of dealing with his injuries and getting bullied right after he came back really rubbed his skin in a wrong way. So, beating a tough guy like Tsugawa in a duel like this is a chance of him to release all the negative energies deep inside his heart.
56 – 64
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Author note:
Sorry, not too much basketball played in this chapter. Next chapter, I will make it full of action. Also, If you want to support me more, you can visit my Patreon page on patreon(.)com/ZetaFaes
You can also read this fanfiction up to chapter 108 on that page. Thank you! :)
-Zeta Faes-
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