章 115: Chapter 115 : VS Yosen High VII - One Sequence to Break Seirin Down
Satoshi Tsuchida is just a normal player. With only 185 cm of height, he was barely qualified as a power forward, especially compared to the players from Yosrn High. He knows about it. That's why, for all the physical disadvantages, he covered it with his brain and his tenacity.
It worked quite well during his first year. Even Otsubo, Shutoku's super center, admitted that he is one of the toughest defenders Otsuba has ever played against.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he worked, there will always be people who are more talented than him. And right now, he was forced to remember that fact when tasked to guard Murasakibara.
*BAAAAM!!!!*
Another posterized dunk! It was Murasakibara's fourth posterized dunk in this game. He did it three times against Kagami, and once against Tsuchida right now/
"You alright, Tsuchida?" Hyuga asked with a voice full of concern. "Don't feel bad you cannot stop him. He is a monster, and we all know it. We will not blame you."
Instead of reassuring him, Hyuga's words only make Tsuchida feels bitter.
'Sure enough, no amount of hard work would be able to cover this kind of physical disadvantage.'
Furihata who noticed his distraught patted his back calmly.
"Don't worry, Senpai. If he had the ball again, I will try to help you. Maybe, we could trap him and have a chance to steal the ball."
Izuki who heard that raised his eyebrows slightly.
"And what about Himuro-san?"
"Don't worry." Furihata waved his hand casually. "Even though getting double-teamed, do you think the member of the Generation of Miracles would pass the ball easily? His pride would never allow him to do that."
Hearing that statement, all the Seirin players could see that happening.
"Well, let's not think about it." Hyuga interrupted, tucking his glasses a little. "For now, we have an offense to run. Let's try to score first and try to save the game."
Yeah. Now that Yosen High was able to score five points consecutively, the gap between the two teams was widened once again to 30 – 15. For an offensive team like Seirin, only scoring 15 points in a quarter is unacceptable. They will have to work harder than before, especially without Kuroko on the court.
Not long after that, the game restarted again, with the ball in Izuki's hand. Furihata who acted as a shooting guard decided to mingle around the crowd on the high post, trying to find a chance to open up some space.
Being around Mitobe who was in the same place as him, they had eye contact for a second. With a subtle nod from the quiet center, Furihata suddenly rushed into the left wing, and before Tatsuya could follow him, Yosen's shooting guard suddenly met a brick wall.
*Brugh!*
It was Mitobe who set a screen for Furihata. Having been playing for a while, they have a tacit understanding in a situation like this, which was pretty convenient as they don't really need to communicate verbally.
"Senpai! Switch!"
Knowing that he couldn't match Furihata's speed, Tatsuya yelled at Fukui, asking to switch defenders. At this time, Furihata lamented Izuki's inability to score the ball for himself.
'Damn! Their perimeter defenders were scattered, but it has no use as Senpai wouldn't take the shoot himself. Think, Furihata! What should I do!'
It was not only him. Even Izuki gritted his teeth, cursing his weakness at this point.
'Damn! If it was Furihata-kun, he would be able to take this shoot! What should I do?!'
Seeing Tatsuya was about to come in his direction, Izuki panicked for a second, thinking of taking a shoot for himself. But suddenly, he saw Furihata stop running toward the left wing, and in an instant, the first-year point guard turned around and ran again to the opposite side, cutting through the sideline.
At first, Izuki couldn't understand what Furihata was trying to do. However, when his eyes catch a sudden movement from the other side, he knows what his teammate intends to do.
Noticing that Izuki's eyes were on Furihata, Tatsuya shouted at Fukui.
"Senpai, be careful!"
"Got it!"
Both Yosen's backcourt guards think that Izuki would pass the ball to Furihata. So, the third-year point guard is sticking closely toward Furihata, while Tatsuya took a step aside, trying to block the route between them.
However, the ball didn't come in their direction. Instead, it went to the left wing, the first place Furihata went after leaving the high post. There, suddenly, Mitobe appeared on that spot, receiving the ball from Izuki.
Okumura who was guarding him a few seconds ago has his eyes almost popped out from its sockets, couldn't believe what he just saw.
Yeah, after setting a screen for Furihata, his presence seems to disappear from the court. Nobody, not even Okumura, noticed him silently retreat back to the outside. And when the quiet center received the ball, he couldn't close the space between them, as Mitobe is about to take another three.
"Nice pass, Izuki!"
"Come on, Mitobe!"
All the Seirin players on the bench have already stood up from their seats, ready to celebrate the three. Hell, even Furihata is raising both his hand in the air, celebrating the ball already. The thought of the wide-open three like this makes them lower their guard a little. However, it was enough to be punished by their opponent.
Right the moment the ball was released from Mitobe's hand,a giant figure suddenly jumped from five feet afar while extending his long arm, and somehow, he managed to tip the ball on the air with his finger.
"WHAT?!"
It was not only Furihata and all the Seirin players, but almost everyone in Tokyo Gymnasium gasped involuntarily at the ridiculous play. Murasakibara who was still on the free-throw line took a sudden leap toward the air, and somehow, managed to block Mitobe who was five feet away from his position.
'What the hell is he doing there?! Should he be on the paint area?'
Having been accustomed to Murasakibara's lazy positioning for the entire game, the thought he would suddenly participate actively like this has never crossed any Seirin players' minds. However, they didn't have time to think about it, as right after Murasakibara caught the ball himself, instead of giving it to Fukui or Tatsuya, he dribbled it toward Seirin's side, initiating the fast break by himself.
The dribble was sloppy, as expected as anyone played as a center. But Murasakibara made it up with his long step, leaving all the Seirin players who were still stunned by his crazy play before. It was Hyuga who reacted first, turning around immediately while shouting,
"Damn! Fast break! Go back!"
Hyuga and Izuki who stayed outside of the three-point line managed to come back in time to stop Murasakibara. They tried to double-team the giant center, at least to delay him until everyone is back in their own position.
However, with a simple behind-the-back crossover, Murasakibara split their double-team, passing through the area between them, and instantly after that,
*BAAAAM!!!*
A single-handed dunk! Murasakibara did it himself! From the defense, the block, the rebound, the transition, and the dunk itself, nothing but perfection! No one in Seirin has the hope to stop that.
And a second later, all the people in the audience seat raised, giving Murasakibara a standing ovation.
"That's crazy!"
"I know, right?! He is unstoppable!"
"This is unfair! I feel bad for Seirin now."
And right there, in the middle of the crowded situation, Alex finally called out a time-out to let her players breathe.
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"What a troublesome team….." Furihata muttered, his face was covered by a towel. Even without looking, he knows that the other players have a similar or even worse reaction than him. No one could hide their depression after Murasakibara's last play.
Honestly, it was ridiculous how a single sequence managed to break them down like this. However, when it was done by a strong player like Murasakibara, it was enough to give Seirin a sense of invincibility, making them belittle themselves unconsciously.
And that is also Murasakibara's specialty. He did something crazy just to break down the opponent until they could not stand up, so he didn't have to bother playing again for the rest of the game.
Seeing the grim atmosphere among her players, Alex bitted her lips nervously, racking her brain hard to think of what her players should do. Honestly, she didn't really have any idea about how to reverse this condition.
However, before she could say anything, Kuroko suddenly stepped up, a firm determination burning in his eyes.
"Alex-san, please, let me play."
It was just a simple, short, and quite straightforward request, that really suited Kuroko's personality. Hearing that request, Alex pondered for a moment, hesitation creeping inside her heart.
'Should I let him play? He said he needs at least ten minutes, right? This has only been about five minutes, hardly enough for him to rest. But he was the only one who could go toe-to-toe with Murasakibara. If I let him play, it doesn't matter if he could do it again or not, but at least, he would be able to keep Murasakibara busy for a while. But the pressure would be too great. Could he handle it?'
"Alex-san!" Kuroko's voice snapped her train of thought. "Please, let me play," Kuroko repeated his request. The other players exchanged glances with each other, not knowing what to say. Seeing the resolve that radiated from Kuroko's eyes, Alex sighed, finally taking a decision.
"Alright." Alex finally nodded. "But I will make several adjustments, and I require the full cooperation from all of you. So, please, listen to my order, okay?"
Seeing that all the players nodded and started gathering around her, Alex took a deep breath, her mind thinking,
'Sometimes, part of coaching is to trust the players. And now, maybe, it is time to do that.'
-------------------------
"Should we worry about this new development?" In the audience seat, Kasamatsu asked his kouhai with a concerned tone. Considering what Murasakibara did earlier contradicted all the intelligence they had gathered, his concern was quite understandable.
However, to his annoyance (and probably a bit of frustration), Kise just looked at him confusedly.
"What is the new development? This is just Murasakibaracchi on a normal day."
Kasamatsu's eyebrows twitched in irritation.
"Well, in case you forget, Idiot, all the video we have gathered about Yosen High has never shown him to be that active during the game. Why would he do that now? What is the trigger? I would rather know about that and avoid this version of Murasakibara."
:Ooooh,,,,," Kise nodded his head in enlightenment. "Well, he would only do this when he was annoyed by his opponent or he wanted to end the game quickly. He would probably do that if we played against them because of me."
A thick vein suddenly popped out on Kasamatsu's forehead, as he knuckled his fist slowly, in a threatening manner.
"And pray tell, Idiot, why did you just say it now?"
Finally noticing his senpai's irritation, Kise suddenly feels a cold sweat rolling down his face.
"W-W-Well! No one asked before! And I was busy with my modeling career! Y-Ypi know how it is, Senpai!" The blonde boy tried to defend himself. Unfortunately, it was not enough to appease Kasamatsu's mood.
*Slap!*
"Ouch!"
A slap landed on the back of Kise's head. Even though it was not hard, the slap was enough to hurt him a little.
"That's hurt, Senpai!" He whined. "What if it would affect my condition? I wouldn't be-"
"Shut up, Idiot!" Kasamatsu interrupted his incoming rant even before it started. "Just be glad that it was only us who watched this game. If Sensei knows about it and what you said before, he would definitely punish you."
Kise's face turned white at the mention of the punishment. Takeuchi Genta, Kaijo's head coach, is infamous for his sadistic punishment. Even though Kise has never been on it, he has no desire to receive that wrath right now.
"Good." Kasamatsu nodded, happy with Kise's reaction. "Now, the question is, what would Seirin do?" His eyes landed on Seirin's bench, observing every tiny detail of the players there.
"Oh, they would probably play Kurokocchi and Kagamicchi again," Kise answered his silent question nonchalantly. Hearing that, Kasamatsu couldn't help but frown. "Kuroko-kun, I could understand. But why Kagamo-kun?"
"Right now, they need someone who could restrain Murasakibaracchi even for a bit. Like it or not, Kagamicchi and that player with the number #9 are Seirin's best options to do that. And that is not to mention Kagamicchi's stamina is probably better than anyone on the court. If he could calm himself down, his presence would be an advantage for Seirin. See?!"
Kise pointed his finger at Seirin's bench where Kagami suddenly made a movement, ready to play again.
"I told you so." He said it with a smug smile.
Kasamatsu just chuckled, once again reminding himself that behind his childish and goofiness antic, Kise is still a smart and formidable player. Unfortunately, that smart brain was hidden too deep behind his stupid antic.
"See, Senpai? My analysis is right, right? Look! Even Kurokocchi is back again! What do you think? Ne? Ne?"
*Slap*
"Ouch! Senpai?! Why?"
"Shut up, Kise!"
Once again, he has to slap the blonde to calm himself down.
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Author note :
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 135 on that page. Thank you! :)
-Zeta Faes-
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